IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/demogr/v50y2013i3p1105-1128.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

New Approaches to Human Mobility: Using Mobile Phones for Demographic Research

Author

Listed:
  • John Palmer
  • Thomas Espenshade
  • Frederic Bartumeus
  • Chang Chung
  • Necati Ozgencil
  • Kathleen Li

Abstract

This article explores new methods for gathering and analyzing spatially rich demographic data using mobile phones. It describes a pilot study (the Human Mobility Project) in which volunteers around the world were successfully recruited to share GPS and cellular tower information on their trajectories and respond to dynamic, location-based surveys using an open-source Android application. The pilot study illustrates the great potential of mobile phone methodology for moving spatial measures beyond residential census units and investigating a range of important social phenomena, including the heterogeneity of activity spaces, the dynamic nature of spatial segregation, and the contextual dependence of subjective well-being. Copyright Population Association of America 2013

Suggested Citation

  • John Palmer & Thomas Espenshade & Frederic Bartumeus & Chang Chung & Necati Ozgencil & Kathleen Li, 2013. "New Approaches to Human Mobility: Using Mobile Phones for Demographic Research," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(3), pages 1105-1128, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:50:y:2013:i:3:p:1105-1128
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-012-0175-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s13524-012-0175-z
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13524-012-0175-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jae Yong Lee & Mei‐Po Kwan, 2011. "Visualisation Of Socio‐Spatial Isolation Based On Human Activity Patterns And Social Networks In Space‐Time," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 102(4), pages 468-485, September.
    2. Kwan, Mei-Po, 2009. "From place-based to people-based exposure measures," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1311-1313, November.
    3. Myron Gutmann & Kristine Witkowski & Corey Colyer & JoAnne O’Rourke & James McNally, 2008. "Providing Spatial Data for Secondary Analysis: Issues and Current Practices Relating to Confidentiality," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 27(6), pages 639-665, December.
    4. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi & Jeremy Hunter, 2003. "Happiness in Everyday Life: The Uses of Experience Sampling," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 185-199, June.
    5. George MacKerron, 2012. "Happiness Economics From 35 000 Feet," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 705-735, September.
    6. Helliwell, John F., 2003. "How's life? Combining individual and national variables to explain subjective well-being," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 331-360, March.
    7. David Wong & Shih-Lung Shaw, 2011. "Measuring segregation: an activity space approach," Journal of Geographical Systems, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 127-145, June.
    8. Marta C. González & César A. Hidalgo & Albert-László Barabási, 2009. "Understanding individual human mobility patterns," Nature, Nature, vol. 458(7235), pages 238-238, March.
    9. Zenk, S.N. & Schulz, A.J. & Israel, B.A. & James, S.A. & Bao, S. & Wilson, M.L., 2005. "Neighborhood racial composition, neighborhood poverty, and the spatial accessibility of supermarkets in metropolitan Detroit," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(4), pages 660-667.
    10. Mei-Po Kwan, 1999. "Gender, the Home-Work Link, and Space-Time Patterns of Nonemployment Activities," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 75(4), pages 370-394, October.
    11. Daniel Kahneman & Alan B. Krueger, 2006. "Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    12. Peter Stopher & Camden FitzGerald & Min Xu, 2007. "Assessing the accuracy of the Sydney Household Travel Survey with GPS," Transportation, Springer, vol. 34(6), pages 723-741, November.
    13. Chaix, Basile & Merlo, Juan & Evans, David & Leal, Cinira & Havard, Sabrina, 2009. "Neighbourhoods in eco-epidemiologic research: Delimiting personal exposure areas. A response to Riva, Gauvin, Apparicio and Brodeur," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(9), pages 1306-1310, November.
    14. Barbara Entwisle, 2007. "Putting people into place," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(4), pages 687-703, November.
    15. Inagami, Sanae & Cohen, Deborah A. & Finch, Brian K., 2007. "Non-residential neighborhood exposures suppress neighborhood effects on self-rated health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(8), pages 1779-1791, October.
    16. Pentland, Alex (Sandy), 2007. "Automatic mapping and modeling of human networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 378(1), pages 59-67.
    17. Sean Reardon & Stephen Matthews & David O’Sullivan & Barrett Lee & Glenn Firebaugh & Chad Farrell & Kendra Bischoff, 2008. "The geographic scale of Metropolitan racial segregation," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 45(3), pages 489-514, August.
    18. John F. Kain, 1968. "Housing Segregation, Negro Employment, and Metropolitan Decentralization," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 82(2), pages 175-197.
    19. Basta, Luke A. & Richmond, Therese S. & Wiebe, Douglas J., 2010. "Neighborhoods, daily activities, and measuring health risks experienced in urban environments," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(11), pages 1943-1950, December.
    20. Cummins, Steven & Curtis, Sarah & Diez-Roux, Ana V. & Macintyre, Sally, 2007. "Understanding and representing 'place' in health research: A relational approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(9), pages 1825-1838, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. D. Woods & A. Cunningham & C. E. Utazi & M. Bondarenko & L. Shengjie & G. E. Rogers & P. Koper & C. W. Ruktanonchai & E. zu Erbach-Schoenberg & A. J. Tatem & J. Steele & A. Sorichetta, 2022. "Exploring methods for mapping seasonal population changes using mobile phone data," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-17, December.
    2. Malia Jones & Anne Pebley, 2014. "Redefining Neighborhoods Using Common Destinations: Social Characteristics of Activity Spaces and Home Census Tracts Compared," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(3), pages 727-752, June.
    3. Nana Luo & Atsushi Nara & Kiyoshi Izumi, 2021. "An Interaction-Based Bayesian Network Framework for Surgical Workflow Segmentation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-13, June.
    4. Fei Li & Donggen Wang, 2017. "Measuring urban segregation based on individuals’ daily activity patterns: A multidimensional approach," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(2), pages 467-486, February.
    5. Nadja Milewski & Alicia Adserà, 2023. "Introduction: Fertility and Social Inequalities in Migrant Populations: a Look at the Roles of Selection, Context of Reception, and Employment," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 1-21, March.
    6. Haley, Danielle F. & Matthews, Stephen A. & Cooper, Hannah L.F. & Haardörfer, Regine & Adimora, Adaora A. & Wingood, Gina M. & Kramer, Michael R., 2016. "Confidentiality considerations for use of social-spatial data on the social determinants of health: Sexual and reproductive health case study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 49-56.
    7. Emma Zang & Jessica West & Nathan Kim & Christina Pao, 2021. "U.S. regional differences in physical distancing: Evaluating racial and socioeconomic divides during the COVID-19 pandemic," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(11), pages 1-17, November.
    8. Lee Fiorio & Emilio Zagheni & Guy J. Abel & Johnathan Hill & Gabriel Pestre & Emmanuel Letouzé & Jixuan Cai, 2020. "Analyzing the effect of time in migration measurement using geo-referenced digital trace data," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2020-024, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    9. Hipp, John R., 2020. "Simulating spatial crime patterns: What do we learn in standard ecological studies of crime?," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    10. Delclòs-Alió, Xavier & Miralles-Guasch, Carme, 2017. "Suburban travelers pressed for time: Exploring the temporal implications of metropolitan commuting in Barcelona," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 165-174.
    11. Naomi F. Sugie & Michael C. Lens, 2017. "Daytime Locations in Spatial Mismatch: Job Accessibility and Employment at Reentry From Prison," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(2), pages 775-800, April.
    12. Naomi F. Sugie, 2018. "Utilizing Smartphones to Study Disadvantaged and Hard-to-Reach Groups," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 47(3), pages 458-491, August.
    13. Nina Cesare & Hedwig Lee & Tyler McCormick & Emma Spiro & Emilio Zagheni, 2018. "Promises and Pitfalls of Using Digital Traces for Demographic Research," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(5), pages 1979-1999, October.
    14. Carlos Mejia-Arbelaez & Olga L. Sarmiento & Rodrigo Mora Vega & Mónica Flores Castillo & Ricardo Truffello & Lina Martínez & Catalina Medina & Oscar Guaje & José David Pinzón Ortiz & Andres F Useche &, 2021. "Social Inclusion and Physical Activity in Ciclovía Recreativa Programs in Latin America," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-24, January.
    15. Shen, Yue & Chai, Yanwei & Kwan, Mei-Po, 2015. "Space–time fixity and flexibility of daily activities and the built environment: A case study of different types of communities in Beijing suburbs," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 90-99.
    16. Luigi Curini & Stefano Iacus & Luciano Canova, 2015. "Measuring Idiosyncratic Happiness Through the Analysis of Twitter: An Application to the Italian Case," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 121(2), pages 525-542, April.
    17. Wenfei Xu, 2022. "The contingency of neighbourhood diversity: Variation of social context using mobile phone application data," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 59(4), pages 851-869, March.
    18. Shareck, Martine & Kestens, Yan & Frohlich, Katherine L., 2014. "Moving beyond the residential neighborhood to explore social inequalities in exposure to area-level disadvantage: Results from the Interdisciplinary Study on Inequalities in Smoking," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 106-114.
    19. Nolan E. Phillips & Brian L. Levy & Robert J. Sampson & Mario L. Small & Ryan Q. Wang, 2021. "The Social Integration of American Cities: Network Measures of Connectedness Based on Everyday Mobility Across Neighborhoods," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 50(3), pages 1110-1149, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sharp, Gregory & Denney, Justin T. & Kimbro, Rachel T., 2015. "Multiple contexts of exposure: Activity spaces, residential neighborhoods, and self-rated health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 204-213.
    2. Shareck, Martine & Kestens, Yan & Frohlich, Katherine L., 2014. "Moving beyond the residential neighborhood to explore social inequalities in exposure to area-level disadvantage: Results from the Interdisciplinary Study on Inequalities in Smoking," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 106-114.
    3. Matthew Hall & John Iceland & Youngmin Yi, 2019. "Racial Separation at Home and Work: Segregation in Residential and Workplace Settings," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 38(5), pages 671-694, October.
    4. Petteway, Ryan J. & Mujahid, Mahasin & Allen, Amani & Morello-Frosch, Rachel, 2019. "The body language of place: A new method for mapping intergenerational “geographies of embodiment” in place-health research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 223(C), pages 51-63.
    5. Petrović, Ana & Manley, David & van Ham, Maarten, 2018. "Freedom from the Tyranny of Neighbourhood: Rethinking Socio-Spatial Context Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 11416, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Farber, Steven & O'Kelly, Morton & Miller, Harvey J. & Neutens, Tijs, 2015. "Measuring segregation using patterns of daily travel behavior: A social interaction based model of exposure," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 26-38.
    7. Abbasi, Sorath & Ko, Joonho & Min, Jaehong, 2021. "Measuring destination-based segregation through mobility patterns: Application of transport card data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    8. Spielman, Seth E. & Yoo, Eun-hye, 2009. "The spatial dimensions of neighborhood effects," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1098-1105, March.
    9. Olle Järv & Kerli Müürisepp & Rein Ahas & Ben Derudder & Frank Witlox, 2015. "Ethnic differences in activity spaces as a characteristic of segregation: A study based on mobile phone usage in Tallinn, Estonia," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(14), pages 2680-2698, November.
    10. Malia Jones & Anne Pebley, 2014. "Redefining Neighborhoods Using Common Destinations: Social Characteristics of Activity Spaces and Home Census Tracts Compared," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(3), pages 727-752, June.
    11. Vaughan, Adam S. & Kramer, Michael R. & Cooper, Hannah L.F. & Rosenberg, Eli S. & Sullivan, Patrick S., 2017. "Activity spaces of men who have sex with men: An initial exploration of geographic variation in locations of routine, potential sexual risk, and prevention behaviors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 1-10.
    12. Vallée, Julie & Cadot, Emmanuelle & Roustit, Christelle & Parizot, Isabelle & Chauvin, Pierre, 2011. "The role of daily mobility in mental health inequalities: The interactive influence of activity space and neighbourhood of residence on depression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(8), pages 1133-1144.
    13. José M. Casado-Díaz & Raquel Simón-Albert & Hipólito Simón, 2023. "Gender Differences in Commuting: New Evidence from Spain," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 907-941, October.
    14. Sui, Daniel, 2012. "Looking through Hägerstrand’s dual vistas: towards a unifying framework for time geography," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 5-16.
    15. Ivory, Vivienne C. & Blakely, Tony & Pearce, Jamie & Witten, Karen & Bagheri, Nasser & Badland, Hannah & Schofield, Grant, 2015. "Could strength of exposure to the residential neighbourhood modify associations between walkability and physical activity?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 232-241.
    16. Shen, Yue & Kwan, Mei-Po & Chai, Yanwei, 2013. "Investigating commuting flexibility with GPS data and 3D geovisualization: a case study of Beijing, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 1-11.
    17. Shen, Yao, 2019. "Segregation through space: A scope of the flow-based spatial interaction model," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 10-23.
    18. Nana Luo & Atsushi Nara & Kiyoshi Izumi, 2021. "An Interaction-Based Bayesian Network Framework for Surgical Workflow Segmentation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-13, June.
    19. Shang Ha & Seokho Kim, 2013. "Personality and Subjective Well-Being: Evidence from South Korea," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(1), pages 341-359, March.
    20. Arie Kapteyn & Jinkook Lee & Caroline Tassot & Hana Vonkova & Gema Zamarro, 2015. "Dimensions of Subjective Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 625-660, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:50:y:2013:i:3:p:1105-1128. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.