A social science approach to the study of mobility: An introduction

Abstract

The chapter introduces the foremost theories put forward by social sciences on daily mobility, notably in urban societies. After a preliminary part aimed at defining spatial mobility from a sociological point of view, the paper puts forward an overview of explanations related to factors associated with daily mobility and its growth, particularly following the invention and diffusion of motorised means of transport from the second half of the nineteenth century. The relationship between mobile populations and new urban morphology is dealt with in the subsequent part of the chapter aimed at describing the history of city transformations as a reflection of the evolution of mobility. The coexistence of different populations, in urban areas characterised by the increasing scattering of settlements and by the difficulty to access goods and services, it is the basis for the last group of theories, outlined in the final part of the chapter related to the issue of the relationship between mobility, accessibility and risks of social exclusion.