The Community Question

Abstract

Wellman integrated and summarised previous arguments on social networks into the 'Community Question' : that community has been 'lost', 'saved', or 'liberated' in contemporary cities. This study assessed the pattern of social networks in Canberra from the three perspectives of the 'Community Question'. To gather empirical evidence, a sample survey of women in four study areas of Canberra was conducted in 1986-1987. Three hundred and ninety-two women who were under 55 years of age and who were married or in a de facto relationship were interviewed. Analysis of their network ties has revealed the following : (1) While primary ties in the neighbourhoods declined, people were compensated by their more extensive social networks, which ramified beyond their neighbourhoods and were dispersed in various places. In particular, kinship and friendship relationships flourished among them, and there was a tendency for people to be connected with others in more remote places. On balance, the 'community liberated' perspective is more consistent with the data than are either the 'lost' or the 'saved' perspectives.(2) This pattern of social networks is due to the fact that a large proportion of middle class people constitutes the city and that the Canberra population was characterised by a significant proportion of residents who were born outside the city, whether elsewhere in Australia or overseas.(3) In consideration of the above results, while residents in Canberra will diminish social ties with relatives and friends outside the city, they will develop kinship and friendship relationships in various locations within the city-relationships which are not constrained by geographical propinquity.