Istanbul’s Community Mobility Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Spatial Analysis

Abstract

COVID-19 was the most recent pandemic to strike humanity. Moreover, this pandemic occurred during the most active period of global interaction and mobility, unlike pandemics like cholera, plague, and flu in earlier centuries. Many countries restricted domestic mobility after suspending international mobility to prevent the pandemic from spreading. Although these policies differ from nation to nation, they have affected the mobility of communities. This study examined spatial and non-spatial independent variables that affected how the community’s mobility patterns changed in various locations, including parks, transit stations, workplaces, grocery and pharmacies, and residential areas in Istanbul, Türkiye. The impact of the independent spatial variables on the mobility changes was examined after identifying the non-spatial independent variables influencing the mobility changes in 6 different areas. It was determined that the altitude variable, expected to impact how mobility changed, had no overall impact on the dependent variable. On the other hand, the dependent variables representing the mobility changes were affected by the independent variables representing the county center’s latitude and longitude values and whether the county is located near the sea. Regression analysis across Türkiye will be performed in upcoming studies using an updated version of the methodology used in this study.