The role of spatial scales in assessing urban mobility models

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2603.05227v1
• Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:40:49 GMT
• Title: The role of spatial scales in assessing urban mobility models
• Authors: Rakhi Manohar Mepparambath, Hoai Nguyen Huynh,
• Abstract summary: The spatial scale at which urban mobility is analysed is a crucial determinant of the insights gained from any model.<n>In this study, we evaluate the performance of three popular urban mobility models, namely gravity, radiation, and visitation models.<n>The results show that while the visitation model consistently performs better than its gravity and radiation counterparts, their performance does not differ much when being assessed at some appropriate spatial scale common to all of them.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Abstract: Urban mobility models are essential tools for understanding and forecasting how people and goods move within cities, which is vital for transportation planning. The spatial scale at which urban mobility is analysed is a crucial determinant of the insights gained from any model as it can affect models' performance. It is, therefore, important that urban mobility models should be assessed at appropriate spatial scales to reflect the underlying dynamics. In this study, we systematically evaluate the performance of three popular urban mobility models, namely gravity, radiation, and visitation models across spatial scales. The results show that while the visitation model consistently performs better than its gravity and radiation counterparts, their performance does not differ much when being assessed at some appropriate spatial scale common to all of them. Interestingly, at scales where all models perform badly, the visitation model suffers the most. Furthermore, results based on the conventional admin boundary may not perform so well as compared to distance-based clustering. The cross examination of urban mobility models across spatial scales also reveals the spatial organisation of the urban structure.

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