When Spatial Dimension Matters: Comparing Personal Network Characteristics in Different Segregated Areas

Abstract

Living in segregated areas with concentrated neighbourhood poverty negatively affects the quality of life, including the availability of local jobs, access to services, and supportive social relationships. However, even with similar neighbourhood poverty levels, the degree and structure of spatial separation vary markedly between such areas. We expected that the level of spatial segregation aggravates the social exclusion of its inhabitants by negatively affecting their social capital. To test this hypothesis, we identified three low‐income neighbourhoods with high poverty rates (78%) in a medium‐sized town in Hungary, with different levels of integration in the city (based on characteristics such as the degree of spatial separation, infrastructure, and availability of services). The three neighbourhoods were located in two areas of differing degrees of integration in the fabric of the city: fully integrated, semi‐integrated (integrated into the surrounding residential area but isolated from the city), and non‐integrated. 69% of the 394 households in these areas were represented in our sample (one respondent per household). We interviewed respondents regarding the size and composition of their personal networks. Our results, which also distinguished between Roma and non‐Roma inhabitants, showed that those living in the spatially more integrated area not only have the largest and most diverse networks but seem to have a strong, “bonding‐based” cohesive community network as well. Even the non‐Roma who live there have ethnically heterogeneous—in other words—Roma network members. The disintegrated area, on the other hand, is characterised by both spatial and social isolation.

Income-related spatial concentration of individual social capital in cities

“…Our work is able to show the micro-foundations of these segregation patterns at the individual ego-network level. Moreover, using large-scale online social network data, we find a similar connection between income and social capital concentration as other studies based on interviews (Huszti et al, 2021; Marques, 2015) and surveys (Bashar and Bramley, 2019; Otero et al, 2021).…”

“…In those cities where income difference is a major factor of assortative mixing such that social capital of the rich and poor are hardly overlapping, income inequalities rise (Tóth et al, 2021). Related case studies from Bangladesh (Bashar and Bramley, 2019), Brazil (Marques, 2015) and Hungary (Huszti et al, 2021; Méreiné-Berki et al, 2017) show that the concentration of social capital in poor urban neighborhoods facilitates trust and stronger social norms, but at the same time, limits social mobility. Such patterns can also be observed in large-scale social media data: the spatial concentration of Facebook friendships in New York City is stronger in areas with a lower average income and a lower level of education (Bailey et al, 2020).…”

A társadalmi izoláltság mintázatai Európában: egy összehasonlító elemzés tanulságai

“…Becslések szerint a társadalmi elszigeteltség és magány a hazai idősek 30-50 százalékát is érintheti (Kristóf-Győri 2021: 150). A társadalmi elszigeteltség, amely gyakran társul területi elszigeteltséggel is (lásd például Huszti et al 2021), súlyosan visszaveti a különböző társadalmi csoportok közti esélykülönbségek kiegyenlítődését.…”

Analysing Personal Networks in Geographical Space Beyond the Question of Distance

“…The importance of space in personal network research has also largely been studied through the lens of cross-border migration and its effect on network composition, often in terms of the countries of origin and destination, but also in relation to the ethnic diversity of the residential place (Huszti et al, 2021;Vanhoutte & Hooghe, 2012). The research questions often revolve around whether distance matters in the formation, duration, and quality of migrants' relationships and how migration affects personal networks.…”

“…In turn, urban and mobility studies have often focused on specific places of interest (e.g., poor neighbourhoods) or populations (e.g., international migrants, kinetic elite), and have largely ignored the intermediate level of personal networks when examining the impact of spatial or mobility-related aspects on individual behaviours and outcomes. A recent network literature has analysed migrants' transnational networks (Herz, 2015;Lubbers et al, 2021;Vacca et al, 2018), the links between spatial mobility behaviours, and network spatial dispersion (Puura et al, 2022;Viry, 2012), or the influence of urban contexts and physical space on personal networks (Huszti et al, 2021;Tulin et al, 2019;Vanhoutte & Hooghe, 2012). However, approaches for analysing personal networks within geographical space beyond the notion of distance and Euclidean space need further development.…”