Networked communities: an answer to urban alienation?

Robin Dunbar suggests the size of human social networks is limited for biological and sociological reasons to a value of around 150 people. But Albert-Laszlo Barabasi provides a more far-reaching overview of recent advances in network theory and their impact on business, science and everyday life.

Some ideas are crucial in understanding the dynamic nature of social networks, which decrease or increase in size. Their structure is not random or chaotic, but follows preferential attachment (“rich get richer”) and fitness (“fit get richer”).

Research by Jankowski and others supports this thesis in the context of community networks by pointing out that “those geographic communities already rich in social capital may become richer thanks to community networks, and those communities poor in social capital may remain poor”.

Supporting this notion, Keith Hampton and Barry Wellman state that “connectivity seems to go to the connected: greater social benefit from the Internet accrues to those already well situated socially”.

Yet unanswered questions are: what constitutes richness and fitness in urban social settings, how do residents get rich and become a hub in their social network, and how can social networking systems facilitate enrichment and inclusion?

A recent Australian Government Department of Communication, Information Technology and the Arts discussion paper suggests there is “vast potential to use ICT to build social capital and contribute to community development and formation, but it is largely untapped and unrecognised in many areas”.

The paper maintains ICT needs more attention to the type of social capital being developed if it is to move beyond bonding - to harness its power for bridging and linking to resources that enhance economic and social development.

William Davies asserts that research which situates itself in the nexus between people, place and technology, and which contributes to a broader understanding of the dimensions of social capital in the context of ICT and place, will benefit society in a number of ways.

And, Richard Florida and Michael Gurstein argue, it will also contribute to a greater understanding of the factors and conditions that stimulate an innovation culture in local communities.

Developing methods and systems to foster effective information use in and across inner-city neighbourhoods and residential apartment buildings will, Gurstein contends, assist local and state government efforts to encourage public consultation, civic engagement and open debate.

Furthermore, understanding the issues and challenges - as well as opportunities and strengths in forming a local meshwork of social networks - will help Australians negotiate the complex web of daily choices, access a greater social safety net, and participate in the socio-cultural and socio-economic life in their city.

This, in turn, will lead to greater social inclusion, urban sustainability and healthier local economies.