A node is any organization, collective, mutual aid group, faith community, or resource provider doing community work in Athens, GA. No 501c3 required. Community legitimacy is the bar for inclusion.

Node size reflects connection count — more edges means a bigger node. A large isolated node is worth examining.

An edge is a documented relationship between two organizations. Without edges this is just a list. Edges are what make it a network — and missing edges are as important as existing ones.

Six types: Referral — one org sends people to another. Partnership — active collaboration. Resource flow — material resources move between orgs. Shared population — both serve the same people. Overlap — similar work in the same area. Donates to — a business or provider donates food or resources.

Gaps are things that are missing — a service nobody offers, a neighborhood nobody reaches, an org doing real work the network has never heard of, a referral path that should exist but doesn't.

Network analysis finds gaps three ways: nodes with very few edges signal isolation; geographic clustering reveals areas with no coverage; comparing what people need against what orgs offer shows service gaps. The gaps below came from all three.