Operationalising the Concept of Motility: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

In modern society, spatial mobility is highly valued with its relationship to individual freedom (freedom to travel anywhere at anytime, freedom to choose one's relationships, freedom of residential location, etc.). Spatial mobility has become so crucial that it has become an established ideology, putting pressure on individuals to expand their mobility and be able to adapt to spatial changes of living and working conditions (delocalisation of jobs, closing of local public services, etc.). In this context, the capacity to be mobile, or the notion of motility, is a deciding factor of social integration. How can motility be characterised? Which aspects must be taken into account in conducting a comparative analysis of an individual's motility? How does motility constitute a factor of social differentiation? Our article aims to render the concept of motility operational. Building on an exploratory qualitative study, we will explain the factors defining an individual's potential to be mobile within a geographic space in the perspective of the organisation of daily life. Three aspects will be discussed: the access rights portfolios each individual has developed, their aptitudes for mobility, and their representations that define the cognitive appropriation of transportation supply. The rationales explaining why and how the motility of individuals is created or unaffected are also considered. Finally, our article demonstrates that motility is indeed a form of capital, similar to economic, social, or cultural capital, present as a factor in social differentiation that modern sociology cannot disregard.