Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on social network theory, definitions and practice from various disciplines. It draws on social networks in the context of the mobilities theory, which provides a broad framework for research in the field. The book explores social media and travel behaviour and examines the distinction between social media and social networks. It presents a typology of urban analysis models from three disciplines: geography, transportation and architecture. The book explores how social networks and their travel behaviour interact with the urban environment. It examines conceptualizing cities in light of the relations between social media and modes of travel. The book also presents an empirical quantitative study of urban analysis that is based on information and communication technology data from Brussels and discusses urban models in light of the study results.