Where people go matters more than who they are for social mixing

A new study found that where people travel in five major cities explains more about their social connections than their income or where they live. This means urban planners might be able to increase social mixing by changing transit and activity spaces, rather than trying to mix neighborhoods.

For years, city planners assumed that if you put different income groups in the same neighborhood, they would mix more. This paper suggests that simply living near each other isn't enough. Instead, the actual places people visit and how they get there are more important for social interaction. This shifts the focus from residential zoning to transit and public spaces as tools for social integration.