Visitation patterns across mobility groups: wandering, commuting, and exploring

In today’s increasingly mobile world, the dynamics of connectivity and accessibility are reshaping our understanding of movement. Mobility extends beyond physical travel, acting as a form of social currency deeply intertwined with broader societal structures and inequalities. Distinct daily mobility patterns allow different groups to navigate and experience urban spaces in diverse ways. This study aims to understand daily mobility profiles across cities and examine whether these profiles differ between locations or reflect similar patterns in different urban contexts. We analyze the daily movements of approximately 13,000 individuals in Auckland, New Zealand, and 23,500 individuals in Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil, using individual daily mobility data and a clustering algorithm to identify four distinct mobility groups. Our findings suggest a broader, more universal pattern of mobility-based divisions. While these groups show moderate mixing in residential areas, they are more segregated in the places they visit. This suggests that daily mobility, like other forms of capital, has the potential to reinforce (spatial) segregation, as individuals who live in close proximity often frequent different parts of the city, limiting exposure between members of different mobility groups.