GEO 320 Urban Geography Fall 2009
Department of Geography and Meteorology, Valparaiso University
Proximity and Social Relationships Class Activity

You created maps of your neighborhood indicating which neighbors you know very well, well, or not at all. In addition you probably did some thinking about this question.

Here is what you should do:

1) Get into small groups of five or so people. Designate someone to record your group's results.
2) Each person should take a couple of minutes and share their map and talk about their relationships with their neighbors. Each person should share the following information (and the recorder should record it):
a. What type of neighborhood (dorm, apartment building, detached house, other)?
b. How many neighbors were known very well, well, not at all
c. What factors seemed to determine how well you know your neighbors? Examples might include:
i. Distance
ii. Accessibility
iii. Visibility
iv. Common spaces
v. Events that brought people together
vi. Social distance (shared age, culture, lifestyle, etc.)
3) After each person has shared their data, the group should discuss the results and come to a conclusion about how geographical proximity and spatial relationships influence social relationships. The group should help the recorder write a short statement about your conclusions.
4) After you are done, send someone from your group around to other groups to compare your conclusions. What did they discover that your group may have missed?
5) Finally using what you have learned from your own group and other groups, each group should design an ideal neighborhood designed to maximize the chances that neighbors know each other. Create a map of this ideal neighborhood.
6) Turn your conclusions and your map into Rusta when you have completed all of these tasks.