Parallel Worlds: Big Data and Inequality in Mexico City

“Parallel Worlds” is a project developed by the Data-Pop Alliance and Oxfam México, with the purpose to analyze inequality in Mexico City, using mobility data provided by Cuebiq’s Data for Good program. The project aimed to inform and influence public policy actors in making decisions that contribute to reducing social and economic segregation based on the privilege and marginalization associated with certain spaces in the city. More specifically, DPA analyzed urban inequality in Mexico City through the mapping of movement patterns in the city, using mobile data to identify segregation patterns, in terms of where people live, work, and consume. The report analyzes three dimensions of inequality: i) in access to education, ii) the right to the city, by analyzing exclusive spaces, and iii) in access to culture. A version of this paper was published in English by Projections, the Journal of the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning.