For quite some time now studies have recognized the importance of processes of spatial redistribution of the population caused by migration flows, and the consequences of migration on urban expansion. The major concern in this paper is to highlight and further circumscribe the scope of studies on flows and movements based on the notion of social networks. This notion has been used since the late 1970s, especially in studies on international migration, but it is still rarely applied to internal migration studies, especially short distance migrations such as intra-metropolitan flows. For this purpose we conducted a study on the Baixada Santista Metropolitan Area (the urban area around the Atlantic Port of Santos, Brazil), based on data from a survey conducted in 2007. This data base gives us details on population mobility in the region and provides interesting information for analyzing factors related to the impact of social networks on migration processes. The survey enabled us to analyze the dynamics of intra-urban and intra-metropolitan mobility based on the concept of vulnerability zones.
Social networks; Intra-metropolitan mobility; Baixada Santista
