# Human diffusion and city influence

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1501.07788 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1501.07788/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 30 Jan 2015.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Urban Rhapsody: Large-scale exploration of urban soundscapes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.13064/) (2022)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Cities are characterized by concentrating population, economic activity and services. However, not all cities are equal and a natural hierarchy at local, regional or global scales spontaneously emerges. In this work, we introduce a method to quantify city influence using geolocated tweets to characterize human mobility. Rome and Paris appear consistently as the cities attracting most diverse visitors. The ratio between locals and non-local visitors turns out to be fundamental for a city to truly be global. Focusing only on urban residents' mobility flows, a city to city network can be constructed. This network allows us to analyze centrality measures at different scales. New York and London play a predominant role at the global scale, while urban rankings suffer substantial changes if the focus is set at a regional level.