Urbanities,
Vol. 3
·
No 2
·
November 2013
© 2013
Urbanities
116
Traditionally, most of them include the corporate network relative to a given ego, the set of
people one has a direct and personal connection with, and an extended group, which includes the
union of the corporate groups of all members of the network. Thus, social networks enable access
to resources and influence far beyond the immediate members of one’s network.
Some foresee the decline of the cities as socio-economic and cultural entities, since online
communications replace face to face communication and substitute sources of information and
knowledge such as libraries or even economic activities such as stores or business meetings. This
is unlikely. Urban centres appear to benefit from inclusivity and diversity, and online networks
greatly enhance the capacity of individuals to include views and effort from others.
Technological advances are used as complementary and as facilitators to face-to-face interaction
(Hall 1999, Gaspar and Glaeser 1998). These new technologies attribute increased significance
and value to places through ‘opening up’ places to a net-based world audience and by enhancing
the specific and unique character of each locale through provision of direct comparators. The
connection of people with places acquires new meaning in present times, where the sense of
place is rapidly being displaced and altered by new technologies (Malpas 2008).
An anthropology based on this approach aims not only at developing an understanding of
collective constructions of knowledge but also at locating changes and investigating what drives
changes and makes them effective. The goal is to develop a greater capacity for agency on the
part of urban dwellers by increasing both an awareness of the available options and the skills and
knowledge needed to convert these options into genuine choices.
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