Mapping family connectedness across space and time

Understanding the structure and evolution of family networks embedded in space and time is crucial for various fields such as disaster evacuation planning and provision of care to the elderly. Computation and visualization can potentially play a key role in analyzing and understanding such networks. Graph visualization methods are effective in discovering network patterns; however, they have inadequate capability in discovering spatial and temporal patterns of connections in a network especially when the network exists and changes across space and time. We introduce a measure of family connectedness that summarizes the dynamic relationships in a family network by taking into account the distance (how far individuals live apart), time (the duration of individuals’ coexistence within a neighborhood), and the relationship (kinship or kin proximity) between each pair of individuals. By mapping the family connectedness over a series of time intervals, the method facilitates the discovery of hot spots (hubs) where family connectedness is strong and the changing patterns of such spots across space and time. We demonstrate our approach using a data set of nine families from the US North. Our results highlight that family connectedness reflects changing demographic processes such as migration and population growth.