1. Objectifs

Intentions :
The goal of this study is to capture connections between Montreal households at the end of the XIXth century.

Questions/Hypothèses :
«How can we uncover relations between urban households? From spatial cues, can we infer social connections that generate constraints on or incentives for the formation of a household, its break-up, reconstitution, or relocation?» (p. 1399)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«For Montreal and its suburbs, 1881‒1901, we employ double geocoding and lot-level precision to explore a dozen types of relationships. Samples for experiment are drawn from a local historical geographic information system (HGIS) that integrates tax roll and directory with census data.» (p. 1399)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu
Réflexion critique

3. Résumé

«From these experiments, limited though they are to one city, and to case studies cut out and unravelled from larger networks, we rediscover the same structures and strategies as in the countryside. Strategic marriages, business partnerships, and property development were jointly conceived with a horizon of ‘family’ to the third and fourth generations, braiding together personal trajectories, and differentiating their little neighbourhoods. From relations of kinship we observed a structure nested at three levels of interaction across spaces and durations. At each level, the workings of ‘family’ were active within specific coordinates of place and obligation. The geographic cues are stimulating, but each new hypothesis demands careful testing with rigorous samples.» (p. 1424)