Changes in the Cultural Trend of Use by Type of Green Infrastructure Before and After COVID-19 Using Blog Text Mining in Seoul

Abstract

Background and objective This study examined the changes in the cultural trend of use for green infrastructure in Seoul due to COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The subjects of this study are 8 sites of green infrastructure selected by type: Forested green infrastructure, Watershed green infrastructure, Park green infrastructure, Walkway green infrastructure. The data used for analysis was blog posts for a total of four years from August 1, 2016 to July 31, 2020. The analysis method was conducted keyword frequency analysis, topic modeling, and related keyword analysis. Results The results of this study are as follows. First, the number of posts on green infrastructure has increased since COVID-19, especially forested green infrastructure and watershed green infrastructure with abundant naturalness and high openness. Second, the cultural trend keywords before and after COVID-19 changed from large-scale to small-scale, community-based to individual-based activities, and nondaily to daily culture. Third, after COVID-19, topics and keywords related to coronavirus showed that the cultural trends were reflected on appreciation, activities, and dailiness based on natural resources. In sum, the interest in green infrastructure in Seoul has increased after COVID-19. Also, the change of green infrastructure represents the increased demand for experience that reflects the need and expectation for nature. Conclusion The new trend of green Infrastructure in the pandemic era should be considered in the the individual relaxations & activities.