If you analyze aggregated cellphone traffic — as researchers at M.I.T., AT&T and I.B.M. did with United States data from July of last year — interesting patterns emerge.
Cities become connective hubs as people move to them from nearby counties and from far across the country. As a result, many calls originate and end in cities, connecting urban citizens to their families back home.
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At the same time, communities emerge that have little to do with geographic boundaries. While some follow state lines, others split states in half or combine them.
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