Spatial and Temporal Variation of Human Mobility Intensity in Colombo District: Insights from Meta Movement Data

Human mobility, the way people move through and between urban spaces is central to managing congestion, ensuring equitable access to services, and building resilience to disruptions in an increasingly urbanised world. Digital traces from mobile phones and GPS are widely used for this purpose, but Facebook’s Meta Movement Data remains under-explored, particularly in Global South contexts such as Sri Lanka. This study addresses that gap by analysing spatial and temporal patterns of human mobility in Colombo District using the Meta “Movement Distribution” dataset. We use 13 months (March 2024–April 2025) of daily records covering 11 Divisional Secretariat divisions and operationalise human mobility as population movements aggregated into three distance bands: low (0 km), medium (10–100 km), and high (>100 km). Data are processed and visualised in Python (Google Colab) using Facet Grids, heat maps and donut charts to compare administrative units, mobility categories and temporal variations. Results show systematic differences in movement intensity, with the highest levels in densely urbanised divisions and along major transport corridors, while medium-range travel dominates overall patterns. The study demonstrates that Meta movement data can capture fine-scale urban dynamics in Colombo and can be used to identify movement hotspots, inform public transport planning, and support resilience-oriented policy in Sri Lanka.