Metropolitan Networks: A Socio-spatial Analysis of Social Ties in Tehran

Abstract

Previous research shows that residents of metropolitan areas tend to have social ties outside their neighborhoods, but ties’ locations and what they indicate in terms of social relations and urban structure are not sufficiently studied. Using survey data and interviews collected in Tehran, Iran, I examine the level of propinquity of strong social ties. Measuring the geographical distance and relative orientation between participants and their ties, I discuss the implications of having ties outside residential neighborhoods. I examine how these relations are formed and sustained and analyze how they impact class relations and perceptions of social structure. Results indicate that ties who reside in other neighborhoods offer points of reference for situating oneself in relation to others, both in socioeconomic and cultural sense. Participants’ narratives suggest that ties’ locations, together with ties’ origins and types, impact interpretations of group relations and social hierarchies associated with location in the metropolitan area.