Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Spatial Context of Social Integration

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Social integration is the harmonious and coherent processing of the structures of a social system and refers to the degree to which people are integrated to the systems of a social structure. Although social integration issue is often considered on a regional scale and especially in association with the migration literature, it is also associated with urban dynamics. Especially in metropolitan cities, it is a process that shapes the opportunities and resources of urban life, such as socio-cultural life, the built environment and urban services. This paper aims to analyze the spatial differentiation of the interactive dimension of social integration in the case of Istanbul. It describes different forms and levels of social relations of the residents of Istanbul while also depicting the interaction between social integration and location, particularly in terms of residential area characteristics. With this aim, different types of social relations are analyzed using statistical and spatial analysis methods. The results of the study indicate that different social groups which are integrated into the macro structures of the society with different degrees produce different forms of social relations and they also live in residential areas which differ with their environmental quality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alber J. & Fahey T. (2004) Perceptions of living conditions in an enlarged Europe, First European Quality of Life Survey Reports, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND).

  • Berger-Schmitt, R. (2002). Considering social cohesion in quality of life assessments: Concept and measurement. Social Indicators Research, 58, 403–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Böhnke, P. (2004) Perceptions of social integration and exclusion in an enlarged Europe, First European Quality of Life Survey Reports, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND).

  • Böhnke, P. (2008). Are the poor socially integrated? The link between poverty and social support in different welfare regimes. Journal of European Social Policy, 18(2), 133–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Böhnke, P., & Kohler, U. (2008) Well-being and Inequality, WZB Discussion Paper, Inequality and Social Integration Research Unit, Social Science Research Center, Berlin (WZB). http://bibliothek.wzb.eu/pdf/2008/i08-201.pdf, (20.03.2008).

  • Bosswick, W., & Heckmann, F. (2006). Integration of migrants: Contribution of local and regional authorities, First European Quality of Life Survey Reports, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND).

  • Buck, N. (2001). Identifying neighbourhood effects on social exclusion. Urban Studies, 38(12), 2251–2275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, K. E., & Lee, B. A. (1992). Sources of personal neighbor networks: social ıntegration, need, or time? Social Forces, 70(4), 1077–1100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cassiers, T., & Kesteloot, C. (2012). Socio-spatial Inequalities and Social Cohesion in European Cities. Urban Studies, 49(9), 1909–1924.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Certeau, M. (2011). The practice of everyday life (L’invention du quotidian—I, 1984), Translator: Steven Rendall, University of California Press, 2011, ISBN:9780520271456.

  • Due, P., Holstein, B., Rikke, L., Modvig, J., & Avlund, K. (1999). Social relations: Network. Support and Relational Strain, Social Science & Medicine, 48, 661–673.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellen, I. G., & Turner, M. A. (1997). Does neighborhood matter? Assessing recent evidence, Housing Policy Debate, 8(4), 833–866.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forrest, R., & Kearns, A. (2001). Social cohesion, Social Capital and the Neighbourhood. Urban Studies, 38(12), 2125–2143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Friedkin, N. (1980). A test of structural features of Granovetter’s strength of weak ties theory. Social Networks, 2(4), 411–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gracia, E., García, F., & Musitu, G. (1995). Macrosocial determinants of social integration: Social class and area effect. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 5(2), 105–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360–1380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M. (1983). The strength of weak ties: A network theory revisited. Sociological Theory, 1, 201–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heckmann, F., & Schnapper, D. (2003). The integration of immigrants in European societies: National differences and trends of convergence, European Forum for Migration Studies (EFMS), Lucius & Lucius DE.

  • House, J. S., Umberson, D., & Landis, K. R. (1988). Structures and processes of social support. American Review of Sociology, 14, 293–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kavanaugh, A. L., Reese, D. D., Carroll, J. M., & Rosson, M. B. (2005). Weak ties in networked communities. The Information Society: An International Journal, 21(2), 119–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kearns, A., & Parkinson, M. (2001). The significance of neighbourhood. Urban Studies, 38, 2103–2110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kısar Koramaz, E. (2010). Yaşam Kalitesinin Yükseltilmesinde Yeşil Alanların Etkinliğinin Geliştirilmesine Yönelik Model Önerisi, (A Model Proposal to Develop Green Areas’ Efficiency in the Context of Improving Quality Of Life), Unpublished PhD Thesis, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey.

  • Kudva, N. (2009). The everyday and the episodic: The spatial and political impacts of urban informality. Environment and Planning A, 41(7), 1614–1628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuyucu, T., & Unsal, O. (2010). Urban transformation’ as state-led property transfer: An analysis of two cases of urban renewal in Istanbul. Urban Studies, 47(7), 1479–1499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovering, J., & Türkmen, H. (2011). Bulldozer neo-liberalism in Istanbul: The state-led construction of property markets and the displacement of the urban poor. International Planning Studies, 16(1), 73–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNeill, L. H., Kreuter, M. W., & Subramanian, S. V. (2006). Social environment and physical activity: A review of concepts and evidence. Social Science and Medicine, 63, 1011–1022.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, R. E., & Tricket, E. J. (1980). Task force report: Social networks as mediators of social support, an analysis of the effects and determinants of social networks. Community Mental Health Journal, 16(1), 27–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutten, R., Westlund, H., & Boekema, F. (2010). The spatial dimension of social capital. European Planning Studies, 18(6), 863–871.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarzer, R., Hahn, A., & Schröder, H. (1994). Social ıntegration and social support in a life crisis: Effects of macrosocial change in east, Germany. American Journal of Community Psychology, 22(5), 685–706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skjaeveland, O., & Garling, T. (1997). Effects of interactional space on neighbouring. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 17, 181–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNRISD. (1994). Social integration: Approaches and issues, UNRISD Briefing Paper No. 1 World Summit for Social Development, United Nations Research Institute For Social Development.

  • Uysal, U. E. (2012). An urban social movement challenging urban regeneration: The case of Sulukule. Istanbul, Cities, 29(1), 12–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wasserman, S., & Faust, K. (1994). Social network analysis: Methods and applications. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This paper is based on the published proceeding of the paper titled as “Neighbouring As An Indicator of Social Integration In Residential Areas of Istanbul” which was presented in IPHS Conference, 2010. The data used in this paper is obtained from the questionnaire study held for the PhD Thesis titled as “A Model Proposal to Develop Green Areas’ Efficiency in the Context of Improving Quality Of Life”. The author would like to thank to Prof. Dr. Handan Türkoğlu for supervising the PhD thesis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, Faculty of Engineering and Design, Istanbul Commerce University, Küçükyalı E5 Kavşağı İnönü Cad. No: 4, Küçükyalı, 34840, Istanbul, Turkey

    Elif Kısar Koramaz

Authors
  1. Elif Kısar Koramaz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elif Kısar Koramaz.

About this article

Cite this article

Kısar Koramaz, E. The Spatial Context of Social Integration. Soc Indic Res 119, 49–71 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0481-x

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0481-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation