Correction: Cerrone et al. Implementing Gehl’s Theory to Study Urban Space. The Case of Monotowns. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5105

The authors would like to make the following corrections to the published paper [1]. The changes are as follows:

(1)

Replacing the word “was” with “could be” in the Abstract:

• Replace the original version:

• Furthermore, this method was deployed to improve the conditions of public spaces in Russian monotowns through a series of architectural briefs for design competitions and urban design guidelines for local administrations.

with

• Furthermore, this method could be deployed to improve the conditions of public spaces in Russian monotowns through a series of architectural briefs for design competitions and urban design guidelines for local administrations.

(2)

Deleting 6 sentences in Section 1.1 “Importance to Study the Quality of Life in Monotowns” on page 3:

• This research was carried out in cooperation with an urban consultancy based in Moscow, Russia. The authors of this contribution were commissioned to study 32 Russian monotowns in order to assess the proposal of policies, plans, and urban design interven- tions to help to improve the quality of life of monotowns’ citizens. Behind the innovative order was the federal nonprofit organization Fund of the Unified Development Institution in the Housing Sector. In its expression of interest, the consultancy stressed the importance of finding spaces with high value for locals in general and youth in particular, spaces for social gatherings and events, and spaces that are underused and may thus fall into urban blight. Besides these programmed tasks, the study team made observations on tourism, seasonal rhythms, and morphological characteristics, among other themes. The proposed solutions should be cost-efficient, flexible in each location, and scalable across the vast task of 319 monotowns. Furthermore, an inclusive process targeting social equity was deemed necessary.

(3)

Replacing a sentence in Section 2 “Materials and Methods” on page 6:

• Replace the original version:

• To do so, we have analyzed 1.1 M publicly shared images from the 32 Russian monotowns on the social media platform VKontakte (later VK) through its public API.

with

• To do so, we have analyzed publicly shared images from the 32 Russian monotowns on the social media platform VKontakte (later VK).

(4)

Replacing a sentence in Section 2 “Materials and Methods” on page 6:

• Replace the original version:

• We selected only georeferenced pictures within the geographic boundaries of each city and assigned a unique identifier to each image to anonymize and randomize the data.

with

• The five research questions presented in our paper (Who, What, When, Why, How long) refer uniquely to the use of urban space. The ultimate goal of our methodological approach was to find a potential solution to survey urban spaces that are remote or simply too many to visit in person. The subjects of inquiry of our approach, and case study, were urban spaces, not the users. Our research was carried out by associating machine- and human-generated tags (such as “indoor” or “outdoor”) with the estimated location and time of the image. No user-generated content beyond the image itself and the timestamp was analyzed; no information beyond the generated tag(s), approximate time bin, and estimated location was retained past the image tagging stage. Researchers made visual identifications on the fly by browsing images by location and time. To carry out this methodology, it was not necessary to download the images and the only three columns of data we have mapped were the tags (e.g., “indoor”), the approximate location of the image (e.g., Moskovska Square) and the time bin (e.g., early morning).

(5)

The authors would like to change the caption of Figure 3:

• Replace the original version:

• Figure 3. Map of the monotown of Kirovsk. Points in blue/cyan, location of pictures portraying social activities indoors. Points in red/orange, pictures posted outdoors. Pictures retrieved from VK.

with

• Figure 3. Map of the monotown of Kirovsk. Points in blue/cyan represent the approximate location of indoor tags. Points in red/orange represent the approximate location of outdoor tags.

(6)

Deleting two sentences in Section 5 “Conclusions” on page 14:

• We have cautious confidence to say that as it is represented in citizens’ posts in VK the network, the social life in most monotowns is positively traditional. There is a lot of attention to family and children, to birthdays, weddings, and spending big holidays together. School parties, graduation ceremonies, and sports, too, seem to bring people together. The flip-side to the importance of these social institutions is the lack of nontraditional settings and commercial urban amenities. In our data, there is very little evidence of people eating out in restaurants, going to coffee shops, having nightlife, or engaging in shopping. A cultural offer such as concerts, art, or civic meetings seems limited.

(7)

Deleting two sentences in Section 5 “Limitations and Further Development” on pages 14 and 15:

• In our case, we utilized publicly shared images from the popular social media application VK as a data source emphasizing its production from a social context.

and

• They can be harvested and used in urban research to provide new insights, remembering strict ethical guidelines on users’ personal privacy and results’ noncommercial application.