Mobility Lab

Mobility Lab of University of Tartu focuses on various research topics such as activity spaces, travel behaviour, tourism, segregation, ICT use and environmental impacts for pursuing a deeper understanding of spatial mobility.

In order to gain the best probable understanding of spatial mobility, the research group applies both quantitative and qualitative data. One of its main interests lies on the novel methodology based on mobile telephone use, and active and passive mobile positioning data. The latter enables researchers to give a more comprehensive insight into individuals’ activity spaces and spatiotemporal regularities than most of traditional data sources.

The Mobility Lab is internationally known for its mobile positioning based research and development. In order to discuss theoretical, methodological and empirical aspects of mobile positioning based research and applications in geography and planning, the Mobility Lab organises a biannual conference known as “Mobile Tartu”.

The Mobility Lab has numerous local and international cooperation partners. Its long-term strategic cooperation partner is a spin-off company Positium.

Mobile positioning based methodology is applied in various theoretical, methodological and empirical research and planning projects. Accordingly, the Mobility Lab has focused its research on wide range of societal and environmental topics:

–  urban geography, urban development and human activity spaces;
–  mobile workplaces and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT);
–  ethnic segregation;
–  tourism geography, event management and destination marketing;
–  seasonality of human behaviour, climate and the impacts of climate change;
–  environmental planning;
–  ecological footprint and environmental impact assessment.