What A Really Small World: A Simulation Model for the Formation and Patterns of Social Networks in Urban Environments
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The formation of social networks within urban environments is influenced by a multitude of factors, including the presence of various systems and spatial formations. These elements contribute to the emergence of distinctive patterns and configurations within these networks. Considering the social, economic, and geographical characteristics that define these networks, it is evident that the formation of “small worlds” is a tangible phenomenon. This phenomenon gives rise to new patterns and flows that diverge from the spatial structure. In consequence, the relationship between social networks and spatial formations presents a system in which each affect and shape the other. The aim of this study is to evaluate the forms and patterns of small-world networks created by social communities using multi-agent simulation. The simulation was prepared in NetLogo using the parameters and methodology of Stanley Milgram’s “Small-World Problem Experiment”. The simulation was tested in four different scenarios. The findings reveal that as constraints and distances within the network increase, the structure becomes longer (i.e., exhibits a higher degree of separation) and less connected. The influence of social status on clustering patterns is more significant than geographical distances. Consequently, this results in the emergence of nodes becoming more bridged within the network, as indicated by elevated levels of betweenness centrality. The value of the degrees of separation calculated in the ideal simulation scenario was found to be aligned with the examples presented in the literature. In this context, comments were developed within the framework of urban planning.
Author: Mete Korhan Özkök
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4410608258