This book brings together mobilities and possibility studies by arguing that the possible emerges in our experience in and through acts of movement : physical, social and symbolic. The basic premise that mobility begets possibility is supported with evidence covering a wide range of geographic and temporal scales. First, in relation to the evolution of our species and the considerable impact of mobility on the emergence and spread of prehistoric innovations; second, considering the circulation of people, things and creative ideas throughout history; third, in view of migrations that define an individual life course and its numerous (im)possibilities; and fourth, in the ‘inner’, psychological movements specific for our wandering – and wondering – minds.This is not, however, a romantic account of how more mobility is always better or leads to increased creativity and innovation. After all, movement can fail in opening up new possibilities, and innovations can cause harm or reduce our agency. And yet, at an ontological level, the fact remains that it is only by moving from one position to another that we develop novel perspectives on the world and find alternative ways of acting and being. At this foundational level, mobilities engender possibilities and the latter, in turn, fuel new mobilities. This interplay, examined throughout the book, should be of interest for researchers and practitioners working on mobility, migration, creativity, innovation, cultural diffusion, life course approaches and, more generally, on the possibilities embedded in mobile lives.

The theory of mobilities has gained great recognition and traction over recent decades, illustrating not only the influence of mobilities in daily life but also the rise and expansion of globalization worldwide. But what if this sense of mobilities is in fact an ideological bubble that provides the illusion of freedom whilst limiting our mobility or even keeping us immobile? This book reviews the strengths and weaknesses of the mobilities paradigm and in doing so constructs a bridge between Marxism and Cultural theory.

Over the past fifteen years or so, there has been a widespread and increasing fascination with the theme of mobility across the social sciences and humanities. Of course, geographers have always had an interest in mobility, but as yet they have not viewed this in the same 'mobility turn' as in other disciplines where it has been used to critique the standard approaches to the subjects. This text brings together leading academics to provide a revitalised 'geography of mobilities' informed by this wider 'mobility turn'. It makes connections between the seemingly disparate sub-disciplinary worlds of migration, transport and tourism, suggesting that each has much to learn from each other through the ontological and epistemological concern for mobility.

Based on the premise that the dynamics caused by modernization, globalization, migration and social change affect the structuring of social fabric and space, this book examines the interrelations between social and spatial mobilities in terms of inequality and space.

Scholars from various disciplines have used key concepts to grasp mobilities, but as of yet, a working vocabulary of these has not been fully developed. Given this context and inspired in part by Raymond Williams’ Keywords (1976), this edited volume presents contributions that critically analyze mobility-related keywords: capital, cosmopolitanism, freedom, gender, immobility, infrastructure, motility, and regime. Each chapter provides an historical context, a critical analysis of how the keyword has been used in relation to mobility, and a conclusion that proposes future usage or research.

Reflecting the variety and diversity of mobile methods and their applications, this comprehensive Handbook illuminates the multiple dimensions and transdisciplinary nature of mobilities research, from transport to tourism, cargo to information as well as physical, virtual and imaginative mobilities. It brings together key contributions on the state of the art of qualitative and quantitative research, multimethod combinations and co-creation methods within the mobilities paradigm.

Increasingly, everyday living and practices depend on how mobility (and immobility) is articulated through the ever-present influence of a range of physical and virtual infrastructures. This book focuses in particular on the 'political' dimension of mobility and immobility, which plays a key role in establishing patterns of proximity in real and virtual co-presence. Proximity is seen as the result of choices, negotiations and practices carried out in different settings. Drawing from different literature streams (Sociology, Organization Studies and Science and Technology Studies), this book analyses patterns of mobility in relation to new possibilities of organizing space, time, and proximity to others. Different phenomena - from memorial sites to migration, from urban mobility to mobile work - are analysed, illustrating different types of proximity through mobility and immobility. In doing so, this book offers a cross-cultural and innovative theoretical framing of issues linked to mobility, through the link with immobility and proximity.