Hour-of-day population variation across different functional zones of Beijing

Shuaijie Zhang and Naizhuo Zhao

Environment and Planning B, 2026, vol. 53, issue 5, 1168-1171

Abstract: Conventional high-resolution population maps typically represent long-term averages and overlook the temporal rhythms of urban life. Using Tencent User Location Data and Amap points of interest (POI), we visualized the intensity and timing of hour-of-day population variation across functional zones in Beijing at 0.01° resolution. For each grid cell, we quantified diurnal fluctuation using the standard deviation of hourly population and identified the hour of peak population presence. These metrics were integrated with POI-derived functional zones to produce a three-dimensional visual representation. The results revealed that commercial areas exhibit the highest fluctuation intensity and tend to peak around midday, whereas residential zones showed the lowest variability and peak at mid-night. This featured graphic highlights the value of time-aware and function-sensitive population representations for urban analytics and planning.

Keywords: Tencent Location Big Data; population; hour-of-day variation; points of interest (POI); urban functional zone (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:envirb:v:53:y:2026:i:5:p:1168-1171

DOI: 10.1177/23998083261453974

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