Big cities lead to more segregation between rich and poor

Smartphone data on more than 9 million people in the US reveals that big cities lead to greater socioeconomic segregation, despite claims that they reduce it

from Alex Wilkins

People living in big cities are more segregated and mix less with people of different socioeconomic backgrounds than people in small towns, according to an analysis of anonymous telephone data from more than 9 million people in the US.

A long-standing premise of urban design is that cities encourage interactions between different economic groups and thus lead to less segregation. One of the most common ways to measure this segregation is to look at where people live and their respective economic status. …