Planning for isolation? The role of urban form and function in shaping mobility in Bras\'ilia

A new study by researcher Andrew Renninger, published on arXiv, uses data science and AI-driven analysis to examine how Brasília's unique urban design influences social segregation through mobility patterns. The research combines human mobility data with detailed urban morphometrics—analyzing amenities, road networks, enclosures, and tessellations at multiple scales from districts down to individual street-and-building cells. The key finding reveals that segregation intensifies dramatically as resolution sharpens, jumping from a segregation index of 0.282 at the district scale to 0.545 at the block scale. This indicates that while Brasília appears integrated at coarse administrative levels, it becomes highly segregated precisely where daily encounters are organized.

The analysis shows that mobility patterns soften residential segregation for most residents, but not symmetrically across socioeconomic groups. Poorer groups travel significantly farther distances, while affluent residents remain the most selectively exposed to diverse encounters. The study identifies that civic cores and mid-rise, mixed-use areas function as the least segregated urban morphotypes, though they occupy only a small portion of the metropolitan area. Conversely, both wealthy lakefront suburbs and dense poor settlements achieve similarly high segregation scores through opposite spatial logics—one through exclusivity and barriers, the other through density and limited access.

The research demonstrates that built form explains segregation patterns more effectively than visit volume alone in statistical models. Amenities consistently predict lower segregation, while physical barriers and enclosed residential interiors predict higher segregation. The study concludes that integration depends less on residential design than on the distribution of shared destinations and porous urban connections. For planned capitals, the implication is clear: urban order doesn't require isolation if cities prioritize distributing mixing spaces rather than sequestering them.