Towards post-automobility: destituting automobility

Abstract

In this paper we make the case for conceptualizing automobility as a singular and enduring imaginary that is located in the present continuous tense. It is an imaginary composed not only of discourses, representations, images and visions but also the ostensible materiality of automobility. That imaginary is the everyday, taken-for-granted reality of automobility. If we are to entertain hopes of living in a world absent the routine violence of automobility, the political challenge is not only the construction of alternative, “sustainable” and “just” mobility imaginaries but the deconstruction and destitution of the automobility imaginary. Pointers to destituting automobility may be found in policies towards controlling tobacco, fighting sex-trafficking, and decolonization. The concept of destituent power opens up possibilities for developing alternative strategies for moving towards a post-automobility future, not just as a conceptual deconstructive exercise but as political praxis.