Detecting Urban Community Based on Urban Mobility Patterns From the Public Transportation Trip-Chain Data: A Case Study of Seoul, South Korea.

This article focuses on detecting urban communities in the Seoul metropolitan area of South Korea by analyzing multimodal public transportation trip-chain data using a network community detection method. It compares community structures derived separately from subway, bus, and combined transit networks, finding that subway networks exhibit linear, interregional connectivity patterns, while bus networks show more localized, intra-regional communities; the combined network reveals a hybrid structure reflecting actual multimodal mobility. The study highlights how public transportation systems shape urban mobility patterns and community boundaries, which often differ from administrative divisions, and emphasizes the importance of integrating multiple transport modes to better understand urban dynamics. The findings suggest that transportation planning, especially improvements in public transit, can significantly influence urban structure and population flows.