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Abstract While conceptual definitions have provided a foundation for measuring inequality of access and resilience in urban facilities, the challenge for researchers and practitioners alike has been to develop analytical support for urban system development that reduces inequality and improves resilience. Using 30 million large-scale anonymized smartphone-location data, here, we calibrate models to optimize the distribution of facilities and present insights into the interplay between equality and resilience in the development of urban facilities. Results from ten metropolitan counties in the United States reveal that inequality of access to facilities is due to the inconsistency between population and facility distributions, which can be reduced by minimizing total travel costs for urban populations. Resilience increases with more equitable facility distribution by increasing effective embeddedness ranging from 10% to 30% for different facilities and counties. The results imply that resilience and equality are related and should be considered jointly in urban system development. 

Abstract Deriving effective mobility control measures is critical for the control of COVID-19 spreading. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and regions implemented travel restrictions and quarantines to reduce human mobility and thus reduce virus transmission. But since human mobility decreased heterogeneously, we lack empirical evidence of the extent to which the reductions in mobility alter the way people from different regions of cities are connected, and what containment policies could complement mobility reductions to conquer the pandemic. Here, we examined individual movements in 21 of the most affected counties in the United States, showing that mobility reduction leads to a segregated place network and alters its relationship with pandemic spread. Our findings suggest localized area-specific policies, such as geo-fencing, as viable alternatives to city-wide lockdown for conquering the pandemic after mobility was reduced.