Inequalities in the potential movement of social groups: A network-based indicator

Accessibility and mobility are key concerns of sustainable cities, especially in the Global South, due to the strong social inequalities. This paper contributes to the literature on mobility segregation by focusing on the potential movement of social groups in the city. We conceptualize potential movement as a network centrality, acting as an indicator of population movement when performing daily activities (working, studying, shopping, etc.). This paper’s objectives are (a) to identify the inequalities in potential movement of different social groups performing their daily activities; (b) to propose a network-based method to enhance our understanding of mobility inequalities; and (c) to address the context of medium-sized Latin American cities. We adopt a modified Betweenness Centrality model (Potential Movement) on a directed and weighted network. Our results show a similar pattern for both cities, with the CBD concentrating the potential movement for all groups; however, several inequalities were found. The high-income and white groups show higher levels of potential movement in the CBD and the low-income and non-white groups have a more distributed potential movement pattern, implying longer journeys to reach jobs and services. Income and race have shown to play a crucial role in those inequalities.