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Visualization: European Mobility in 2020

An interactive custom visualization of European mobility in 2020 using d3.js.

June 9, 2021

The world in 2020

It goes without saying that 2020 has been characteristically marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the primary tools that policymakers across the world have chosen to curb the spread of Covid-19 is to impose restriction on mobility. For those of us in Europe, we can take a calendar view of how our time spent at home, at work, and outdoors has changed as a result of national policies.

The calendar heatmap shows, for a selected nation and mobility category, the daily percent change in mobility compared to a baseline value (more information in the “Data” section). The linear calendar shows the start and end dates of the selected nation’s Covid-19 response measures.

To get some insights, please make some selections!

Key

1 - Ban on All Events
2 - Close Entertainment Venues
3 - Mask Mandatory in All Spaces
4 - Close Non-Essential Stores
5 - Close Resaurants and Cafes
6 - Limit Social Circle
7 - Stay at Home Order
8 - Teleworking
9 - Workplace Closures

Some Insights

Finland, Estonia, Sweden and Norway had comparatively few Covid Response Measures compared to Belgium, France, Greece and Italy; yet, all countries have relatively similar residential mobility patterns. Sweden, despite its laissez-faire Covid-19 response, shows a strong decrease in mobility in workplaces and transit stations.
People walked and drove less during times of Covid restrictions. Time spent in parks increases dramatically in the summer for nearly all countries, likely due to warmer weather.
In several countries - notably Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg, people spent more time at home on weekdays, even when stay-at-home response measures were temporarily lifted.

The Data

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Google has provided open-source Mobility Reports to “provide insights into what has changed in response to policies aimed at combating COVID-19.” Starting from February 6, 2020, the data show for each day how visits and length of stay at different places change compared to a baseline.

The baseline is the median value, for the corresponding day of the week, during the 5-week period Jan 3–Feb 6, 2020.

The data can also be downloaded directly from Our World in Data.

Please Note: Interpreting the Data

Google’s Mobility data is relative to a baseline. Therefore, it’s not adjusted for seasonal fluctuations that naturally occur (for instance, people spend more time in parks when the weather is warmer, pandemic or not). The Covid-19 response measures included in the linear calendar are only a select few of the response measures taken. Therefore, they do not accurately represent all nations’ responses; some nations relied more heavily on partial measures and/or regional measures.

Neural Networks

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