The effect of limited mobility on the experienced segregation of foreign-born minorities
Abstract Segregation hinders inclusive cities and persists in everyday activities outside homes, yet the contributions of pivotal factors remain insufficiently quantified. Here, we elucidate how different factors influence outside-home segregation, looking at the distinctive segregation experienced...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | npj Sustainable Mobility and Transport |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44333-025-00046-4 |
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| author | Yuan Liao Jorge Gil Sonia Yeh Rafael H. M. Pereira Laura Alessandretti |
| author_facet | Yuan Liao Jorge Gil Sonia Yeh Rafael H. M. Pereira Laura Alessandretti |
| author_sort | Yuan Liao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Segregation hinders inclusive cities and persists in everyday activities outside homes, yet the contributions of pivotal factors remain insufficiently quantified. Here, we elucidate how different factors influence outside-home segregation, looking at the distinctive segregation experienced by native and foreign-born segregated individuals, using data from ~320,000 smartphone devices collected in Sweden. We find that while day-to-day activities lead to mixing for native-born majorities, foreign-born minorities remain segregated in their out-of-home activities. Our results highlight two factors for foreign-born segregated individuals, who (i) tend to visit same-group destinations (homophily), and (ii) have limited mobility ranges (limited travel). Counterfactual simulations further reveal that homophily alone, as represented by destination preference, plays a minor role, while combined with limited mobility, restricts foreign-born minorities' exposure to diverse groups, which is linked to limited public transport access. Enhancing transport accessibility for foreign-born minorities could potentially reduce social segregation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6200cb99c38b4ab9a55d08cdfcdb99ba |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 3004-8664 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Sustainable Mobility and Transport |
| spelling | doaj-art-6200cb99c38b4ab9a55d08cdfcdb99ba2025-08-20T04:01:41ZengNature Portfolionpj Sustainable Mobility and Transport3004-86642025-07-012111310.1038/s44333-025-00046-4The effect of limited mobility on the experienced segregation of foreign-born minoritiesYuan Liao0Jorge Gil1Sonia Yeh2Rafael H. M. Pereira3Laura Alessandretti4Department of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of TechnologyDepartment of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chalmers University of TechnologyDepartment of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of TechnologyInstitute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea)—BrazilDepartment of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of DenmarkAbstract Segregation hinders inclusive cities and persists in everyday activities outside homes, yet the contributions of pivotal factors remain insufficiently quantified. Here, we elucidate how different factors influence outside-home segregation, looking at the distinctive segregation experienced by native and foreign-born segregated individuals, using data from ~320,000 smartphone devices collected in Sweden. We find that while day-to-day activities lead to mixing for native-born majorities, foreign-born minorities remain segregated in their out-of-home activities. Our results highlight two factors for foreign-born segregated individuals, who (i) tend to visit same-group destinations (homophily), and (ii) have limited mobility ranges (limited travel). Counterfactual simulations further reveal that homophily alone, as represented by destination preference, plays a minor role, while combined with limited mobility, restricts foreign-born minorities' exposure to diverse groups, which is linked to limited public transport access. Enhancing transport accessibility for foreign-born minorities could potentially reduce social segregation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44333-025-00046-4 |
| spellingShingle | Yuan Liao Jorge Gil Sonia Yeh Rafael H. M. Pereira Laura Alessandretti The effect of limited mobility on the experienced segregation of foreign-born minorities npj Sustainable Mobility and Transport |
| title | The effect of limited mobility on the experienced segregation of foreign-born minorities |
| title_full | The effect of limited mobility on the experienced segregation of foreign-born minorities |
| title_fullStr | The effect of limited mobility on the experienced segregation of foreign-born minorities |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effect of limited mobility on the experienced segregation of foreign-born minorities |
| title_short | The effect of limited mobility on the experienced segregation of foreign-born minorities |
| title_sort | effect of limited mobility on the experienced segregation of foreign born minorities |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s44333-025-00046-4 |
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