Abstract
The paper systematically analyses the phenomena of being smart in light of the growth of information
and communications technology being incorporation into urban development. In a setting where
technological advancements are taking hold of every aspect of peoples’ lives this paper explores the
potential of geographical location data derived from social media platforms can be used to demarcate
the catchment area of the Gautrain. The study demonstrates how social media data can be used to
analyse the variations in the catchment area of the various nodes with the Gautrain system, with the use
of word counts and linguistic measures to interpret posts made on web 2.0. Consequently the users’
opinions about the Gautrain were used to interprete the variations in volumes of commuters over a 6
month period. The results of the study will assist in identifying areas of potential expansion and areas
in need of intervention, hence highlighting points of interest within Gauteng catchment area.