Present-day urban mobility transitions are often hailed for their positive contributions towards healthier, safer, and more just common futures. Micro-mobilities are playing a key role here: many cities have seen a rapid entry and growth of (e-)cycles and (e-)scooters, for instance. At the same time, emerging evidence shows that micro-mobility trips do not often replace unhealthy, unsafe, and private travel modes, and that different urban populations do not have equal access to its availability (Laa & Leth, 2020; Wang et al., 2022). This means that micro-mobilities do not live up to their promise as transformative forms of urban transport.
Literature on the subject argues that mobility innovations have not taken enough account of the diversity of its (potential) users, are predominantly directed by neoliberal and commercial interests, and/or reproduce infrastructural networks and mobility behaviours shaped by car-centric thought (Spinney, 2022). In addition, socio-technical and political structures have not always been supportive or responsive to the appearance of new players in urban spaces. Also socially, micro-mobility innovations are exclusive to children, women, and older people, among other groups, although research taking gender-sensitive and feminist perspectives has also proposed how to overcome this challenge (Cubells et al., 2023; Goel et al., 2022).
Together, emerging perspectives on micro-mobility provide a useful picture of their current state and potential, but do not often lead to wider theoretical and cross-disciplinary applicability. The proposed session therefore aims to join the ends of mobility research involving micro-mobilities and provide new perspectives on existing theories and practices. Contributions may analyse specific cities, provide an overview of the state-of-the-art around specific micro-mobility options, and/or place them within wider (re-)constructions and uses of the built environment (e.g. traffic calming, new-built infrastructures, mobility patterns and performances). Both qualitative and quantitative approaches to their changing geographies are welcomed, as well as critical approaches to the place and operationalisation of micro-mobilities in urban transport geography. Topic suggestions include:
Inclusion of social groups and demographic characteristics in micro-mobility;
Micro-mobilities’ characteristics affecting usability and accessibility (soft and hard infrastructures, urban form, systems, technologies);
Performances and uses of micro-mobility in cities, with a focus on (co-existence of) specific modes;
Effects of the introduction and promotion of micro-mobilities, on both users and non-users;
Changes in mobility behaviours and modal shares;
Growth orientations of urban mobility futures including micro-mobility options;
Outcomes of policies and practices that support micro-mobility and/or create healthier, safer, and more just urban mobility futures.
Our session is intended as presentation session, but depending on the available time we may consider a short roundtable with the speakers at the end. The main language of the session would be English, but presentations in Spanish and Catalan are welcomed too.
Wilbert Den Hoed (1); Esther Anaya Boig (2)
(1) Universitat Rovira i Virgili, (2) Imperial College London
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