The role of social network analysis on participation and placemaking

Social networks give structure to our world, are key to building social capital and can form a platform to build-up strength and ability to change; they are, however, often absent from urban studies. In this paper, the authors explored the potential role of social networks during community consultations, both as an engagement tool and as a mechanism for capturing existing placemaking dynamics in neighbourhoods. A 3-stage method was developed to explore: a) the relevance of social media as a consultation strategy versus traditional methods of engagement; b) the potential of social media as a predictor of existing placemaking capacity in neighbourhoods. The method was applied to four case studies in England, and the results were correlated with contextual variables, such as socio-economic and living conditions. The stages of analysis involved studying virtual network use, citizen participation patterns on traditional and virtual events, and changes within the physical environment appearing on social media activity. The study revealed that Facebook is the most popular virtual network amongst communities; leadership is the main driver for online activity. Participation modalities (face to face or online) depend on people’s lifestyles. Levels of unemployment and numbers of online memberships are the main correlating variables