Urban population dynamics during the COVID- 19 pandemic based on mobile phone data

Abstract

Because of the fast expansion of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many countries established lockdowns, implementing different restrictions on people’s mobility. Analysing the effectiveness of these measures is crucial to better react to similar future scenarios. This research uses anonymous mobile phone data to study the impact of the Spanish lockdown on the daily dynamics of the Madrid metropolitan area. The analysis is focused on a reference week prior to the lockdown and on several weeks of the lockdown in which different restrictions were in place. For this timeframe, population distribution is compared during the day and at night and presence profiles are obtained throughout the day for each type of land use. In addition, a multiple regression analysis is carried out to determine the impact of the different land uses on the local population. The results in the reference week, pre-COVID-19, show how the population in activity areas increases in each time slot on a specific day and how in residential areas it decreases. However, during the lockdown, activity areas cease to attract population during the day and the residential areas therefore no longer show a decrease. Only basic essential commercial activities, or others that require the presence of workers maintain some activity during lockdown.