This book explores the possibility of using social media data for detecting socio-economic recovery activities. In the last decade, there have been intensive research activities focusing on social media during and after disasters. This approach, which views peoples communication on social media as a sensor for real-time situations, has been widely adopted as the people as sensor approach. Furthermore, to improve recovery efforts after large-scale disasters, detecting communities real-time recovery situations is essential, since conventional socio-economic recovery indicators, such as governmental statistics, are not published in real time. Thanks to its timeliness, using social media data can fill the gap.   Motivated by this possibility, this book especially focuses on the relationships between peoples communication on Twitter and Facebook pages, and socio-economic recovery activities as reflected in the used-carmarket data and the housing market data in the case of two major disasters: the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The book pursues an interdisciplinary approach, combining e.g. disaster recovery studies, crisis informatics, and economics.   In terms of its contributions, firstly, the book sheds light on the people as sensors approach for detecting socio-economic recovery activities, which has not been thoroughly studied to date but has the potential to improve situation awareness during the recovery phase. Secondly, the book proposes new socio-economic recovery indicators: used-car market data and housing market data. Thirdly, in the context of using social media during the recovery phase, the results demonstrate the importance of distinguishing between social media data posted both by people who are at or near disaster-stricken areas and by those who are farther away.

Yuya Shibuya, Project Assistant Professor, The Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo, Japan.

Declaration of Authorship.- Abstract.- Acknowledgements.- Introduction and FrameworkIntroduction.- Concept of People as Sensors.- Methodology.- Empirical Studies of Socio-Economic Activities After the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami .- The Excess Demand for Used Cars The Excess Demand for Housing.- People As Sensors for Socio-Economic Recovery Activities.- Facebook Page Topics and the Excess Demand for Used Cars.- Data.- Topics on Twitter and the Excess Demand for Used Cars.- Public Sentiment and the Excess Demand for Used Cars.- Social Media Communication and the Excess Demand for Houses.- A Case Study of Hurricane Sandy.- The Excess Demand for Housing after Sandy.- Conclusion