Network approach on the Study of Urban Communities

Abstract

The Network approach represents a methodology to understand and explain the social structures of urban communities. This is based on the interdependence between human activities and social bonds that appear with matrimonial and kin relations. The city constitutes a scene for trends of human activity, in which individuals perfom in multiple activities. The actions of individuals, however, depend to a great extent on familiar and kin relations. The study distinguishes them from other kind of interactions that are ephemeral or do not demand the commitments dictated by formal rules of civic cohabitation and the market. Based on the classic study of Yankee City and the "random walk" method, which has allowed to track genealogical lines and ascendance in different types of employment, the document analyses some small and medium city communities, which allowed to identify the status of certain groups that have influenced the social, economic and political life of these sites.