Human Mobility Patterns: A Source of Geospatial Knowledge

The study and analysis of human mobility patterns and their relationship with the environment can provide us with a better understanding of certain aspects of human behaviour. New, ubiquitous and non-intrusive devices have made it easier to place sensors in mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) or even clothing, providing us with relatively low cost means of gathering highly detailed data on the movement of people and the environments in which they move. However, new spatio-temporal models and geovisualization techniques need to be developed to handle the large volumes of data generated by these technologies, and to detect, analyse and visualize mobility patterns so as to understand the interplay between human mobility and the environment, while at the same time maintaining the individuals’ right to privacy. The findings from such studies will help to lay the foundations for more sustainable human mobility