Measuring Regional Attractiveness in Europe Through Regional Mobility Patterns Using Big Data

Abstract This study quantifies regional attractiveness in Europe using realized mobility flows from seven distinct mobility types. Departing from traditional potential-based metrics, we compute net migration across NUTS2 regions through two different approaches. Results consistently highlight urban centres as highly attractive and revealing regional exceptions, notably in Nordic areas where non-permanent mobility forms prevail. Our findings underscore the need to integrate mobility data with conventional indicators to more accurately evaluate regional attractiveness and inform policy.