Zhou Mingzhi, Zhou Jiangping
Department of Urban Planning and Design, Faculty of Architecture and Urban Systems Institute, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Appl Geogr. 2023 Mar;152:102885. doi: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2023.102885. Epub 2023 Jan 19.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face contacts decreased but still existed despite people's fear of virus infection and governments' social gathering restrictions. These interactions influenced virus transmission routes, if any and reflected people's essential social interactive demands in the city. In this article, we identified people who intentionally travel as groups (ITGs) to characterize social interactions before and amid COVID-19. To systematically understand ITGs' mobility patterns, an ITG structure was defined and measured in multiple dimensions, including composition, function, size, intensity, quality, and spatiotemporal distribution. Based on a longitudinal smartcard dataset in Hong Kong spanning the year of 2020, we operationalized the ITG structure in the local metro system and examined whether and to what degree the structure changed during the pandemic. We found that ITGs' activities fluctuated as the pandemic progressed and their changes differed across different ITG groups. The long-distance ITGs saw the most significant change. The spatial distribution of persistent ITG trips before and amid the pandemic became spatiotemporally more concentrated. Stations with similar ITG indices clustered in proximity, and features of station areas like residents' education level and quantity of commercial facilities could well predict stations' ITG indices. In other words, inequal distribution of essential facilities and opportunities could notably influence ITGs, social contacts, and socioeconomic benefits brought about by them amid COVID-19. The findings provide insights concerning both resilience management amid the crisis and the long-term planning of essential facilities and services that facilitate group-based outgoings and activities.
在新冠疫情期间，尽管人们担心病毒感染且政府实施了社交聚会限制措施，但面对面接触有所减少但仍存在。这些互动影响了病毒传播途径（若有），并反映了城市中人们基本的社交互动需求。在本文中，我们识别出有意组团出行的人群（ITGs），以刻画新冠疫情之前及期间的社交互动情况。为系统理解ITGs的出行模式，我们从多个维度定义并衡量了ITG结构，包括组成、功能、规模、强度、质量以及时空分布。基于香港2020年全年的纵向智能卡数据集，我们在当地地铁系统中实施了ITG结构，并研究了疫情期间该结构是否发生变化以及变化程度如何。我们发现，随着疫情发展，ITGs的活动有所波动，且不同ITG群体的变化存在差异。长途ITGs的变化最为显著。疫情之前及期间持续的ITG出行的空间分布在时空上变得更加集中。具有相似ITG指数的站点聚集在一起，而站点周边地区的特征，如居民教育水平和商业设施数量，能够很好地预测站点的ITG指数。换句话说，基本设施和机会的不平等分布可能会显著影响ITGs、社交接触以及疫情期间它们所带来的社会经济效益。这些发现为危机期间的韧性管理以及促进组团外出活动的基本设施和服务的长期规划提供了见解。
