Constantine Kontokosta Awarded NSF Grant to
Examine Interconnectedness of Residents from Varied Neighborhoods
Director of Civic Analytics, Constantine Kontokosta, and Co-PI Lance Freeman (University of Pennsylvania) have received an NSF grant co-funded by the Sociology Program, the Human Networks and Data Science - Research Program, and the Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program for their project, “Neighborhood Dynamics and the Inequality of Place: Using Large-Scale Mobility Behavior Data to Understand Socio-Spatial Disparities in Community Connectedness”:
Using large-scale mobility data and a range of ancillary land use, socioeconomic, and demographic data, together with machine learning and network analysis methods, this project explores how neighborhood mobility networks and the nature of connections between neighborhoods are associated with measures of community well-being, and whether time-varying network structures can predict neighborhood change. Specific objectives of the research project are to: (1) identify the nature and extent of representativeness bias in mobility data, and develop methods to correct for observed biases; (2) model neighborhood connectedness networks using mobility data and analyze changing network structures over time and in response to various exogenous shocks; (3) identify and define community and neighborhood boundaries as a function of connectedness observed through mobility behaviors; and (4) utilize community networks to predict neighborhood change and evaluate neighborhood integration and segregation as a function of mobility behavior between communities.