Boots are made for walking: interactions across physical and social space in infrastructure-poor regions

doi:10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2013.04.001

Journal of Transport Geography

Volume 31, July 2013, Pages 226-235

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2013.04.001 Get rights and content

Highlights

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We surveyed travel behaviors in a region lacking transportation infrastructure.
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A representative sample of travelers’ contacts was obtained by the random-name method.
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The respondents’ contacted 98% of their associates by walking.
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We found the relative relevance of physical and social distance for the contact frequency.

Abstract

While detailed data are available on people’s travel behavior in industrialized countries, little is known about the spatial characteristics of activities of those living in vast infrastructure-poor areas in the developing world where walking is still the dominant form of transport. We have interviewed 297 randomly selected inhabitants of Tiyo District, Ethiopia, and by random name cues identified 4158 individuals who are a representative cross-section of everyone the informants knew and met. Consequently, we inquired about the distance to these individuals, frequency of contacting them, and the mode of contact. Half of the respondents’ social contacts lived within 15-min walking distance and the interviewed inhabitants contacted 98% of all people that they knew only by walking and meeting face-to-face. After examining the determinants of the size, density, and geographical extent of the inhabitants’ personal networks, we employed multilevel analysis to explore the relevance of physical and social distance as well as personal characteristics for frequency of interaction. We found that in addition to the strong impact of walking time (−), common organization membership (−), the same religious affiliation (+), kinship (+), and patience (−) also predict the frequency of meetings. From this we present comparisons of the variables’ relative effects and conclude with practical implications.

Section snippets

Did distance matter before the horse?

The interest in the interplay of transportation and social interactions has been growing in recent years (Dugundji et al., 2008, Dugundji et al., 2011). It has been recognized that the spatial distribution of social networks influences social travel (Axhausen, 2008, Carrasco et al., 2008b, Larsen et al., 2005) and that available means of transportation alter the effects of distance-decay (Ellegård and Vilhelmson, 2004, Fotheringham, 1981) and presumably also influence whom we know and with whom

Methods

The research team gathered the data for this study through extensive fixed-form face-to-face interviews that included sections on social network, geographical, and personal characteristics. After briefly describing the research area, the main features of the dataset are overviewed and the analytical approach is introduced in this section.

Spatial distribution of personal networks

98.2% of alters are contacted solely by walking (3972 ties). Contacting the remaining 1.8% of ties included means of public transport (40 ties), mobile phone calls (16 ties), riding private vehicles (10 ties) and landline phone calls (3 ties).

Using the estimated average walking speed of 4.8 km/h, we can compare the spatial distribution of all theoretically possible ties within kebeles and the actual ties (Fig. 2). For example, 25% of all alters live within a 5-min walking distance but only about

Conclusion

In this study, we applied data gathering methods that enabled us to identify respondents’ overall social contacts and their spatial distribution. Consequently, we could obtain a picture of the whole range of their travel activities that include some social interaction, whether with a friend, a local official, a business partner, or just a superficial acquaintance. The main findings are summarized below.

Acknowledgements

The corresponding author would like to thank Tom Snijders, Russell Bernard, Linton Freeman, Christopher McCarty, Paulina Preciado, Martin Everett, James McDaid, Marney Isaac, participants of the workshop Frontiers in Transportation 2011, three anonymous reviewers, and Darren Scott for their extremely helpful advice. This study was financially supported by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

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View full text

Boots are made for walking: interactions across physical and social space in infrastructure-poor regions

Highlights

Abstract

Section snippets

Did distance matter before the horse?

Methods

Spatial distribution of personal networks

Conclusion

Acknowledgements

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice

World Development

Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice

Journal of Transport Geography

Social Networks

Journal of Transport Geography

Social Networks

Social Networks

Social Networks

Social Networks

Language policy in Ethiopia: history and current trends

Ethiopian Journal of Education and Sciences

Social networks and cooperation in hunter–gatherers

Nature

Social networks, mobility biographies, and travel: survey challenges

Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design

Lexington Area Travel Data Collection Test: Global Positioning Systems for Personal Travel Surveys

Housing architecture and social interaction

Sociometry

New York City Pedestrian Level of Service Study, Phase I

The politics of linguistic homogenization in Ethiopia and the conflict over the status of Afaan Oromo

African Affairs

Examining the impacts of residential self-selection on travel behaviour: a focus on empirical findings

Transport Reviews

Neighborhood interaction in a homogeneous community

American Sociological Review

Exploring the propensity to perform social activities: a social network approach

Transportation

The social dimension in action: a multilevel, personal networks model of social activity frequency between individuals

Transportation Research Part A

Agency in social activity interactions: the role of social networks in time and space

Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie

Collecting social network data to study social activity-travel behavior: an egocentric approach

Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design

How far and with whom do people socialize? Empirical evidence about distance between social network members

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

Ethiopian language policy and health promotion in Oromia

Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social networks, choices, mobility, and travel

Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design

Africa’s growth tragedy: policies and ethnic divisions

The Quarterly Journal of Economics