How Far and with Whom Do People Socialize? Empirical Evidence About Distance Between Social Network Members
Hägerstrand’s seminal argument that regional science is about people and not just locations is still a compelling and challenging idea when the spatial distribution of activities is studied. In the context of social activity–travel behavior (hosting and visiting), this issue is particularly fundamental as individuals’ main motivation in making social trips is mostly with whom they interact rather than where they go. A useful approach to incorporate the travelers’ social context is to study explicitly the spatial distribution of their social networks, focusing on social locations as emerging from their contacts, rather than analyzing social activity locations in isolation. In this context, this paper studies the spatial distribution of social activities, focusing on the home distances between specific individuals (egos) and the network members (alters) with whom they socialize—serving as a proxy to study social activity–travel location. Using data from a recent study of personal networks and social interaction, and multilevel models that account for the hierarchical structure of these networks, this paper provides empirical evidence on how the characteristics of individuals and their social context relate to the distance separating them. The results strongly suggest that, although the spatial distribution of social interaction has idiosyncratic characteristics, there are several systematic effects associated with the characteristics of egos, alters, and their personal networks that affect the spatial distribution of relationships, and they can contribute to an understanding of where people perform social activities with others.
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- Summary URL:
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://www.trb.org/Main/Public/Blurbs/160602.aspx
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Authors:
- Carrasco, Juan Antonio
- Miller, Eric J
- Wellman, Barry
- Publication Date: 2008
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Print
- Features: Figures; References; Tables;
- Pagination: pp 114-122
- Monograph Title: Travel Demand 2008
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Serial:
- Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
- Issue Number: 2076
- Publisher: Transportation Research Board
- ISSN: 0361-1981
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Activity choices; Empirical methods; Social factors; Social media; Travel behavior; Travel time; Trip length
- Uncontrolled Terms: Personal travel; Spatial distribution (Activities)
- Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01099534
- Record Type: Publication
- ISBN: 9780309125918
- Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
- Created Date: May 21 2008 7:08AM