A Schelling model with switching agents: decreasing segregation via random allocation and social mobility

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We study the behaviour of a Schelling-class system in which a fraction f of spatially-fixed switching agents is introduced. This new model allows for multiple interpretations, including: (i) random, non-preferential allocation (e.g. by housing associations) of given, fixed sites in an open residential system, and (ii) superimposition of social and spatial mobility in a closed residential system. We find that the presence of switching agents in a segregative Schelling-type dynamics can lead to the emergence of intermediate patterns (e.g. mixture of patches, fuzzy interfaces) as the ones described in Ref. 1. We also investigate different transitions between segregated and mixed phases both at f=0 and along lines of increasing f, where the nature of the transition changes.