Everyday life and spatial mobility of young people in Prague: a pilot study using mobile phone location data
Abstract
The aim of the pilot study is to examine the possibilities of mobile phone location data in geographical research of everyday life and individual spatial mobility of population. Developing and testing of a new research instrument thus represent the key aim of the pilot study.
The proposed technique is "tried out" on a group of young people living or working in Prague. Their daily activities and spatial mobility are explored and discussed against everyday and geographical context of the young people's lives.
Theoretically the study draws on a strong tradition of time geography as well as on the newly formed geography of everyday life. Methodically the research combines two different types of data sources and the relevant analytical tools.
Firstly, mobile phone location data are used to record the daily trajectories of the participants. Secondly, deep interpretative interviews are carried on to understand the reasons and motives behind the recorded daily trajectories.
Despite a few technical obstacles in mobile phone location data processing, the pilot study proved a very promising potential of this source especially in combination with interviews when studying the patterns of everyday life and individual spatial mobility of urban population.