Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33602929›Full record

ArticleNature communications2021

Inequality is rising where social network segregation interacts with urban topology.

Gergő Tóth, Johannes Wachs, Riccardo Di Clemente, Ákos Jakobi, Bence Ságvári, János Kertész, Balázs Lengyel

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
28citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Urban highways are barriers to social ties.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  11. Emergent poverty traps at multiple levels impede social mobility.Humanities & social sciences communications · 2025
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. The dynamic resilience of urban labour networks.Royal Society open science · 2023
    Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Differential spatial-social accessibility to mental health care and suicide.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023
    Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Gergő Tóth *Agglomeration and Social Networks Lendület Research Group, Centre for Economic-and Regional Studies, Budapest, Hungary.
Johannes Wachs *Institute for Data, Process and Knowledge Management, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-9044-2018
Riccardo Di ClementeDepartment of Computer Science, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-8005-6351
Ákos JakobiDepartment of Regional Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
Bence SágváriAgglomeration and Social Networks Lendület Research Group, Centre for Economic-and Regional Studies, Budapest, Hungary.
János KertészDepartment of Network and Data Science, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.ORCID 0000-0003-4957-5406
Balázs LengyelAgglomeration and Social Networks Lendület Research Group, Centre for Economic-and Regional Studies, Budapest, Hungary. lengyel.balazs@krtk.hu.ORCID 0000-0001-5196-5599

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Social networks amplify inequalities by fundamental mechanisms of social tie formation such as homophily and triadic closure. These forces sharpen social segregation, which is reflected in fragmented social network structure. Geographical impediments such as distance and physical or administrative boundaries also reinforce social segregation. Yet, less is known about the joint relationships between social network structure, urban geography, and inequality. In this paper we analyze an online social network and find that the fragmentation of social networks is significantly higher in towns in which residential neighborhoods are divided by physical barriers such as rivers and railroads. Towns in which neighborhoods are relatively distant from the center of town and amenities are spatially concentrated are also more socially segregated. Using a two-stage model, we show that these urban geography features have significant relationships with income inequality via social network fragmentation. In other words, the geographic features of a place can compound economic inequalities via social networks.

Identifiers

PMID33602929
PMCPMC7892860

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.