Metrics and methods for social distance

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2011.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Andris, Clio
Other Authors: Joseph Ferreira, Jr.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68882
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author Andris, Clio
author2 Joseph Ferreira, Jr.
author_facet Joseph Ferreira, Jr.
Andris, Clio
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description Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2011.
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spelling mit-1721.1/688822019-04-11T01:15:12Z Metrics and methods for social distance Andris, Clio Joseph Ferreira, Jr. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. Urban Studies and Planning. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2011. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-189). Distance measures are important for scientists because they illustrate the dynamics of geospatial topologies for physical and social processes. Two major types of distance are generally used for this purpose: Euclidean Distance measures the geodesic dispersion between fixed locations and Cost Distance characterizes the ease of travel between two places. This dissertation suggests that close inter-place ties may be an effect of human decisions and relationships and so embraces a third tier of distance, Social Distance, as the conceptual or physical connectivity between two places as measured by the relative or absolute frequency, volume or intensity of agent-based choices to travel, communicate or relate from one distinct place to another. In the spatial realm, Social Distance measures have not been widely developed, and since the concept is relatively new, Chapter 1 introduces and defines geo-contextual Social Distance, its operationalization, and its novelty. With similar intentions, Chapter 2 outlines the challenges facing the integration of social flow data into the Geographic Information community. The body of this dissertation consists of three separate case studies in Chapters 3, 4 and 5 whose common theme is the integration of Social Distance as models of social processes in geographic space. Each chapter addresses one aspect of this topic. Chapter 3 looks at a new visualization and classification method, called Weighted Radial Variation, for flow datasets. U.S. Migration data at the county level for 2008 is used for this case study. Chapter 4 discusses a new computational method for predicting geospatial interaction, based on social theory of trip chaining and communication. U.S. Flight, Trip and Migration data for the years 1995-2008 are used in this study. Chapter 5 presents the results of the tandem analysis for social networks and geographic clustering. Roll call vote data for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 111th Congress are used to create a social network, which is then analyzed with regards to the geographic districts of each congressperson. by Clio Andris. Ph.D. 2012-01-30T16:57:12Z 2012-01-30T16:57:12Z 2011 2011 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68882 773357526 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 189 p. application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Urban Studies and Planning.
Andris, Clio
Metrics and methods for social distance
title Metrics and methods for social distance
title_full Metrics and methods for social distance
title_fullStr Metrics and methods for social distance
title_full_unstemmed Metrics and methods for social distance
title_short Metrics and methods for social distance
title_sort metrics and methods for social distance
topic Urban Studies and Planning.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68882
work_keys_str_mv AT andrisclio metricsandmethodsforsocialdistance