I'm glad to announce that we have launched a new special collection in Applied Network Science (Springer Open), co-edited with Mariana Macedo (Constructor University) and Ronaldo Menezes (University of Exeter).
The collection invites contributions — theory, methods, and applications — on how network science can help us understand and respond to fast-evolving challenges in health, urban mobility, education, politics, and other societal domains. The idea is to use networks as a lens onto the patterns of everyday life.
This special issue runs alongside NetSci 2026.
📅 Submission deadline: 30 November 2026
🔓 Open access
Submit and find the full call here:
link.springer.com/collections/fgcaicgjah
Best Lightning Talk at NetSci 2026: Evolution and Determinants of Firm-Level Systemic Risk
I am thrilled to share that our contribution, "Evolution and determinants of firm-level systemic risk in local production networks," was awarded Best Lightning Talk at NetSci 2026.
It was a privilege to present this work in the Amesbury Ballroom, and I’m incredibly proud of the team’s effort in tackling such a relevant challenge in urban and economic science.
About the Research
Recent crises—from the COVID-19 pandemic to shifting geopolitical landscapes—have exposed the fragility of global supply chains. Our research aimed to move beyond static risk assessments to understand how firms dynamically rewire their supply links to build resilience.
By analyzing the Hungarian production network from 2015 to 2022, we explored:
The Dynamics of Resilience: Using a stripe-corrected gravity model as a null benchmark, we observed how the Economic Systemic Risk Index (ESRI) shifted post-pandemic. Our findings suggest that the adaptive behavior of firms post-2020 led to a more resilient economy than what was predicted by equilibrium models.
Structural Shifts: We identified a fundamental change in the "key players" of the economy—those firms that facilitate essential economic exchanges became significantly more critical during the crisis, a structural transformation not captured by our null model.
Trade Drivers: Our regression analysis highlights the dual role of international trade, where imports and exports exert opposing pressures on local systemic risk, complicating the narrative around trade disruption.
Read the Paper
For those interested in the deeper technical methodology and full analysis, the paper is available on arXiv:
Title: Evolution and determinants of firm-level systemic risk in local production networks
Authors: Anna Mancini, Balázs Lengyel, Riccardo Di Clemente, Giulio Cimini
Link: arXiv:2506.21426
A huge thank you to the organizers of NetSci 2026 and to everyone who stopped by the session.
check other info and more projects our lab website.
The Complex Connections Lab is participating in NetSci 2026 this week in Boston. Our team will be presenting three contributions across various sessions, ranging from production networks to social influence in LLMs.
Additionally, I have been serving as an organizer for the Urban Systems & Networks satellite, on June 2nd afternoon session!
Our schedule at the conference is as follows:
Wednesday, June 3
15:18 | Lightning Talks 2 | Amesbury Ballroom
Evolution and determinants of firm-level systemic risk in local production networks
• Presented by: Anna Mancini (ID #7)
Friday, June 5
11:15 | PS 3.6 — Mobility, Spatial & Urban Networks 3 | Porter Square B
Urban semantic: detecting dynamic land use through human mobility patterns
• Presented by: Riccardo Di Clemente (with Nandiny Iyer, Massimiliano Luca, Ollin Langle Chimal, Marta Gonzalez) (ID #148)
Social Influence in Large Language Models (LLMs) Groups During Cognitive Tasks
• Presented by: Henrique M. Borges (with Wang Ngai Yeung, Raj Deshpande, Riccardo Di Clemente, and Giovanni Petri) (ID #418)
Further details on our current research projects are available at: riccardodiclemente.com/projects.html
Paper: Urban vibrancy — an analogy of biodiversity, retail diversity, and activity-based urban diversity measures
What makes a city vibrant? Traditional metrics like population density or land-use mix give partial answers at best — they tell you how many people are somewhere, but not what they're actually doing.
In this perspective paper, together with Edward Chung Yim Yiu, Diogo Pacheco, and Federico Botta, we borrow a framework from ecology. Biodiversity is measured through species richness (how many different species) and abundance (how many individuals of each). We argue urban vibrancy works the same way: what matters is the diversity of human activities in a place — not just how busy it is, but how varied the things people are doing are. We propose a taxonomy of 12 urban activity categories (working, eating, exercising, socialising, celebrating, and so on) and a roadmap for measuring them using mobile, geospatial, and imaging data.
The ecological analogy also runs the other way: just as ecosystems can suffer from overcrowding, cities can tip into congestion and conflict when activities exceed the local carrying capacity. Touristification is a good example.
Yiu, E.C.Y., Pacheco, D., Di Clemente, R., & Botta, F. (2026). Urban vibrancy: An analogy of biodiversity, retail diversity, and activity-based urban diversity measures. PNAS Nexus, 5(5), pgag130. https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgag130
This year at CS2Italy 2026 in Torino from May 19-21, the Complex Connections Lab will be presenting 3 talks! We are excited to join the Italian Conference on Computational Social Science at the historic OGR Torino.
Urban Semantic: Detecting Dynamic Land Use Through Human Mobility Patterns Presented by Riccardo Di Clemente (with Nandini Iyer, Massimiliano Luca, Ollin Langle Chimal, and Marta Gonzalez)
How Spatial Proximity Affects Urban Activities Resilience: the Case of Covid-19 Presented by Antonio Desiderio (with Riccardo Di Clemente)
Day 3: Thursday, May 21
16:15 – 17:45 | AI & Policy Room: Mezzanino
Polarization and Integration in Global AI Research Presented by Luca Gallo (with Riccardo Di Clemente and Balázs Lengyel) More info on this project here
Looking forward to seeing everyone at OGR Torino in the heart of Italy’s innovation hub! 🇮🇹
More info on our research can be found here: riccardodiclemente.com/projects.html
Paper - Polarization and Integration in Global AI Research
Check the paper on: Polarization and Integration in Global AI Research, Gallo, L., Di Clemente, R., Lengyel, B. doi:10.48550/arXiv.2604.17602 (2026)
It was a great collaboration with Luca Gallo and Balázs Lengyel at ANETI Lab.
Check the project website.
here the abstract:
The AI race amplifies security risks and international tensions. While the US restricts mobility and knowledge flows, challenges regulatory efforts to protect its advantage, China leads initiatives of global governance. Both strategies depend on cross-country relationships in AI innovation; yet, how this system evolves is unclear. Here, we measure the processes of polarization and integration in the global AI research over three decades by using large-scale data of scientific publications. Comparing cross-country collaboration and citation links to their random realizations, we find that the US and China have long diverged in both dimensions, forming two poles around which global AI research increasingly revolves. While the United Kingdom and Germany have integrated exclusively with the US, many European countries have converged with both poles. Developing and further developed countries, however, only integrate with China, signaling its expanding influence over the international AI research landscape. Our results inform national science policies and efforts toward global AI regulations.
Teaching at the Palestinian Advanced School on Computational Methods
From 22 to 26 March 2026 I am teaching as a lecturer at the Palestinian Advanced School on Computational Methods 2026 (PASCM), organised by Scientists for Palestine.
The school brings together displaced students from Gaza — attending in person at the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo, or joining remotely from Gaza and the West Bank — for a week of lectures on computational methods, data analysis, machine learning, and modelling of complex systems.
I am covering topics at the intersection of network science and computational social science, areas I work on daily at Northeastern University London and ISI Foundation. The energy in the room is making this one of the most meaningful teaching experiences I have had. These students are navigating extraordinary circumstances and still showing up with curiosity and rigour — that is humbling.
Science does not stop. Neither do they.
How you can help
Scientists for Palestine runs entirely on donations. Travel, accommodation, and internet access for students are all covered by the organisation, and every contribution makes a direct difference. If you would like to support the school, you can donate here:
👉 Support the 2026 Palestinian Advanced Computational School
To learn more about the broader initiative, visit scientists4palestine.org.
More info on our research on our website: www.riccardodiclemente.com
A Week at Westminster: Royal Society Pairing Scheme
Earlier this month (16–19 March 2026) I took part in the Royal Society Pairing Scheme — four days embedded in the heart of UK Parliament, paired with Baroness Prashar in the House of Lords.
The week included talks on how government and Parliament work, a tour of the buildings, an interactive policy workshop, and time shadowing my pair. I also had the chance to sit in on a live session of the National Resilience Select Committee — you can watch it here — and spend time with Baroness Prashar observing the Lords in action.
The Pairing Scheme is a brilliant entry point for scientists who want to understand how political decisions are made — and how research can meaningfully inform them. It does not turn you into a policymaker overnight, but it gives you the language, the contacts, and the context to start contributing to the conversation.
If you are a researcher wondering how your work connects to policy, I would strongly recommend applying.
Many thanks to the Royal Society for organising the scheme, and to Baroness Prashar for her time and openness.
check the scheme info here: https://royalsociety.org/grants/training-mentoring-partnership-schemes/pairing-scheme/
I’m thrilled to announce a new PhD opening at our Complex Connections Lab. We’re teaming up with the incredible Giulio Prevedello and the team at Sony CSL Paris to tackle a big question: How do our digital social patterns actually evolve?
This isn't just a research project; it’s a bridge between the #ComplexConnectionsLab and one of the most innovative industry labs in Europe. 🇬🇧 🇫🇷
We are looking for candidates with strong quantitative skills who are ready to push the boundaries of how we understand social media interactions.
I'm excited to share that I'm part of the organizing committee for UrbanNET2026, a satellite at NetSci 2026 in Boston this June.
The past few years completely transformed how cities work. The pandemic shifted everything—how we move, work, and live in urban spaces. Now we need to ask: what did we learn? How can network science help us understand these changes?
What's UrbanNET2026?
A half-day satellite focused on:
Transportation and mobility networks
Post-pandemic urban transformations
Urban complexity and resilience
Data-driven urban analytics
When: June 2nd, 2026 (afternoon)
Where: Boston, USA
Call for Abstracts - Open Now!
If you're working on cities and networks, we want to hear from you. PhD students, postdocs, established researchers—all welcome.
NetSci is one of my favorite conferences—interdisciplinary, innovative, and always full of unexpected connections. I can't wait to see what we'll bring together in Boston.
This year at NetMob 2025 in Paris from October 8-10, the Complex Connections Lab will have 3 talks and 1 poster in the Data Challenge!
Wednesday, October 8th at 10:30-16:15 (Data Challenge Poster Session 1)
Laura Silva, Antonio Desiderio, Franco Bonomi Bezzo, Nandini Iyer & Riccardo Di Clemente - The city as experienced: measuring differences in contextual heterogeneity through mobility trajectories
Thursday, October 9th at 14:00-15:45 (Session 5)
Zsófia Zádor, Balázs Lengyel & Riccardo Di Clemente - Working behaviour and the spatial complexity of economic activity
Nandini Iyer, Massimiliano Luca, Ollin Langle-Chimal, Marta C. González & Riccardo Di Clemente - Urban semantic: understand dynamic land use through human mobility patterns
Nandini Iyer, Massimiliano Luca & Riccardo Di Clemente - Understanding Urban-Rural Disparities in Mobility Inefficiency for Colombia, Mexico, and India
Looking forward to seeing everyone at CNAM in the heart of Paris! 🇫🇷
More info of the project here:
https://riccardodiclemente.com/projects.html
Following the success of last year's inaugural symposium in Pisa, this year's event promises to bring together brilliant minds working on human mobility research. Whether you're deep into mobility patterns, urban planning, transportation networks, or data science applications in movement analysis - this is YOUR event.
What's it about?
Share cutting-edge research on human mobility
Explore new perspectives and methodologies
Build collaborations for future research papers
Develop project proposals with like-minded researchers
Network with experts from across Europe and beyond
The symposium is hosted at the prestigious Institute for Scientific Interchange (ISI Foundation), a hub for complex systems research nestled in the beautiful city of Turin.
Talks - CCS25 Conference on Complex Systems 2025 Siena
This year at the Conference on Complex Systems 2025 organized in Siena from 1-5 Sept. the Complex Connection Lab will have 3 talks!
September 1st Monday, at 15:30 Room 149 Antonio Desiderio How spatial proximity affects urban activities resilience: the case of COVID-19.
September 2nd Tuesday, at 17:00 Room 149 Nandini Iyer Understanding Urban-Rural Disparities in Mobility Inefficiency for Colombia, Mexico, and India.
September 4th Tuesday, at 10:20 UrbanSys2025 Satellite, Nandini Iyer Urban Semantic: understand Dynamics land use though human mobility patterns.
September 4th Tuesday, at 12:20 Criminal Complexity Satellite, Justin Yeung Glass Half Full / Empty Perspectives on Network-driven Criminology: From Data to Practice.
Talk - Keynote at The 3rd International Conference on Urban Science and Intelligence
I will be keynote speaker at the The 3rd International Conference on Urban Science and Intelligence in August. I will present three papers developed in collaboration with Nandini Iyer, Clodomir Santana & Lavinia Rossi Mori
Title
How Space-Time Movement Patterns Reveal Inequality in Urban Dynamic and Transport
Abstract
Our research uncovers how income-segregated neighbourhoods create temporal patterns of inclusion and exclusion, where different social groups occupy the same urban spaces at different times of day, driven by the city's topology and infrastructure layout. The COVID-19 pandemic served as a natural experiment, exposing how these embedded urban inequalities translated into differential mobility disruptions across geographical areas and socioeconomic groups. Rural and economically disadvantaged areas faced the greatest constraints on their spatial reach, while higher-income individuals adapted more easily through remote work arrangements. Building on this insight, we expand our analysis to consider how rural and urban mobility constraints function in everyday contexts in developing countries, focusing on Colombia, Mexico, and India, we demonstrate how these patterns scale up to national rural-urban divides, where mobility inefficiency reflects not just distance but systematic underinvestment in connectivity infrastructure. This multi-scale analysis reveals mobility inequality as both a symptom and driver of broader socioeconomic divides, offering new insights for policy interventions that address the geographic dimensions of social justice.
More infos on the three paper:Iyer, N., Luca, M. & Di Clemente R., Understanding Urban-Rural Disparities in Mobility Inefficiency for Colombia, Mexico, and India, Project Page
Rossi Mori, L., Loreto, V., & Di Clemente, R. (2025). Time-space dynamics of income segregation in the city of Milan. IN PRESS PNAS Nexus. DOI:10.48550/arXiv.2309.17294, Project Page
Santana C., Botta F., Barbosa H., Privitera F.,Menezes R. & Di Clemente R.,
COVID-19 is linked to changes in the time-space dimension of human mobility Nature Human Behaviour, 7, 1729–1739, (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01660-3, Project Page
Talk - IC2S2 Working behaviour and the spatial complexity of economic activity
Zsófia Zádor, will present at IC2S2 2025 in Norrköping Sweden the work that she started in our lab!
Session: Mobility & Urban Science II
Hemeryck
Jul 22, 2025, 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Working behaviour and the spatial complexity of economic activity
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated remote work adoption globally, revealing socio-economic disparities in access to remote work. This study investigates the determinants of remote work adoption in Budapest, Hungary, using mobile phone geolocation data and administrative records of Hungarian companies. By combining these data sources, we analyze how remote work prevalence varies across industries, income groups, and neighborhoods, focusing on spatial and temporal patterns of work activity. We identify three spatial clusters: industrial areas with low economic activity, institutional and commercial hubs with high remote work adoption, and mixed-use areas with diverse working patterns. Regression analyses reveal that higher-income individuals and those in finance-dominated areas are more likely to work remotely, while lower-income individuals, women and those in commerce sectors remain tied to physical workplaces. Proximity to the city center is negatively correlated with remote work, and company productivity measures are positively associated with remote work adoption. This study highlights the unequal distribution of remote work opportunities across socio-economic groups and urban locations, offering valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners in adapting cities to the post-pandemic work environment.
If you are around have a look to Zsófia talk!
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