Representing big mobile data using automated grid systems – an assessment of the quadtree method

This paper explores new methods of anonymising and representing large human-generated datasets (here mobile phone activity data). We use a quadtree algorithm developed by Lagonigro et. al (2020) to spatially aggregate mobile in-app events and compare outputs obtained between days and against an ordnance survey grid. We aim to demonstrate potential usage of new computational tools and exemplify their potential to inform more elaborate and project-specific regionalisation methods.