in actuality lived nearby
Does in the following context "in actuality" imply "geographical closeness" or just "reality" (taking account of "lived nearby")?

Context:

it is no surprise that Debord and the Situationist International became substantially associated with Lefebvre in the early years of the movement’s existence since, in both actuality and spirit, they certainly ‘lived nearby’.

Question

in actuality lived nearby
Does in the following context "in actuality" imply "geographical closeness" or just "reality" (taking account of "lived nearby")?

Context:

it is no surprise that Debord and the Situationist International became substantially associated with Lefebvre in the early years of the movement’s existence since, in both actuality and spirit, they certainly ‘lived nearby’.

Answer

in this sentence it is used as a synonym of "in reality" which in this context means physically or if you prefer geographically.

Another way to write it would be
it is no surprise that Debord and the Situationist International became substantially associated with Lefebvre in the early years of the movement’s existence since,  physically and spiritually, they certainly ‘lived nearby’.

Answer

Reality. "In actuality" just means "actually".