SOCIAL CAPITAL AND MOBILITY: THE INFLUENCE OF TRANSPORT ON SOCIAL CAPITAL NETWORKS IN KENYA

The World Bank defines social capital as the institutions, relationships and norms that shape the quality and quantity of a society's social interactions. Social capital is a multifaceted concept that implies emotional attachments to relatives and friends as well as the structural products of interactions between people. Although the term 'social capital' has come to mean 'horizontal' and 'vertical' social networks, reciprocal trust, and management of risk, and there is no doubt that a more precise definition is needed for clarity, its importance is undisputed. The relevance of social capital in bringing about economic growth is increasingly becoming recognized in as far as the bonds within, and bridges between, social groups and networks open up economic opportunities, and provide safeguards against vulnerability and adversity associated with shocks and stresses. Previous research agrees that social capital is one of the most important resources to be accounted for in poverty reduction programs. It links social capital to notions of vulnerability, describing its 'reactive' and 'proactive' uses as a means of managing risk. Access to these networks requires mobility, and transport is the agency by which social capital networks are supported. Mobility is essential to the sustainability of social networks yet, to date, existing literature disregards the means by which people physically access social capital, whether in the guise of associations and community groups or simply maintaining rural-urban linkages with extended family members. Existing studies of transport and its impact on the rural poor focus largely on its role in the process of economic growth, by increasing the productive capacity and market accessibility of small-scale farmers. Few researchers have investigated the role that transport plays in providing access to and maintenance of valuable social networks. This paper draws on empirical evidence from Kenya to review the relationship between transport mobility and social capital and its relevance for rural development. It examines the significance of transport in accounting for the extent of social interaction and the way that transport interventions enable the poor to access, and be included in, social capital networks.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Full conference proceedings available on CD-ROM.
• Corporate Authors:

  World Road Association (PIARC)

  La Grande Arche, Paroi Nord, Niveau 5
  F-92055 La Defense Cedex,   France 
• Authors:
  • Davis, A
• Conference:
  • The XXIInd PIARC World Road Congress
  • Location: Durban, South Africa
  • Date: 2003-10-19 to 2003-10-25
• Publication Date: 2003

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 6p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Capital investments; Economic growth; Maintenance; Mobility; Networks; Risk management; Rural areas; Social benefits; Urban areas
• Geographic Terms: Kenya
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Planning and Forecasting; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00987824
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 2 2005 12:00AM