The impact of new housing on Moscow's urban fabric: Tracking functional change with mobile data

This article examines how the commissioning and early settlement of large new residential complexes is associated with changes in the functional organization of the Moscow agglomeration. The study integrates two datasets: aggregated anonymized multi-operator mobile-phone location data for October 2021 and October 2023 and an author-compiled database of residential complexes commissioned in 2021-2022. Functional organization is assessed through systematic differences between night-time (residential) presence and day-time (active) presence. An Attractiveness Coefficient (AC) is computed as the ratio of day-time to night-time presence, allowing functional shifts to be analyzed over time at two spatial scales: municipalities and 500 ? 500 m localities. The results reveal a pronounced core-periphery pattern. Within the Moscow Ring Road (Moskovskaya Koltsevaya Avtomobilnaya Doroga-MKAD), new housing supply is more strongly associated with redevelopment of previously used land (brownfield). Beyond the MKAD - particularly within 30 km in municipalities of Moscow Oblast and in New Moscow - greenfield projects dominate and coincide with growth in night-time presence; in several territories this is accompanied by strengthening residential dominance. The proposed integration of housing and mobile data provides a scalable approach for monitoring functional imbalance and supports evidence-based coordination of housing delivery with local employment and transport development.