Return-to-home model for short-range human travel (Q2688385)

The authors propose a set of integro-differential equations to model the flows of individuals between specific locations, taking into account the home location. The model is quite general, but simplified in that it assumes no distance dependence of the time to travel home (Eq. (2.1)). Solutions under the simplifying assumptions are studied, as well as some general properties of the model, including the large time behaviour of the solutions. The main model is extended in two ways. First, the authors add the possibility of colonisation (change of home location). Second, the authors extend the model to describe the spread of an epidemic. It appears that they use the structure of the usual SIR (susceptible-infected-removed) model, but the notations and model description are difficult to follow.