Investigating the relationship between individuals' social networks, mobility behaviour, and social capital: Survey method and first results

Abstract

Decreasing costs of travel and communication have led to increased mobility, which enabled a large fraction of society to maintain a geographically wide spread social network. The maintenance of an individual’s social network requires physical travel and is responsible for the largest share of leisure travel. Individuals’ social networks are also a core component of social capital. However, an investigation connecting the social network geography and travel behavior with individuals’ social capital has yet to be conducted. A survey with the goal to investigate these issues is presented. Data about individuals’ mobility behavior is collected and combined with an analysis of their egocentric social network. This allows for an investigation of the link between the spatial distribution of contacts in individuals’ social networks and their travel behavior. In addition, specific questions about the contacts allow for an estimation of the network component of social capital at the local, regional and supraregional level. The data collected in the survey leads to a better understanding of the relationship between individuals’ social networks and their travel behavior. Simultaneously, collecting data on the core components of social capital aims at evaluating the impact of the size of the social network geography on social capital.