Urban-Rural Mobility Patterns

Rural and urban areas shape how people move — but these patterns remain poorly understood across different countries.

This interactive visualization explores mobility inefficiency in Colombia, Mexico, and India.

Why Study This?

Urbanization happens differently around the world:

Global South — Cities grow through many small urban settlements

Global North — Population concentrates in megacities

Traditional definitions of "urban" and "rural" don't capture these differences. We need new approaches based on how people actually move.

Comparing mobility between urban and rural areas is difficult because:

Our research develops a unified framework that works across countries — regardless of how urbanization happens.

1

Define Urban and Rural Areas Using network connectivity, not just population

2

Calculate Mobility Inefficiency Compare actual routes vs. optimal paths

3

Estimate Transit-Efficiency Alignment How well does public transit serve efficient routes?

Explore each step using the menu.

Select a country from the dropdown to begin exploring.