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Social Interaction and the City: The Effect of Space on the Reduction of Entropy

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  • Vinicius M. Netto
  • Joao Meirelles
  • Fabiano L. Ribeiro

Abstract

How can individual acts amount to coherent systems of interaction? In this paper, we attempt to answer this key question by suggesting that there is a place for cities in the way we coordinate seemingly chaotic decisions. We look into the elementary processes of social interaction exploring a particular concept, “social entropy,” or how social systems deal with uncertainty and unpredictability in the transition from individual actions to systems of interaction. Examining possibilities that (i) actions rely on informational differences latent in their environments and that (ii) the city itself is an information environment to actions, we propose that (iii) space becomes a form of creating differences in the probabilities of interaction. We investigate this process through simulations of distinct material scenarios, to find that space is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the reduction of entropy. Finally, we suggest that states and fluctuations of entropy are a vital part of social reproduction and reveal a deep connection between social, informational, and spatial systems.

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  • Vinicius M. Netto & Joao Meirelles & Fabiano L. Ribeiro, 2017. "Social Interaction and the City: The Effect of Space on the Reduction of Entropy," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2017, pages 1-16, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:hin:complx:6182503
    DOI: 10.1155/2017/6182503
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    Cited by:

    1. Saurabh Mishra & Bilal M. Ayyub, 2019. "Shannon Entropy for Quantifying Uncertainty and Risk in Economic Disparity," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(10), pages 2160-2181, October.
    2. Cattivelli, Valentina, 2020. "Planning peri-urban areas at regional level: The experience of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna," MPRA Paper 101189, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Joao Meirelles & Fabiano L. Ribeiro & Gabriel Cury & Claudia R. Binder & Vinicius M. Netto, 2021. "More from Less? Environmental Rebound Effects of City Size," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Cattivelli, Valentina, 2021. "Planning peri-urban areas at regional level: The experience of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna (Italy)," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    5. Higinio Mora & Raquel Pérez-delHoyo & José F. Paredes-Pérez & Rafael A. Mollá-Sirvent, 2018. "Analysis of Social Networking Service Data for Smart Urban Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Luciano Rossoni & Cezar Eduardo Aranha & Wesley Mendes-Da-Silva, 2018. "The Complexity of Social Capital: The Influence of Board and Ownership Interlocks on Implied Cost of Capital in an Emerging Market," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2018, pages 1-12, February.
    7. Netto, Vinicius M. & Brigatti, Edgardo & Meirelles, João & Ribeiro, Fabiano L. & Pace, Bruno & Cacholas, Caio & Sanches, Patricia Mara, 2018. "Cities, from information to interaction," SocArXiv jgz5d, Center for Open Science.

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