Project Overview

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted how people moved through the world, especially in response to case surges, government mandates, and public messaging. This project focuses on travel mobility within California, analyzing county-level data to understand how political and psychological influences shaped changes in travel distance and frequency throughout the pandemic.

Research Questions

1. To what extent did political ideology influence county-level compliance with travel restrictions, and how did this shape differences in mobility patterns across Democratic and Republican-leaning regions in California?

2. How did psychological factors such as perceived risk, public trust, and emotional responses to the pandemic contribute to shifts in travel behavior, and what do these shifts suggest about changing societal values around mobility and connection?

Impact

By analyzing mobility patterns across California counties during the COVID-19 pandemic, this project sheds light on how people responded to external pressures, such as political messaging, public health mandates, and psychological stress. These insights can help policymakers, public health officials, and researchers better understand and respond to human behavior during future crises.