Riots and subways, a relationship moderated by the neighborhood’s income level

Carlos Cartes*, Kenzo Asahi, Rodrigo Fernández

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Social disturbances due to socioeconomic and political factors received media attention during 2019 in places like France, Hong Kong, Chile, Nigeria, Sudan, Haiti, and Lebanon. In October 2019, Chile saw massive demonstrations in the capital city of Santiago. The cost of damage to infrastructure during the first month of unrest was estimated at US$ 4.6 billion, and the cost to the Chilean economy was about US$ 3 billion, 1.1% of its Gross Domestic Product. This study analyzes how the topology of the public transport network affected the locations of the 2019 riots in Santiago. On average, we find a clear association between proximity to the subway network and riot density. This association is significant only in neighborhoods with residents in the highest and lowest income quartiles. As a result, when analyzing social unrest and the critical role of public transport, policymakers should also consider the crucial role of income.

Original languageEnglish
Article number10557
JournalScientific Reports
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
C.C. wishes to acknowledge the support of FONDECYT (CL), No. 1200357 and Universidad de los Andes (CL) through FAI initiatives; K.A. to the Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo (ANID) Millennium Nucleus on Intergenerational Mobility: From Modelling to Policy (MMOVI) [NCS2021072], and CEDEUS, ANID/FONDAP 15110020.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).

Keywords

  • Income
  • Politics
  • Poverty
  • Railroads
  • Residence Characteristics
  • Riots

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