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Mobility patterns are associated with experienced income segregation in large US cities
Esteban Moro1,2, Dan Calacci3, Xiaowen Dong3,4
1Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. esteban.moroegido@gmail.com.
Nature Communications
|July 31, 2021
Summary
Urban income segregation goes beyond where people live, involving social interactions and mobility. This study reveals that individual mobility behavior significantly shapes experienced income segregation in cities.
Area of Science:
- Urban Studies
- Sociology
- Computational Social Science
Background:
- Traditional urban income segregation research relies on static residential patterns.
- These patterns fail to capture the dynamic, experience-based nature of segregation influenced by social interactions and mobility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate fine-grained income segregation experienced by individuals in urban environments.
- To understand the role of mobility behavior and social interactions in shaping experienced income segregation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a large-scale, high-resolution mobility dataset from 4.5 million mobile phone users across 11 major American cities.
- Introduced a Schelling model extension to analyze fine-grained income segregation patterns.
- Correlated experienced income segregation with place exploration and social exploration behaviors.
Main Results:
- Experienced income segregation can vary significantly even within close spatial proximity, differing from residential patterns.
- Individual income segregation is linked to tendencies for place exploration (visiting new locations) and social exploration (visiting places with diverse income groups).
- Place exploration is more strongly associated with mobility behaviors, while social exploration is more linked to demographic characteristics.
Conclusions:
- Mobility behavior is a crucial factor in the individual experience of urban income segregation.
- Future urban research on income segregation should incorporate mobility data alongside traditional residential patterns.
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