Big Data techniques and data from over 300,000 cellphone users living in Barcelona, duly aggregated and anonymized, provided the basis for a new map of commuting patterns in the city. Specifically, the study uses data collected and processed by Movistar through its Smart Steps platform, following patterns of behaviour in order to identify and characterize the place of residence and main destination (work or study) of every user and map commuter flows among the 73 districts that make up the city.

The outcome of this project is a new cartography of mobility for work or study in the city of Barcelona, comprising more than 150 maps of the city as a whole and of each of its neighbourhoods. The fact of working with a mass of real updated data opens up a new range of possibilities in the analysis of the dynamics of commuting in cities and metropolitan areas, facilitating evaluation of policies on mobility, planning, and commercial, tourist and economic development.