SOCIAL HOTSPOTS AND SOCIAL CONNECTIVITY IN SINGAPORE: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS USING MOBILE PHONE DATA

Abstract

This thesis contains three major parts of exploring the interactions of social hotspots and social connectivity in Singapore, using a unique dataset, anonymous mobile phone data. The first section presents novel algorithms for inferring individuals’ home location, work location and measuring travel behavior and social networks of individuals. The second part formally examines the interactions between social hotspots, social connectivity, and individuals’ residential location choice. The finding suggests that convenient amenities for social life within or near the property project are able to mitigate adverse influence on housing price brought through dissatisfied social life demand due to the lack of accessible public infrastructure, especially for public housing. The last section investigates the causal relationship between participation and engagement in social hotspots and individuals’ social networks, taking the election rally campaign as a quasi-experiment. The results provide evidence that the social connection can be strengthened and expanded by face-to-face interactions.