Several Multiplexes in the same City: The role of wealth differences in urban mobility

TL;DR

This study examines how wealth differences influence urban mobility patterns by analyzing multiplex transportation networks in Bogotá and Medellín, revealing socioeconomic impacts on transportation layer organization.

Contribution

It introduces a multiplex network approach to analyze urban mobility across socioeconomic groups, highlighting the role of wealth in transportation layer structure.

Findings

Socioeconomic status significantly affects transportation layer organization.

Different wealth groups prefer distinct transportation modes.

Multiplex network analysis reveals socioeconomic disparities in mobility patterns.

Abstract

In this work we analyze the architecture of real urban mobility networks from the multiplex perspective. In particular, based on empirical data about the mobility patterns in the cities of Bogot\'a and Medell\'{\i}n, each city is represented by six multiplex networks, each one representing the origin-destination trips performed by a subset of the population corresponding to a particular socioeconomic status. The nodes of each multiplex are the different urban locations whereas links represent the existence of a trip from one node (origin) to another (destination). On the other hand, the different layers of each multiplex correspond to the different existing transportation modes. By exploiting the characterization of multiplex transportation networks combining different transportation modes, we aim at characterizing the mobility patterns of each subset of the population. Our results show that the socioeconomic characteristics of the population have an extraordinary impact in the layer organization of these multiplex systems.