Ridal et al. (2010) synthesize sociological and geographic techniques to investigate gang related activity in an eastern policing district of Los Angeles, California. The article challenged my conception of space and its role in GIScience. I can appreciate how social networks can be “spatialized” in relation to geographic information, but it was interesting how the language surrounding social networks themselves mirrors the language used more broadly in GIScience. How entities can be associated with a “location” in social or network space made me consider how other concepts I wouldn’t consider to be inherently spatial might be framed in a spatial context.
Their discussion of “spatial fetishization” really resonate with me, particularly in my experiences outside the Department of Geography. Mentioning my minor program to a group project member might prompt enthusiasm about the idea of “doing GIS,” and how we could incorporate it into our assignment. This could be especially true in the School of Environment, where GIS is touted as a uniquely hirable skill in a program that might otherwise emphasize theory over practice, but more generally I think the proliferation of GIS tools beyond the field of geography has the potential to generate excitement about exploring the spatial dimensions of a topic in a way that lacks nuance. The cluster analysis exercise was a good example of how a purely spatial approach alone might oversimplify a multidimensional question.
The binary classification of gang relationships being rivalrous or non-rivalrous seemed to be a little reductive. I was hoping the authors would explore further how one could address the evolution of social networks over time, but I agree this might be beyond the scope of the paper.