Visitation law could shed light on disease spread
A mathematical law developed at FCL was featured in Scientific American, uncovering how universal urban travel patterns are and how they further our understanding of disease spread.
A research spanning seven years, six cities, and some 8 million people culminated in a simple, yet powerful mathematical model – a universal visitation law that predicts urban travel patterns.
In the study 'external pageThe universal visitation law of human mobility' led by Asst Prof. (Adj.) Markus Schläpfer, the visitation law accurately predicts travel distance and frequency of visits, regardless of whether you live in Senegal or in Boston.
Experts say that the law not only provides insight that could help to optimize city planning, but also enhance models of disease spread, according to an article in Scientific American. Northeastern University epidemiologist Sam Scarpino said that these organizational patterns have really profound implications on how Covid-19 will spread.
"Understanding these patterns is important not only for planning the placement of new shopping centres or public transportation but also for modeling disease transmission within cities, said Kathleen Stewart, a geographer and mobility researcher at the University of Maryland who was not involved in the study.
Read the article external pageSimple Mathematical Law Predicts Movement in Cities around the World in Scientific American.
Schläpfer, M., Dong, L., O’Keeffe, K. et al. The universal visitation law of human mobility. Nature 593, 522–527 (2021). external pagehttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03480-9