Geographies of mobility: a brief introduction

ABSTRACT

This article introduces readers to the concept of mobility and some recent ways in which it has been approached in geography. In doing so, it aims to encourage a meaningful engagement with the ideas and issues of mobility as well as an appreciation of the breadth of mobilities research. Although movement has long been a concern of geographers, in studies of transport, tourism and migration for example, the conceptual emphasis on mobility is a more recent and important development within the discipline. As such, this article demonstrates the centrality of movement and mobility not only to geography, but also to some of society's most pressing challenges and to the mundane happenings of everyday life. The article begins by demonstrating this centrality of movement to contemporary life, before charting the conceptual development of the mobilities turn, and the need to understand mobility as relational. Relatable examples are used throughout to show mobilities in action and highlight the significance of ideas and issues of mobility for contemporary geography.