Social capital and urban networks of trust

Taking a critical geographical approach, this book examines the role of social capital in the constitutions and reproduction of urban networks of trust. It explores how social capital and trust can help these networks achieve their goals and deliver specific forms of urban development. The wide range of city studies from Finland and Italy presents two almost paradigmatic cases of how social capital and trust can work in extremely different and yet very effective ways and provides new definitions and understandings of these concepts. The importance of place is stressed, and the book argues that the functioning of urban networks must reflect the particular historical, cultural and political contexts of the locality in question.