Disparity of Density in the Age of Mobility: Analysis by Opinion Formation Model

Abstract

High mobility has promoted the concentration of people’s aggregation in urban areas. As people pursue areas with higher density, gentrification and sprawl become more serious. Disadvantaged people are then pushed out of urban centers. Conversely, as mobility increases, the disadvantaged may also migrate in pursuit of their desired density. As a result, disparities relative to density and housing may shrink. Hence, migration is a complex system. Understanding the effects of migration on disparities intuitively is difficult. This study explored the effects of mobility on disparity using an agent-based model of opinion formation. We find that as mobility increases, disparities between agents in density and diversity widen, but as mobility increases further, the disparities shrink, and then widen again. Our results present possibilities for a just city in the age of mobility.