Mobility Data as a Proxy for Urban Vitality

In this paper, we propose an innovative approach to Jane Jacobs’s concept of diversity and vitality, analysing spatial big data to obtain quantitative measurements of urban qualities frequently employed to evaluate places. We use mobility data collected from public transport to calculate a diversity value for each research unit. Diversity is composed by three dynamic attributes: intensity, variability and consistency, each measuring different temporal variations of mobility flows. Using various datasets as proxy for activity density to validate results, we then use a regression model to establish the relation between diversity and vitality and unveil which are the most lively areas in London.