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in the social sciences and modifies views regarding the use of the individual net-
works analysed by sociologists (see Sect.
1
below). This representation transforms
geographical space and introduces a new type of visualisation (see Sect.
2
)to
identify new resources in spatial networks (see Sect.
3
). The transposition also
identifies the empirical levels of hierarchies (Sect.
4
) and cohesive spaces (Sect.
5
),
which enables interactions between these levels to be investigated (Sect.
6
). Many
perspectives emerge (Sect.
7
) that relate these theoretical and empirical results to
other approaches to complexity that employ dynamic models based on individual,
as well as global, properties of systems of interactions.
1
Changing the Meaning of Social Networks
Through Spatial Interaction
Places and their social components are shaped and transformed by internal and
external networks, and conversely, geographical space is a major factor in the
transformation of social networks and social entities (
Adams, Faust, & Lovasi
,
2012
). Geography contributes to the understanding of social organisations by deter-
mining the impact of geographical and territorial distances on social, economical,
cultural and organisational distances. Several contributors to this volume revealed
the critical role of geography in identifying the relevant criteria for clustering
these networks and the spatial cohesion that reinforces the interactions underlying
cohesive territories. Although the concept of “functional territories” in geography
(
Gottman
,
1961
;
Perroux
,
1964
) emerged 50 years ago, methods for identifying
and understanding the evolution and transformation of these territories have only
recently become available.
Just as networks are no longer viewed as random or homogeneous, territorial
structures are shaped on spaces that are neither random nor homogeneous. Several
issues were addressed - how space and social networks influence each other, the role
of distance in linking similar individuals and reinforcing social proximities, and the
extent to which networks increase the anisotropy of space. The examples presented
in this volume demonstrated that there were two kinds of networks:
Networks in which space was the major factor in the organisation, such as the
slow transportation and daily exchanges of commuters;
Networks that involved the contribution of other, nonspatial proximities, such
as communication, collaborative research, and the global division and coordi-
nation of labour; these networks primarily support globalisation and multiscale
development.
The second type of network transformed spaces and territories to create new
“reticular territories” in which societies' physical space and organisation depended
on economic or social distances that made distant spaces closer and neigh-
bour spaces more distant. Examples of the phenomenon provided in this volume
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