Determine the causes of mobility concentration during restrictions

Determine whether the concentration of observed dwell time within a smaller spatial range during COVID-19 restrictions resulted from changes in work, schooling, trip purpose, destination availability, perceived risk, or other factors.

Background

The study finds that the duration-weighted radius of gyration shifted toward smaller values during restrictions, with an over-representation emerging at approximately 5 km. This indicates that individuals spent more observed dwell time within a smaller geographical area, but the GPS data do not contain sufficient information to identify the behavioral or contextual mechanisms producing this concentration.

Resolving this issue would require linking mobility trajectories to information about work and schooling arrangements, trip purposes, destination availability, perceived epidemiological risk, or other relevant factors. Establishing these mechanisms would help distinguish among competing explanations for the observed contraction rather than treating it as a purely geometric change in mobility.