Social connections are at the heart of urban resilience. They contribute to the ability of local residents to adapt and deal with crises. In order to determine the intensity of social relationships in Grand Paris, Apur carried out a survey in June 2023, questioning over 2,500 inhabitants.
The results of the questionnaire, with in addition, qualitative interviews and exchanges with researchers and key players in the field, have allowed the characteristics and effects of social interaction to be analysed so that a whole range of action plans be proposed to strengthen them.
How many Grand Paris inhabitants have close relationships? Who has a wide, rich social network and who on the contrary suffers from solitude? What interaction exists between neighbours? Who do people think of contacting to come when they're in difficulty and need help?
With as its starting point the awareness that social relationships form an essential vector of resilience, this study proposes an analysis of the intensity, characteristics and effects of social links in Grand Paris.
Social links imply all the relationships that an individual or a group may have. They can be of different types (family, professional, neighbourly, linked to recreational activities etc.), either transient or more long-lasting. They form a network, a “capital” to be drawn upon if the need be: to share information about an event, recommend someone one knows or ask a neighbour for help for example.
The impact of this capital has been demonstrated in the case of numerous research projects. Among these, in a study by Eric Klinenberg about the effects of the 1995 heatwave in Chicago he refers to social links, highlighting the lower rate of mortality in neighbourhoods with more community venues and organistations, vectors for getting to know each other and generating mutual aid.
The analysis of social connections in Grand Paris proposed follows on from the qualitative work on “local solidarity” that Apur has contributed to since 2020 in collaboration with the City of Paris and the Departmental Council of Seine-Saint-Denis. The study has led to a monitoring committee being formed in which other partners also participate, including the Plaine Commune and Est Ensemble territories and the social landlord Paris Habitat.
The results are presented in four parts:
- The first characterises social links as a whole on the scale of Grand Paris.
- The second focuses on neighbourly relationships at a local level.
- The third highlights the way social links can be mobilised when needed, as well as aspects of the progress and vulnerability linked to social relationships.
- The last part proposes avenues to be explored in order to strengthen social links in Grand Paris.
