Observing Migrants' Usage Patterns of Cyber-Physical Infrastructure

Project Leads

Team Members

Kyle Fitzsimmons, Farbod Abbasi, Mollika Chakraborty, Henrique De Freitas Serra, Houman Haghi, Mahan Mollajafari, Isaac Otchere

Sub-Theme: Cyber-Physical Service Infrastructure

This sub-theme explores how cyber-physical infrastructure influences migrant accessibility, opportunity, and integration outcomes. It examines the interplay between physical and social infrastructures, their impact on migrant support, and the role of infrastructure in shaping migration patterns.

Objective

As a first step in the sub-theme, this project seeks to develop a deeper understanding in terms of the cyber-physical service infrastructure needs, commercial and social activities, and usage patterns of migrants (upcoming, new, and settled), evolving residential pathways of new Canadians and their implications for migrant integration.

Research Questions

What is the state of current urban cyber-physical infrastructure and services in relation to migrant support?
How do infrastructure usage patterns look for different groups of migrants?
How are the cyber-physical and social infrastructure intertwined with each other?

Methodology

The project will primarily involve the development of revealed and stated preference surveys. Additionally, data from Statistics Canada, municipal surveys, and commercial datasets will be acquired, based on needs.

Status

The project is currently in progress. Development of the BDMobility app and its architecture has advanced, with a Stated Preference survey integrated and pilot testing completed. The app and study results were presented at international and program conferences, and the app has now been submitted to Google Play and the App Store, with release expected soon for a first study with new immigrants this summer. A new detailed dataset has also been secured, with further negotiations underway for expanded census data.

Expected completion date: Winter 2026

Outcomes

Past events and presentations:

Presentation on the BDMobility App and pilot study, Bridging Divides Conference, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, June 17, 2025
Presentation on the BDMobility App and pilot study, 13th Conference on Transport Survey Methods, Da Nang, Vietnam, March 30–April 4, 2025
“Infrastructure services and immigrant integration ontology,” presented by A. Subhatu at TMU Bridging Divides Retreat, Toronto, Canada, October 10, 2024.
“A joint survey of residential location and transportation evolution of new immigrants to Canada,” presented by M. Mollajafari at the 4th Workshop on Urban Systems Research, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada, October 6, 2025.
“Collecting and merging multimodal data in a smartphone travel survey app platform,” presented by I. Otchere at the 4th Workshop on Urban Systems Research, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada, October 6, 2025.
“The design, architecture and future perspectives of the BDMobility smartphone travel survey app platform,” presented by H. Freitas at the 4th Workshop on Urban Systems Research, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada, October 6, 2025.
“Leveraging graph databases for multimodal travel data integration and analysis,” presented by I. Otchere & H. De Freitas Serra at the 4th Workshop on Urban Systems Research, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada, October 6, 2025.
“Integrated digital platform for mobility research and survey automation,” presented by H. De Freitas Serra at the 4th Workshop on Urban Systems Research, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada, October 6, 2025.
“Residential mobility of immigrants in Canada: Bridging migration and travel behaviour through joint survival–LLM modelling,” presented by M. Mollajafari at the 4th Workshop on Urban Systems Research, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada, October 6, 2025.
“The 4th Workshop on Urban Systems Research: Event chair,” presented by B. Farooq & Z. Hollander at Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada, October 6, 2025.
“Toward realism and diversity: Addressing sampling and structural zeros in synthetic population generation,” presented by F. Abbasi at the 4th Workshop on Urban Systems Research, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada, October 6, 2025.
The 3rd Workshop on Urban Systems Research, presented at Concordia University, Montréal, Canada, Fall 2024. Participants included members of Concordia and TMU teams, representatives from McGill University, Polytechnique Montreal, ETS, the Quebec Ministry of Transport, ARTM, and EXO.