Residential Mobility Research Articles

The state of mental health among Ebola virus disease survivors through a cross-sectional study in Sierra Leone

BackgroundThe West African Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic resulted in >28 000 disease cases and >11 000 fatalities. The unprecedented number of survivors from this epidemic has raised questions about...

The Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Suicide-related Emergency Calls in a European City: Age and Gender Patterns, and Neighborhood Influences.

Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive spatio-temporal analysis of suicide-related emergency calls in the city of Valencia (Spain) over a six-year period. To this end we first examined age and gender patterns and, second, the influence of neighborhood characteristics on general and gender-specific spatio-temporal patterns of suicide-related emergency calls. Method: Geocoded data on suicide-related emergency calls between 2017 and 2022 (N = 10,030) were collected from the 112 emergency service in Valencia. Data were aggregated at the census block group level, used as a proxy for neighborhoods, and trimesters were considered as the temporal unit. Two set of analyses were performed: (1) demographic (age and gender) and temporal descriptive analyses and (2) general and gender-specific Bayesian spatio-temporal autoregressive models. Results: Descriptive analyses revealed a higher incidence of suicide-related emergency calls among females and an increase in calls among the 18-23 age group from 2020 onwards. The general spatio-temporal model showed higher levels of suicide-related emergency calls in neighborhoods characterized by lower education levels and population density, and higher residential mobility, aging population, and immigrant concentration. Relevant gender differences were also observed. A seasonal effect was noted, with a peak in calls during spring for females and summer for males. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for comprehensive mental health targeted interventions and preventive strategies that account for gender-specific disparities, age-related vulnerabilities, and the specific characteristics of neighborhoods.

Residential mobility and liver cancer risk: findings from a prospective cohort study in Chinese women.

Residential mobility is believed to influence the occurrence and development of cancer; however, the results are inconclusive. Furthermore, limited studies have been conducted on Asian populations. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between residential mobility and liver cancer risk among Chinese women. We enrolled 72,818 women from urban Shanghai between 1996 and 2000, and then followed them until the end of 2016. Cox regression models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the association between residential mobility and liver cancer risk. A linear trend test was conducted by ranking variables. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted, excluding participants with follow-up times of less than 2 years, to prevent potential bias. During the 1,269,765 person-years of follow-up, liver cancer was newly diagnosed in 259 patients. Domestic migration (HR = 1.47, 95% CI, 1.44-1.50), especially immigration to Shanghai (HR = 1.47, 95% CI, 1.44-1.50) was associated with an increased risk of liver cancer. In addition, migration frequency, age at initial migration and first immigration to Shanghai had linear trends with an increased liver cancer risk (Ptrend <0.001). The results were similar when excluding participants with less than two years of follow-up. The possible association between residential mobility and a higher risk of liver cancer in women could suggest the need for effective interventions to reduce adverse environmental exposures and enhance people's health.

Does gentrification constrain housing markets for low-income households? Evidence from household residential mobility in the New York and San Francisco metropolitan areas

This research investigates whether gentrification restricts housing markets for low-income households by focussing on the New York and San Francisco metropolitan areas from 2013 to 2019. We investigate whether gentrification correlates with increased out-migration and decreased in-migration of low-income residents in affected neighbourhoods, and how it shapes where out-movers relocate. We leverage a unique longitudinal dataset to compare two extreme regional contexts characterised by significant affordability challenges and intense housing regulations. By doing so, this study aims to provide a more refined understanding of gentrification and residential mobility dynamics, avoiding broad generalisations or a narrow focus on single metropolitan contexts. The findings indicate that in both regions, low-income households are indeed more likely to leave gentrifying neighbourhoods compared to non-gentrifying ones and less likely to enter them compared to higher-income households. The study also finds mixed results regarding the subsequent residential situations of these low-income movers. Based on these findings, we provide implications for research and policies oriented towards improving housing and neighbourhood access for low-income households in rapidly changing urban areas.

Impacts of virtual amenities on residential relocation and decentralization of megacity: An empirical study in wuhan, China

Clarifying the impact of urban virtual amenities (VAs) based on online and offline services on residents and urban spaces is important in the context of mobile internet access. However, the measurement of VA usage and its association with urban space have limited its theoretical development. This study identifies relocation directions through changes in residential locations and measures the four types of VA usage via mobile app data. An ordered logistic regression model is constructed to measure the correlation between VA usage and residential locations. The results show a significant association between VA usage and residential location. Residents who use VA-shopping are inclined to live outside the central region, while the opposite is true for residents who use VA-life and VA-public service. Because the users and usage intensity of VA-shopping are greater than those of other services, we summarize the VAs that drive outward relocation and urban decentralization because virtual amenities liberate the constraints on residential mobility imposed by the proximity of functional urban amenities. The findings are informative for understanding urban spaces under mobile ICTs and conducting behavior research on virtual-real interactions.

Homeownership, the unemployed and financial hardship

We follow 3,826 Australian unemployed persons, approximately half of whom are homeowners. We conduct a matching analysis and find that homeownership reduces both experienced and perceived financial hardship. Building on recent findings in the literature that the presence of financial hardship deteriorates job search quality (i.e., stressors like financial hardship lead to the adoption of haphazard rather than focused job search strategies), we introduce financial hardship as a novel channel through which homeownership affects labour market outcomes of the unemployed. In our matching analysis, we include historical labour market performance and personality traits linked to mobility preferences, to address endogeneity. We also confirm that homeownership reduces residential mobility and increases neighbourhood social capital but find no effect on reservation wages of the unemployed. Considering declining homeownership rates across the OECD in recent years, our findings are both timely and imperative to understand the effect of homeownership on labour market outcomes of the unemployed.

Quantifying the role of arrival infrastructures in the labor market integration of refugees

ABSTRACT Across Europe, refugees face significant difficulties in finding employment. Many studies have attributed the disadvantaged labor market position of refugees to factors on the individual level, such as language barriers or health issues related to the experience of fleeing. While such explanations emphasize individual responsibility, ethnographic studies are increasingly contending that opportunities to integrate into the labor market can be restricted or enabled by arrival infrastructures. We contribute to this discussion by taking a quantitative perspective. Focusing on the Netherlands, we used extensive national register data that allowed us to follow refugees over time and break the concept of arrival infrastructures down into four dimensions, namely job access, neighborhood effects, enclave effects, and the local migration regime. In addition, because the Dutch dispersal policy distributed refugees – to a considerable extent – randomly across municipalities during the period under study, we were able to counteract problems of self-selection and reversed causality. We studied the labor market integration of refugees using competing risks analysis, taking educational enrollment and residential mobility into account. Our findings show that economic, social, and institutional arrival infrastructures manifest themselves at different scales but all matter in the labor market integration of refugees.

Isotopic Evidence for Socio-economic Dynamics Within the Capital of the Kingdom of Alwa, Sudan

Between the sixth and fifteenth c. CE, a vast expanse of central and southern Sudan belonged to the kingdom of Alwa, ruled from the urban metropolis of Soba. Renewed investigation of the city unearthed a small cemetery in the northern part of the site. The heterogeneity of burial practices raised some questions as to the cultural and religious affinities of the deceased and suggested potential multiculturalism of the local urban population. We applied isotopic analyses to investigate the origins of the people buried at Cemetery OS and their concomitant ways of life. Non-concordance of 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O values with local hydro-geological background speaks to the mixing of water sources as a result of residential mobility. The concordance of human and faunal strontium and oxygen results, combined with elevated δ13C values corresponding to almost exclusive reliance on C4 produce, points to the possibility of seasonal movement of people with their herds between the Nile valley and the adjacent grasslands. Despite the turn of the medieval Nubian economy towards settled agriculture, by revealing the granular specificities of human adaptation in challenging ecosystems, our results produce the first insight into the enduring diversification of economic production, even in urbanized settings, and persisting participation of local peoples in agro-pastoral symbiosis.

Nowhere to Launch? County-Level Correlates of Home-Leaving and Home-Returning

Coresidence with parents is now the most common living arrangement among young adults (ages 18–29) in the United States. For many, coresidence comes after first leaving home and living in an independent household. Recent shifts in these residential transitions has spurred renewed research in this area, with a focus on contemporaneous young adult characteristics, individual well-being, and the family context. Largely overlooked in this research is a consideration of the geographic context where young adults make home-leaving and home-returning decisions. Drawing on residential mobility theory and research that emphasizes features of local housing and labor markets, the present study explores if county-level characteristics are associated with the likelihood of either leaving or returning to the parental home. Using data from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, results indicate that youth are less likely to leave home, and more likely to return to it, if they live in areas with higher rental costs. Housing market characteristics also appear to be more important for home-leaving and home-returning for youth who stay in the same county, as opposed to launching to different counties. Findings thus demonstrate that contextual features should be emphasized alongside individual and family features as pathways to independent living.

Changes in neighbourhood walkability and body mass index: An analysis of residential mobility from a longitudinal multilevel study in Brisbane, Australia

This study examined associations between changes in neighbourhood walkability and body mass index (BMI) among 1041 residents who relocated within Brisbane, Australia between 2007 and 2016 over five waves of the HABITAT study. Measures included spatially-derived neighbourhood walkability (dwelling density, street connectivity, and land use mix) and self-reported height and weight. No associations were found between any neighbourhood walkability characteristics and BMI. Examining these associations over the life course, and the impact of residential relocation in the younger years, remains a priority for future research.

Residential and healthcare mobility during pregnancy among women living with HIV in the UK, 2009-2019.

The extent to which individuals living with HIV experience residential and healthcare mobility during pregnancy in the UK is unknown. We aimed to determine a minimum estimate of residential and healthcare mobility during pregnancy in people living with HIV in the UK in 2009-2019 to explore patterns of and factors associated with mobility and to assess whether mobility was associated with specific HIV outcomes. We analyzed data from the Integrated Screening Outcomes Surveillance Service to assess pregnancies with HIV in the UK and included livebirths and stillbirths with estimated delivery in 2009-2019. Residential mobility was defined as changing residential postcode between notification and delivery, and healthcare mobility was defined as changing NHS Trust or Strategic Health Authority (SHA) in that same timeframe. We used logistic regression to determine factors associated with residential and healthcare mobility and with detectable delivery viral load. Among 10 305 pregnancies, 19.6% experienced residential mobility, 8.1% changed NHS Trust, and 4.5% changed SHA during pregnancy. Mobility was more likely to be experienced by younger women, migrants, and those with new antenatal diagnosis; residential but not healthcare mobility declined over time. In a fully adjusted model, mobility was not associated with having a detectable viral load at delivery. Higher proportions of infants were lost to follow-up after mobile pregnancies than after non-mobile pregnancies. This analysis provides new knowledge on mobility during pregnancy in the context of HIV, but further research is needed to understand its broader impacts and its utility as a marker to help identify families requiring additional follow-up and support.

Intra‐urban residential mobility and segregation of foreigners in Rome

AbstractThis research studies the residential mobility of Italians and foreigners in Rome from 2002 to 2019. We examine the differences in residential mobility patterns for (1) Italians and foreigners, (2) foreign migrants by selected country of origin, and (3) the effect of intra‐urban mobility on residential segregation. Log‐linear models and segregation indexes are used to analyze unpublished microdata on residential mobility by neighbourhood from the population register of Rome. Results show that foreigners are more mobile than Italians and more prone to move outside the area where they live, but with an increasing process of remaining in their current locations over time. Also, similarities and differences emerge by country of origin. Finally, we find residential mobility has increased the spatial concentration and clustering of foreigners in Rome, whilst reducing the dissimilarity from Italians at the same time.

Concordance in Spouses' Intention to Move After Retirement Among Korean Middle-Aged Couples.

This study examined the concordance in spouses' intention to move after retirement among midlife couples and its association with couples' marital characteristics (i.e., marital satisfaction and dyadic coping). Using a sample of 1,285 middle-aged couples in Korea (aged 49-64), we conducted logistic/multinomial regression controlling for individual and household characteristics. The majority of couples (83%) were concordant in their moving desires-by either agreeing to move (29%) or to stay (54%), whereas 17% of couples were not in agreement-either only husband (9%) or wife (8%) desires to move. Couples who made daily decisions together and where wives perceived higher marital satisfaction were more likely to have concordant moving desires. Couples where spouses shared each other's stress and discussed life after retirement were more likely to agree to move than to stay. Our findings suggest the importance of marital dynamics in understanding midlife couples' residential mobility after retirement.

Does increased temperature affect residential mobility? A 20-year nationwide evidence in Australia

People adapt to changes in livelihoods and risks caused by summer high temperature in the era of global warming, which may also lead to residential mobility at the individual level and migration flow at the aggregate level. However, little evidence is available to show the long-term localized impact of summer temperature on residential mobility. Our study aims to conduct a 20-year nationwide investigation of the heat-mobility relationship in Australia to reveal how the increase of summer temperature is associated with the change of residential mobility and how such relationship shifts over time. Employing a tri-environmental (i.e., social, built and natural environment) conceptual framework adapted from the Social Ecological Theory, our analyses draw on the Australian census data from 2001 to 2021 together with the earth observation data to quantify multiple confounders in the tri-environmental dimensions in order to reveal the heat-mobility relationship at the national, state, urban and rural scales. We find that locales with significant increase in summer temperature have less inbound residential mobility, that is, people are less likely to move into heat-affected areas. This study enhances the understanding of how global warming affects residential mobility and settlement, and what adaptation strategies are needed to reduce the heat threat and achieve urban sustainability.

A century of telephony: digital capture of British telephone directories, 1880-1984

ABSTRACT We describe the creation of a data resource for charting the adoption of fixed line telephony in Great Britain over the period 1880–1984, of which the period 1880–1951 is available for wide research use. We first evaluate the use of various open-source software and then develop the novel teldiR open-source package to capture digitally encoded scans of all available telephone directories at ten-yearly intervals throughout this period and document the quality control checks used to establish the provenance of the resulting digital records. Our research demonstrates the feasibility of digitally encoding scans of historical telephone directories, and suggests potential analytical extensions to this work, including georeferencing of subscriber records. This research is seen not only as facilitating geographical analysis of the adoption of fixed line telephony, but also as creating a bridge between historical analysis of residential mobility, migration, and changing geodemographic structure in the years between (now digitized) historical censuses and present day digital sources. The digital resource arising from this research is available for bona fide research use.

Revealing the Mysteries of Population Mobility Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada: Comparative Analysis With Internet of Things-Based Thermostat Data and Google Mobility Insights.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated public health policies to limit human mobility and curb infection spread. Human mobility, which is often underestimated, plays a pivotal role in health outcomes, impacting both infectious and chronic diseases. Collecting precise mobility data is vital for understanding human behavior and informing public health strategies. Google's GPS-based location tracking, which is compiled in Google Mobility Reports, became the gold standard for monitoring outdoor mobility during the pandemic. However, indoor mobility remains underexplored. This study investigates in-home mobility data from ecobee's smart thermostats in Canada (February 2020 to February 2021) and compares it directly with Google's residential mobility data. By assessing the suitability of smart thermostat data, we aim to shed light on indoor mobility patterns, contributing valuable insights to public health research and strategies. Motion sensor data were acquired from the ecobee "Donate Your Data" initiative via Google's BigQuery cloud platform. Concurrently, residential mobility data were sourced from the Google Mobility Report. This study centered on 4 Canadian provinces-Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia-during the period from February 15, 2020, to February 14, 2021. Data processing, analysis, and visualization were conducted on the Microsoft Azure platform using Python (Python Software Foundation) and R programming languages (R Foundation for Statistical Computing). Our investigation involved assessing changes in mobility relative to the baseline in both data sets, with the strength of this relationship assessed using Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. We scrutinized daily, weekly, and monthly variations in mobility patterns across the data sets and performed anomaly detection for further insights. The results revealed noteworthy week-to-week and month-to-month shifts in population mobility within the chosen provinces, aligning with pandemic-driven policy adjustments. Notably, the ecobee data exhibited a robust correlation with Google's data set. Examination of Google's daily patterns detected more pronounced mobility fluctuations during weekdays, a trend not mirrored in the ecobee data. Anomaly detection successfully identified substantial mobility deviations coinciding with policy modifications and cultural events. This study's findings illustrate the substantial influence of the Canadian stay-at-home and work-from-home policies on population mobility. This impact was discernible through both Google's out-of-house residential mobility data and ecobee's in-house smart thermostat data. As such, we deduce that smart thermostats represent a valid tool for facilitating intelligent monitoring of population mobility in response to policy-driven shifts.

Feasibility and limitations of using commercial databases to evaluate residential mobility in registry-based research on childhood cancer

BackgroundResearchers have used commercial databases containing residential addresses to reduce exposure misclassification in case-control studies. Our objective is to evaluate the potential systematic bias regarding case status when reconstructing residential locations from commercial databases. MethodsOur study population of 3640 Colorado-born children includes 520 children diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia between 2002 and 2019. We aligned addresses and date ranges obtained from LexisNexis with registry dates to determine three dichotomous outcomes: Found in LexisNexis, conception date found in LexisNexis, and reference date/diagnosis date found in LexisNexis. We applied logistic regression to determine whether outcomes differed by case status. ResultsMothers of cases were 39% more likely to be found in LexisNexis than mothers of controls (OR = 1.39, 95% CI: 0.97, 2). Of the mothers found in LexisNexis, a conception address was 33% more likely (OR= 1.33, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.66) and a reference/diagnosis address was 60% more likely (OR= 1.60, 95% CI: 1.21, 2.12) to be found for mothers of cases than mothers of controls. ConclusionThis study indicates that use of commercial databases to reconstruct residential locations may systematically bias results in case-control studies of childhood cancers.

Reconsidering the link between past material culture and cognition in light of contemporary hunter-gatherer material use.

Many have interpreted symbolic material culture in the deep past as evidencing the origins sophisticated, modern cognition. Scholars from across the behavioural and cognitive sciences, including linguists, psychologists, philosophers, neuroscientists, primatologists, archaeologists and paleoanthropologists have used such artefacts to assess the capacities of extinct human species, and to set benchmarks, milestones or otherwise chart the course of human cognitive evolution. To better calibrate our expectations, the present paper instead explores the material culture of three contemporary African forager groups. Results show that, while these groups are unequivocally behaviourally modern, they would leave scant long-lasting evidence of symbolic behaviour. Artefact-sets are typically small, perhaps as consequence of residential mobility. When excluding traded materials, few artefacts have components with moderate-strong taphonomic signatures. Present analyses show that artefact function influences preservation probability, such that utilitarian tools for the processing of materials and the preparation of food are disproportionately likely to contain archaeologically traceable components. There are substantial differences in material-use between populations, which create important population-level variation preservation probability independent of cognitive differences. I discuss the factors - cultural, ecological and practical - that influence material choice. In so doing, I highlight the difficulties of using past material culture as an evolutionary or cognitive yardstick.

Intermarriage and housing upon separation. A matter of resources and bargaining power?

AbstractObjectiveThis paper examines post‐separation residential outcomes in immigrant, native, and immigrant–native mixed (married and cohabiting) couples.BackgroundPrevious research showed that women were more likely to leave the family home upon separation than men, indicating a weaker bargaining position.MethodUsing linked survey and register data from Switzerland, we estimate two post‐separation mobility outcomes: who leaves the family home and to what distance this person relocates. By distinguishing male and female partners by migrant origin, we consider how gendered power imbalances interact with migration status to create specific bargaining dynamics within households.ResultsAmong immigrant–native mixed couples, the immigrant ex‐partner (regardless of gender) was significantly more likely to move out of the joint home following separation. The likelihood of moving (abroad) after separation was highest for recently arrived immigrant women.ConclusionThe results suggest that migration status brings in a new dimension of bargaining within separating couples, which affects the gender‐specific residential mobility outcomes reported in previous studies. Although family migration decisions are generally biased toward the human capital of men, this study shows the advantage of the native partner in immigrant–native couples.

Middle Class African American Parents’ Aspirations for Rigor and Reading Curriculum During the Pandemic Era in Detroit Schools

This community-based research study examined the perspectives of African American parents of middle-class economic status who participated in a social network pertaining to school choice decisions during the pandemic era of virtual schooling. Their residency and school choices emerged against the grain of urban schools that have racially charged histories and decades of residential mobility trends. I examined parents’ aspirations for academic rigor and perspectives of literacy practices at select schools as well as public school district official perspectives of supporting the enrollment process and attracting families to the district. Parent interview and survey data revealed confidence in public, private, and charter school selections prior to enrolling, but uncertainty with the virtual literacy curriculum once enrolled in school. School district official interviews revealed enhanced awareness of parents’ concerns surrounding school choice and need to be proactive to the needs of middle-class families.