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Mobility during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Data-Driven Time-Geographic Analysis of Health-Induced Mobility Changes

Author

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  • Marina Toger

    (Department of Social and Economic Geography, Uppsala University, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
    Urban Lab at Institute for Housing and Urban Research, Uppsala University, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Karima Kourtit

    (Department of Social and Economic Geography, Uppsala University, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
    The Faculty of Management, Open University, 6419 Heerlen, The Netherlands
    Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, 700506 Iași, Romania
    School of Architecture, Planning and Design, Polytechnic University, Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco)

  • Peter Nijkamp

    (The Faculty of Management, Open University, 6419 Heerlen, The Netherlands
    Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, 700506 Iași, Romania
    School of Architecture, Planning and Design, Polytechnic University, Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco
    Geography and Spatial Management, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61-712 Poznan, Poland)

  • John Östh

    (Department of Social and Economic Geography, Uppsala University, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
    Urban Lab at Institute for Housing and Urban Research, Uppsala University, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
    Department of Civil Engineering and Energy Technology, OsloMet, Pilestredet 32, 0166 Oslo, Norway)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the spatial mobility of a major part of the population in many countries. For most people, this was an extremely disruptive shock, resulting in loss of income, social contact and quality of life. However, forced to reduce human physical interaction, most businesses, individuals and households developed new action lines and routines, and were gradually learning to adapt to the new reality. Some of these changes might result in long-term changes in opportunity structures and in spatial preferences for working, employment or residential location choice, and for mobility behavior. In this paper we aim to extend the time-geographic approach to analyzing people’s spatial activities, by focusing on health-related geographical mobility patterns during the pandemic in Sweden. Starting from a micro-approach at individual level and then looking at an aggregate urban scale, we examine the space-time geography during the coronavirus pandemic, using Hägerstrand’s time-geography model. We utilize a massive but (location-wise) fuzzy dataset to analyze aggregate spatiotemporal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic using a contemporary time-geographical approach. First, we address micro-level behavior in time-space to understand the mechanisms of change and to illustrate that a temporal drastic change in human mobility seems to be plausible. Then we analyze the changes in individuals’ mobility by analyzing their activity spaces in aggregate using mobile phone network data records. Clearly, it is too early for predicting long-term spatial changes, but a clear heterogeneity in spatial behavior can already be detected. It seems plausible that the corona pandemic may have long-lasting effects on employment centers, city roles and spatial mobility patterns.

Suggested Citation

  • Marina Toger & Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp & John Östh, 2021. "Mobility during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Data-Driven Time-Geographic Analysis of Health-Induced Mobility Changes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-21, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:4027-:d:530341
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Saskia Sassen & Karima Kourtit, 2021. "A Post-Corona Perspective for Smart Cities: ‘ Should I Stay or Should I Go ?’," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Lukas Hartwig & Reinhard Hössinger & Yusak Octavius Susilo & Astrid Gühnemann, 2022. "The Impacts of a COVID-19 Related Lockdown (and Reopening Phases) on Time Use and Mobility for Activities in Austria—Results from a Multi-Wave Combined Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-24, June.
    4. Nataliya Rybnikova & Dani Broitman & Daniel Czamanski, 2023. "Initial signs of post-covid-19 physical structures of cities in Israel," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Thulin, Eva & Vilhelmson, Bertil & Brundin, Louise, 2023. "Telework after confinement: Interrogating the spatiotemporalities of home-based work life," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    6. Veronika Harantová & Alica Kalašová & Simona Skřivánek Kubíková & Jaroslav Mazanec & Radomíra Jordová, 2022. "The Impact of Mobility on Shopping Preferences during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Evidence from the Slovak Republic," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-27, April.
    7. Moncayo-Unda, Milton Giovanny & Van Droogenbroeck, Marc & Saadi, Ismaïl & Cools, Mario, 2023. "A longitudinal analysis of the COVID-19 effects on the variability in human activity spaces in Quito, Ecuador," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    8. Marina Toger & Karima Kourtit & Peter Nijkamp, 2021. "From the Guest Editors: Happy and Healthy Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-4, November.
    9. Toger, Marina & Türk, Umut & Östh, John & Kourtit, Karima & Nijkamp, Peter, 2023. "Inequality in leisure mobility: An analysis of activity space segregation spectra in the Stockholm conurbation," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).

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