FAQ

MapMob is a research project funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and managed by the NYU mHealth Lab. The aim of the project is to improve our understanding of the way cities affect the health of their residents. We hope this website will provide visitors and participants with an interesting new perspective on their neighborhood and city!

Can you be more specific? Our research group is developing systems that link people - usually via their phones - to places that they live and traverse, and thus supports novel research on the interconnection between neighborhoods and health. MapMob is a novel tool for research on the dynamic way that neighborhood mobility spaces expand and contract as residents exchange goods and ideas over time. The regular mobility patterns of residents unfold over the course of each 24-hr day as people sleep in one location, head out into the world each day, and then return home. Thus while residents’ daily routines are anchored (i.e., begin and end each day) within a common municipal boundary, their collective mobility patterns extend out as they visit other adjacent neighborhood areas over time. The collective (latent, emergent) boundaries of residents’ mobility patterns represents the mobility space of their shared neighborhood – literally, its footprint.
1. You like the idea of being paid up to $50 to help researchers study neighborhoods and health.

2. If you’re like us, you’re interested in understanding your own, personal neighborhood ecosystem

3. You like the idea that you can help researchers understand how people in your neighborhood experience your city each day.

4. You like the idea that you can donate your data for a good cause.
Yes, you can get up to 50$ for tracking. You can see more details about payments on your “my study” page (available only after account creation).
Yes, You can create your MapMob account with any email address. If using Google Timeline for tracking data this would be associated to Gmail address (or any Google account)

Note that the email you tracked with does not have to be the same email you used for your account creation. In cases where the tracking email and MapMob account email are different you will fill out the email address which you used to create MapMob account to upload your data on Google Forms, and to complete the MapMob survey.
Yes, Your battery is likely to drain faster than usual using the tracking app.
All your data will remain completely secured and confidential for the entire process of data collection and analysis.
We received the Institutional Review Board IRB approval to research human subjects. We are committed to make sure names or personal data will not be associated with your MapMob data
You are welcome to read our open access article here. You are also invited to go to our team web page to learn more about us and what we do via mapmob@nyu.edu
Yes! You can stop tracking your location on your mobile app anytime.
To do so go to your MapMob app on your device and enable tracking by switching off the button on the left side of the screen.
You can switch the button on anytime you want to continue tracking.
We are always open for new collaborators and partners. You are welcome to reach out to us via our email mapmob@nyu.edu