Amenity complexity and urban locations of socio-economic mixing

Cities host diverse people and their mixing is the engine of prosperity. In turn, segregation and inequalities are common features of most cities and locations that enable the meeting of people with different socio-economic status are key for urban inclusion. In this study, we adopt the concept of economic complexity to quantify the ability of locations – on the level of neigh- borhoods and amenities – to attract diverse visitors from various socio-economic backgrounds across the city. Utilizing the spatial distribution of point of interests inside the city of Budapest, Hungary, we construct the measures of amenity complexity based on the local portfolio of di- verse and non-ubiquitous amenities. We investigate mixing patterns at visited third places by tracing the daily mobility of individuals and characterizing their socio-economic status by the real-estate price of their home locations. Results suggest that measures of ubiquity and diversity of amenities do not, but amenity complexity correlates with the diversity of visitors to neigh- borhoods and to actual amenities alike. We demonstrate that, in this monocentric city, amenity complexity is correlated with the relative geographic centrality of locations, which in itself is a strong predictor of socio-economic mixing. Our work combines urban mobility data with economic complexity thinking to show that the diversity of non-ubiquitous amenities, central locations, and the potentials for socio-economic mixing are interrelated. nations.