• To Move or Not to Move?: Spatial Immobility as Social Exclusion in Developing Countries Sebastian Ureta
• Hyperautomobility, the Social Organisation of Space, and Health Peter Freund and George Martin
• Geographies of Social Networks: The Product of Personal Mobility Biographies and Generalised Costs of Contact? Kay Axhausen
• Accessibility to and Mobility in Public Space for Persons with Cognitive Disabilities Jenny Rosenkvist,

To Move or Not to Move?: Spatial Immobility as Social Exclusion in Developing Countries

Sebastian Ureta, London School of Economics and Political Science (UK)

Spatial mobility constitutes one of the most salient aspects of contemporary urban life. Throughout the world everyday life is becoming increasingly mobile because there are a growing number of activities that individuals have to do outside stable spaces such as the household or the workplace. At the same time the own shapes, rhythms and schedules of contemporary cities (due to processes of suburbanization and spatial extension) force us to travel longer even for basic activities such as to go to the supermarket or to visit relatives and friends. For some social theorists this situation is an indicator of a more general process: the fact that we are living in a mobile society. In this new societal order "mobilities" are increasingly replacing "places" as the most basic structuring principle of social urban life (Kakihara 2002; Urry 2003). Today what is central is the movement per se, not the departure or arrival points.

Even if one does not completely agree with this radical statement it is difficult to ignore some undeniable facts lying behind it. Mobility is a central feature of contemporary urban life and the ability to move is becoming increasingly a stratifying factor, such as access to education or social networks (Bauman 1998; Shove 2002). To be immobile is not only to be stuck in one place, but more important to be outside networks of mobilities that constitute the very essence of urban life. Especially in the context of developing countries, these 'immobile' groups are in a even more disadvantage position due the lack of state assistance and other welfare systems that can "bridge" their difference in mobility with the rest of the population. T

The present article, based in ethnographic case studies of 20 low-income families, inhabitants of the city of Santiago (Chile), shows empirically how family members are forced to develop certain strategies and practices to deal with immobility. Some of these strategies include the selection of certain kinds of mobilities above others and the distinction between mobile and immobile members of the household, along with the use of certain technologies, such as mobile phones, in order to deal with the requirements of mobility from their social environment. But in general, what this research shows is that the impact of such strategies is always limited and dependent on structural sociocultural factors (such as the availability of money, the age of family members, a culture of immobility, etc.) that diminish the positive effects of it. Immobility is an everyday reality and it has an impact on the well being of these families. It is still not as important as other exclusions, but is more pervasive and less visible. Immobility in not single unitary phenomena, but a complex system of immobilities strongly related to each other. This character makes the actions against it quite difficult, not only in terms of public policies but also at the very level of the everyday life of the family members under study.

References

Baumon, Z. 1998 Globalization, The human consequences. New York: Columbia University Press.
Kaklhora, M., and Sorensen, C. 2002 'Mobility: An Extended Perspective' Hawai's InternationalConference on System Science, Big Island, Hawai.
Shove, E. 2002 Rushing around: coordination, mobility and inequality, Lancaster: Department of Sociology, Lancaster University.
Urry, J. 2003 Mobile Cultures, Lancaster: Department of Sociology, Lancaster University.

Abstract available HERE as a 146kb pdf file

Hyperautomobility, the Social Organisation of Space, and Health

Peter Freund and George Martin, Montclair State (USA)

Contemporary societies, at least in the developed world, promote a new level of individualized and intensified transport-a hyperautomobility. This hyperautomobility features more driving in personal vehicles, in the form of more trips and greater trip distances. It is associated with a social organization of space characterized by geographically-expansive sprawl in the built environments of human settlements. The communities of these settlements feature more isolated sites (i.e., single-family housing, corporate workplaces) that favor automobile travel over both walking and cycling. The greater travel distances in these communities can inhibit the "neighboring" aspect of community life by reducing the social- physical interconnectivity of its residents. For example, housing developments may not feature pavements or local social centers such as shops. Further, motoring, in its execution, does not promote socializing as walking does.

The hyperautomobility has become associated with new social and public health problems. The social problems have to do not only with a general impact on community life but with the creation of socially excluded groups. Some of these impacts are counter-intuitive; thus while mass motorization has led to greater mobility for many, it has created new accessibility problems for those who do not drive-the disabled, as well as the very young and the very old. Additionally, there is a differential social ecology of exposure to the risk factors associated with mass motorization such as toxic emissions and roadway accidents. Groups lower in the stratification system experience higher risks for both emissions and accidents. Finally, one general public health problem, individual overweight and obesity, is increasing partly as a result of the decrease in physical activity (such as walking and cycling) associated with hyperautomobility.

Abstract available HERE as a 134kb pdf file

Geographies of Social Networks: The Product of Personal Mobility Biographies and Generalised Costs of Contact?

Kay Axhausen, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (Switzerland)

Accessibility to and Mobility in Public Space for Persons with Cognitive Disabilities

Jenny Rosenkvist, Lund University (Sweden)

Almost every day we move about outside our homes. As example we perform errands and other practical things; visit friends and relatives to keep in touch with persons who are important for us or we move outside our homes just for relaxation or recreation. Everybody needs to be mobile, though the needs might look different. Although to some people mobility is limited. People with various kinds of disabilities are limited when it comes to mobility. In the field of traffic planning there is relatively much understanding for mobility and accessibility to public space among elderly people and persons with physical disabilities. Though there is still a lack of information about mobility behaviour of people with cognitive disabilities.

This study aims at exploring accessibility to and mobility in public space among people who have cognitive disabilities. This study is done by taking part of knowledge and experience from people used to meet persons with cognitive disabilities in their everyday life by focus group interviewing. This method was used due to explore the field, not from a subjective understanding, but by seeing the comprehensiveness of the field by taking part of different kind of expert's knowledge. Four focus group sessions took place, and the informants were persons who were called experts which refer to a person who can generalise from his or her practical or theoretical knowledge about cognitive disabilities. The criterion was that the participants should not solely have a silent personal experience of disability themselves, but they should have made reflections about cognitive disabilities in relation to everyday life.

At this stage analysis is ongoing and at the moment the results showed that mobility is an important part of everyday life for the target group, but it could be problematic. The request for mobility and accessibility to the public space is not differing from the rest of the population - the persons in this group are, and want to be just like anyone else. But hinders for using public space could appear, for instance hinders could arise within the individual when thinking that the brain-injury is a hold-back or when people around prevent the target group from leaving home because they do not think he/she will manage after having a brain injury. Unknown places are also problematic when it comes to finding a way. For some persons most of their days were spent at home, because of isolation from friends and relatives or because they did not dare to leave home. Though being mobile or not being mobile is like balancing on a fine line to avoid falling down into chaos. The target group used different strategies to stay on the line. Strategies to find a way in unknown places are to learn about them before entering them (planning) and using a mobile telephone to be lead by other persons. To get help from other persons to access public space and be mobile could be a possibility to use public space, but it could also feel like a limitation, lack of freedom or not being a "real" adult. Using traffic space was a mission in a complex world with difficulties in sorting out the relevant information. The information given could also be experienced as impossible to understand or not sufficient enough. Results from this study will be a basis for continuing research about mobility for persons with cognitive disabilities.

Stephen Little
Head, Centre for Innovation, Knowledge and Enterprise
Open University Business School
Milton Keynes, U.K.
s.e.little@open.ac.uk

&

Len Holmes, Director,
The Management Research Centre,
London Metropolitan University,
U.K.
l.holmes@londonmet.ac.uk