Social inequities in the transition to environmentally optimized commuting

Posted on January 13, 2026

Reducing commuting from the actual to the minimum level is designed to prioritize environmental sustainability in order to reduce carbon emissions and alleviate traffic congestion, but does it also ensure social equity and sustainability? We study the social inequity of reducing commuting using flow data defined over a combination of multiple housing and socio-demographic attributes […]

Evaluating human mortality impacts from air pollution as U.S. commuting reaches its extremes

Posted on January 5, 2026

Commuting significantly influences environmental quality and public health, thereby shaping urban sustainability. However, the effects of air pollution from vehicle emissions and associated mortality at both lower and upper commuting extremes remain unexplored. This study utilizes nationwide commuting flow and geodemographic segmentation datasets to implement a disaggregated excess commuting framework across 918 U.S. metropolitan regions (MSAs). […]

Visualizing complex mobility patterns using backbone networks

Posted on November 3, 2025

Visualizing mobility patterns is crucial to understanding spatial interaction patterns, yet it has become increasingly challenging due to the availability of large amounts of mobility data. The traditional thresholding method that displays only flows above a defined threshold value can overlook small but critical flows, leading to a biased representation of mobility patterns. This research […]

Constructing the commuting backbone network dataset for the United States

Posted on July 21, 2025

Commuting backbones represent the most essential connections within a commuting network—those significant flows that link major residential and employment areas and structurally support regional mobility systems. Identifying these backbones is critical for understanding large-scale travel demand, informing infrastructure investment, and supporting transportation planning at regional and national levels. Despite their importance, no publicly available datasets […]

Street characteristics and recreational walking routes in older adults with cognitive concerns

Posted on April 7, 2025

The global increase in the number of older adults with cognitive impairments has prompted widespread adoption of lifestyle interventions, such as physical activity, to mitigate cognitive decline and enhance cognitive functioning. This study explores the impact of the built environment on recreational walking route choices among older adults experiencing subjective cognitive decline, a demographic that […]

A big data approach to modelling urban population density functions

Posted on March 3, 2025

Urban studies have a long tradition of examining the regularity of urban structure by modelling urban population density functions and probing the theoretical or behavioral foundation behind it. Previous studies commonly used census data in areal units such as census tracts or census block groups, which varied a great deal in area size and shape […]

Mobility disruption and recovery in SW Florida’s elderly-dense communities during Hurricane Ian

Posted on February 17, 2025

Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm that struck Florida’s southwest coast, resulted in 156 fatalities, with two-thirds of the victims being seniors. This highlights the need to address disaster risks for this vulnerable population. This study utilizes anonymized and privacy enhanced mobile phone GPS data to examine mobility disruptions and recovery patterns during Hurricane Ian […]

The COVID-19 Impact on Spatiotemporal Dynamics of US Domestic Migration

Posted on February 17, 2025

Understanding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic migration patterns is crucial for addressing resource needs and migration forecasting. Only a limited number of studies, however, have explored these dynamics through the lens of network analysis. Using Internal Revenue Service (IRS) county-to-county migration data, this article conceptualizes the U.S. domestic migration system as complex […]

Immersive virtual reality applications in geography higher education

Posted on January 30, 2025

Huang, J., & Hu, Y. (2025). A systematic review of immersive virtual reality applications in geography higher education. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 1-18. ABSTRACT: This systematic review examines the empirical research conducted in the past decade to investigate the application of immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) in geography higher education. Our analysis includes 29 empirical […]

Unraveling Hurricane Ian’s impact

Posted on November 12, 2024

Wang, J., & Hu, Y. (2024). Unraveling Hurricane Ian’s impact: A multiscale analysis of mobility networks in Florida. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 104482. ABSTRACT: Understanding how human mobility patterns respond to natural disasters is crucial. This study investigates Hurricane Ian’s impact on human mobility patterns and subsequent recovery in southwest Florida. Using […]

Returners and explorers dichotomy in the face of natural hazards

Posted on August 20, 2024

He, Z., Hu, Y., Duan, L. L., & Michailidis, G. (2024). Returners and explorers dichotomy in the face of natural hazards. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 13184. Article first published online: 8 June 2024 in Scientific Reports DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-64087-4 ABSTRACT: Understanding human mobility patterns amid natural hazards is crucial for enhancing urban emergency responses and rescue operations. Existing research […]

Analysing and visualising mobility vulnerability and recovery across Florida neighbourhoods

Posted on August 20, 2024

Wang, J., Hu, Y., Duan, L., & Michailidis, G. (2024). Analysing and visualising mobility vulnerability and recovery across Florida neighbourhoods: a case study of Hurricane Ian. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 11(1), 384-386. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21681376.2024.2369550 Article first published online: 12 June 2024 in Regional Studies, Regional Science ABSTRACT: Effective hurricane preparedness and response demand a thorough understanding of […]

Unveiling spatial mismatch in childcare supply and demand

Posted on March 20, 2024

HU – Unveiling spatial mismatch in childcare supply and demand: An excess commuting analysis of home-to-childcare distance in subsidized families Yujie Hu, Phillip Sherlock, Jing Huang, Herman T. Knopf, Jaclyn M. Hall Article first published online: 6 March 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2024.103829 ABSTRACT: The distance between homes and childcare providers serves as a crucial factor in […]

Multiscale Complex Network Analysis of Commuting Efficiency: Urban Connectivity, Hierarchy, and Labor Market

Posted on February 5, 2024

HU – Multiscale Complex Network Analysis of Commuting Efficiency: Urban Connectivity, Hierarchy, and Labor Market Yup Jing and Yujie Hu Article first published online: 22 January 2024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2023.2284296 ABSTRACT: This study employs the 2012 to 2016 commuting flows of Florida to reexamine excess commuting (EC) through multiscale complex network analysis. The results reveal significant […]

Geography Colloquium: Modeling and Analysis of Excess Commuting with Trip Chains

Posted on April 19, 2023

Speaker: Dr. Yujie Hu Assistant Professor Department of Geography University of Florida Thursday, April 20, 2023 3:00-3:50 PM (Period 8) Recorded for YouTube Turlington Hall 3018 and Zoom University of Florida Abstract: Commuting, like other types of human travel, is complex in nature, such as trip-chaining behavior involving making stops of multiple purposes between two anchors. […]

Fall Course: GIS4113 GIS6104 Spatial Networks

Posted on April 13, 2023

GIS4113 GIS6104 Spatial Networks Dr. Yujie Hu, yujiehu@ufl.edu Course Description Many real-world systems can be represented as networks of many interacting components. This course teaches the fundamental concepts, models, and techniques for describing, visualizing, measuring, and analyzing networks. It also introduces their applications in geography, transportation, social science, etc. A series of labs using popular […]

Fall Course: GEO4700 GEO6706 Transportation Geography

Posted on April 13, 2023

GEO4700 GEO6706 Transportation Geography Course Description Introduces the history and evolution of transportation systems, and essential concepts, theories, and topics in transportation geography, such as spatial organization, economic foundations, urban form, major modes, globalization, and environmental impacts. Also covers network representation of transportation systems, network measures, and core methods and tools for visualizing and analyzing […]

Lack of affordable homes means longer commute times for more people in the Tampa metro area

Posted on February 15, 2023

“The further you commute, the longer you commute – the more likely you’re able to find affordable housing,” Dr. Yujie Hu told WUSF’s Gabriella Paul in her recent piece Lack of affordable homes means longer commute times for more people in the Tampa metro area. You can listen to the story and read the transcript […]

A cyclically adjusted spatio-temporal kernel density estimation method for predictive crime hotspot analysis

Posted on January 19, 2023

HU – A cyclically adjusted spatio-temporal kernel density estimation method for predictive crime hotspot analysis Ya Han, Yujie Hu, Haojie Zhu, Fahui Wang Article first published online: 11 January 2023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19475683.2023.2166584 ABSTRACT: This paper presents a new method for predictive crime hotspot analysis that further improves the kernel density estimation (KDE) method and the […]

Identifying critical transfer zones to coordinate transit with on-demand services using crowdsourced trajectory data

Posted on December 5, 2022

JING, HU – Identifying critical transfer zones to coordinate transit with on-demand services using crowdsourced trajectory data Jiahua Qiua, Yue Jing, Wang Peng, Lili Du, Yujie Hu Article first published online: 21 November 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15472450.2022.2132389 ABSTRACT: This study develops a data-driven approach for identifying critical transfer zones in the city to facilitate the coordination […]

Neighborhood divides: Where you live matters for commuting and its efficiency

Posted on November 14, 2022

JING, HU – Neighborhood divides: Where you live matters for commuting and its efficiency Yu Jing, Yujie Hu, Michal A Niedzielski Article first published online: 11 November 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2022.104091 ABSTRACT: Excess commuting reflects a cits overall commuting efficiency by quantifying the proportion of non-optimal commute that would be avoided if resident workers could freely […]

Delineating and comparing local labor market geographies of Millennials, Generation Xers, and Baby Boomers

Posted on November 8, 2022

HU – Delineating and comparing local labor market geographies of Millennials, Generation Xers, and Baby Boomers Yujie Hu, Jing Huang Article first published online: 5 November 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2022.10.012 ABSTRACT: There has been an increasing share of older workers in America’s workforce as Baby Boomers continue to age into this group. This raises questions about […]

Enhancing the Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI) with Neighborhood Commuting Patterns: A Hybrid Human−Environment Measure

Posted on September 1, 2022

GLOVER, MAO, HU, ZHANG – Enhancing the Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI) with Neighborhood Commuting Patterns: A Hybrid Human−Environment Measure Bailey Glover, Liang Mao, Yujie Hu, Jiawen Zhang Article first published online: 30 August 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710798 ABSTRACT: The Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI) and its variants have been widely used in public health to […]

Focus Area 7: Geospatial Analysis & Techniques

Focus Area 7: Geospatial Analysis & Techniques Modeling, Measurement, Visualization and Computation: techniques for the collection, analysis, interpretation and display of geospatial data, using tools such as GeoAI, GIS, Remote Sensing, GPS, and Spatial Statistics. Sub Areas GEOAI: Geographic Artificial Intelligence Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Spatio-Temporal analysis Geospatial Modeling Remote Sensing Courses GIS 2002 The […]

Predictors of hurricane evacuation decisions: A meta-analysis

Posted on December 17, 2021

Shakhawat Tanim, Brenton Wiernik, Steven Reader, Yujie Hu Article first published online: 10 Dec 2021, Journal of Environmental Psychology DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101742 Dr. Yujie Hu – Predictors of hurricane evacuation decisions: A meta-analysis ABSTRACT: We systematically review and meta-analyze quantitative prediction models for hurricane evacuation decisions. Drawing on data from 33 prediction models and 29,873 households, we estimate distributions […]

Focus Area 5: Catastrophes, Conservation, and Conflict

Focus Area 5: Catastrophes, Conservation, and Conflict Disastrous natural hazards, both fast and slow, and violent conflicts affect many people worldwide, often impacting already fragile environments and conservation areas. These crises have significant political, economic, and social implications that can reverse development gains, further entrench poverty and inequality, thereby increasing the risk for future crises. Sub-areas Outbreaks Extreme Events Natural Hazards Protected Areas Wildlife […]

Focus Area 4: Geopolitics & The Global Economy

Focus Area 4: Geopolitics & The Global Economy The turbulence of the current times has dramatically transformed the world’s economic and political geographies. The scale and scope of such changes require urgent attention. Important topics in this arena relate to: globalization and its impact on peoples and places; economic inequalities across geographic scales and borders; terrorism and power; the […]

Focus Area 3: Places, Networks, & Flows

Focus Area 3: Places, Networks, & Flows Geographers conceive of networks and flows between places as a foundational spatial concept. Geographic information systems (GIS) are the main analytical tools employed in determining relations between individuals, settlements, modes of transport, and infrastructures like power grids, and communication networks. The concepts can also be applied to disease […]

Focus Area 2: Medical Geography in Global Health (MGGH)

Focus Area 2: Medical Geography in Global Health Medical geography, an important area of health research, applies concepts, methods, and techniques from geography to investigate health-related topics across the world, focusing on spatial aspects of human and animal (livestock and wildlife) disease and health intervention. Sub-areas One Health Risk Mapping Disease Modeling Zoonotic Emergence Spatial […]

Dr. Yujie Hu joins ASCE T&DI Technical Committee On Artificial Intelligence

Posted on January 5, 2021

Dr. Yujie Hu has joined the Transportation & Development Institute Technical Committee on Artificial Intelligence of the American Society of Civil Engineers as an Associate Member.

Modeling and Analysis of Excess Commuting with Trip Chains

Posted on January 4, 2021

HU – Modeling and Analysis of Excess Commuting with Trip Chains Yujie Hu, Xiaopeng Li Article first published online: 04 JAN 2021 Annals of the American Association of Geographers DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2020.1835461 ABSTRACT: Commuting, like other types of human travel, is complex in nature, such as trip-chaining behavior involving making stops of multiple purposes between two […]

“Perception bias”: Deciphering a mismatch between urban crime and perception of safety

Posted on December 17, 2020

HU – “Perception bias”: Deciphering a mismatch between urban crime and perception of safety Fan Zhang, Zhuangyuan Fan, Yuhao Kangab, Yujie Hu, and Carlo Rattia Article first published online: 17 DEC 2020 Landscape and Urban Planning DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.104003 ABSTRACT: Crime and perception of safety are two intertwined concepts affecting the quality of life and the […]

GEO3602 Urban/Business Geography

Posted on November 16, 2020

GEO3602 Urban/Business Geography Department of Geography Spring 2021 Contact: Dr. Yujie Hu, yujiehu@ufl.edu, https://people.clas.ufl.edu/yujiehu/ Course Description: An empirical and theoretical spatial analysis of the various economic, population, and social facets within and between urban settlements. Major topics include: defining urban, urbanization, systems of cities, urban development models, population density, ethnicity in cities, economic structure in […]

Temporal dynamics of the impact of land use on modal disparity in commuting efficiency

Posted on July 29, 2020

HU – Temporal dynamics of the impact of land use on modal disparity in commuting efficiency Michal A. Niedzielski, Yujie Hu, Marcin Stepniak Article first published online: 29 JUL 2020 Computers, Environment and Urban Systems DOI: 10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2020.101523 ABSTRACT: Urban land use is known to affect commuting efficiency according to the excess commuting framework. However, most […]

A tale of two cities: Jobs–housing balance and urban spatial structures from the perspective of transit commuters

Posted on July 10, 2020

HU – A tale of two cities: Jobs–housing balance and urban spatial structures from the perspective of transit commuters Jie Huang, Yujie Hu, Jiaoe Wang, Xiang Li Article first published online: 10 JUL 2020 Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science DOI: 10.1177/2399808320938803 ABSTRACT: The jobs–housing balance and urban spatial structure are naturally […]

GIS4113 GIS6104 Spatial Networks

Posted on July 7, 2020

Course description It is often the case that real-world systems can be represented as networks of many interacting components. This course teaches the fundamental concepts, models, and techniques for describing, visualizing, measuring, and analyzing networks. It also introduces their applications in geography, transportation, social science, etc. A series of labs using the popular network analysis […]

Spatial analysis of potential nesting habitat for Florida sandhill cranes

Posted on June 30, 2020

HU – Spatial analysis of potential nesting habitat for Florida sandhill cranes Joni Downs, Courtney Buck, Faisal Qarah, Yujie Hu Article first published online: 30 JUN 2020 Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management DOI: 10.3996/092019-JFWM-077 ABSTRACT: The Florida sandhill crane Antigone canadensis pratensis is state-listed as threatened in Florida, where there is an urgent need […]

Meet the Geographer: Dr. Yujie Hu

Posted on June 26, 2020

Dr. Yujie Hu Pronouns: he/him University of Florida Focus Areas: GeoSpatial Analysis & Techniques Medical Geography in Global Health (MGGH) Research Statement: I am a geographer with research and teaching interests in urban transportation, human mobility, and accessibility. My current research focuses on three main areas: 1) relationships between people’s mobility within cities—including commuting, healthcare-seeking, and […]

GEO4938/6938: Transportation Geography

Posted on June 24, 2020

A new course for Fall 2020! Course description Introduces a range of transportation concepts, theories, and models, including networks, modes, terminals, freight transportation, urban transportation, and environmental impacts. Also covers core methods and tools often used to study and analyze transportation systems, including spatial accessibility, spatial interaction, spatial networks, and GIS for transportation (GIS-T). Course […]

OPS Opportunity for Socioeconomic Impacts of COVID-19: A Criminological Perspective

Posted on June 17, 2020

Position: Graduate and Undergraduate student OPS research assistants for a research project examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on crime Work with: Dr. Yujie Hu Interested applicants should submit a CV/resume and cover letter to Dr. Yujie Hu at yujiehu@ufl.edu by Monday, June 22, 2022.

Estimating a large drive time matrix between ZIP codes in the United States: A differential sampling approach

Posted on June 15, 2020

HU – Estimating a large drive time matrix between ZIP codes in the United States: A differential sampling approach Yujie Hu, Changzhen Wang, Ruiyang Li, Fahui Wang Article first published online: 15 JUN 2020 Journal of Transport Geography DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102770 ABSTRACT: Estimating a massive drive time matrix between locations is a practical but challenging task. […]

Estimating road network accessibility during a hurricane evacuation: A case study of hurricane Irma in Florida

Posted on April 9, 2020

HU – Estimating road network accessibility during a hurricane evacuation: A case study of hurricane Irma in Florida Yi-Jie Zhua, Yujie Hu, Jennifer M.Collins Article first published online: 9 APR 2020 Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment DOI: 10.1016/j.trd.2020.102334 ABSTRACT: Understanding the spatio-temporal road network accessibility during a hurricane evacuation—the level of ease of […]

Automated delineation of cancer service areas in northeast region of the United States: A network optimization approach

Posted on March 6, 2020

HU – Automated delineation of cancer service areas in northeast region of the United States: A network optimization approach Fahui Wang, Changzhen Wang, Yujie Hu, Julie Weiss, Jennifer Alford-Teaster, and Tracy Onega Article first published online: 06 MAR 2020 Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology DOI: 10.1016/j.sste.2020.100338 ABSTRACT: Objective Derivation of service areas is an important methodology […]

Impact of Coastal Hazards on Residents’ Spatial Accessibility to Health Services

Posted on December 1, 2019

HU – Impact of Coastal Hazards on Residents’ Spatial Accessibility to Health Services Georgios P. Balomenos, Yujie Hu, Jamie E. Padgett, and Kyle Shelton Article first published online: 1 DEC 2019 Journal of Infrastructure Systems DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000509 ABSTRACT: The mobility of residents and their access to essential services can be highly affected by transportation network […]