Journal article
How We Measure Mobility Matters: Comparing Mobility Change Metrics and Their Associations with Social Vulnerability During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Vol.116(3), pp.697-719
03/16/2026
DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2025.2589287
Abstract
Disruptive events such as pandemics and disasters can cause sudden shifts in human mobility, often with unequal consequences across communities. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed disparities in people's ability to alter mobility behaviors due to socioeconomic and demographic conditions. Many studies have examined pandemic-related mobility changes, but less attention has been paid to how the choice of mobility metrics shapes our understanding of these changes and their relationship to social vulnerability. This study systematically analyzes early pandemic mobility shifts by introducing a typology of twenty metrics across five categories: volume, distance, time, topology, and structure. Using mobile phone-based flow data at the census tract level in two major U.S. metropolitan areas, we assess how each metric changed, compare patterns of change across all pairs of metrics, and examine how those changes correlate with varying levels of social vulnerability indicators. Results show that different metrics capture distinct behavioral aspects and vary in the strength and direction of their associations with social vulnerability. Volume- and distance-based measures show sharp overall reductions in mobility, whereas structural metrics reveal imbalances and weakened interneighborhood connectivity. Outbound mobility metrics display stronger associations with vulnerability than inbound measures, as more vulnerable neighborhoods reduced mobility less and spent less additional time at home. Spatial analysis further shows that these relationships differ across neighborhoods, underscoring the influence of local contexts. By demonstrating how mobility metrics highlight different dimensions of behavioral change and social mechanisms, this study provides a multidimensional framework for analyzing mobility that can inform crisis response and planning.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- How We Measure Mobility Matters: Comparing Mobility Change Metrics and Their Associations with Social Vulnerability During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Creators
- Hoeyun Kwon - Lehman CollegeCaglar Koylu - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Vol.116(3), pp.697-719
- DOI
- 10.1080/24694452.2025.2589287
- ISSN
- 2469-4452
- eISSN
- 2469-4460
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Number of pages
- 23
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 11/21/2025
- Date published
- 03/16/2026
- Academic Unit
- School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability; Center for Social Science Innovation
- Record Identifier
- 9985093890002771
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