Spatial Mobility and Social Inequalities

In recent decades a number of theoretical works have emerged within the social sciences that argue against static explanations of social phenomena and describes late modern society as a space of mobilites and flows. Several authors argue that spatial mobility will be the most important social structuring factor in the 21st century. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the links between mobility and social inequalities from a theoretical point of view. In order to do so, I will try to present some theoretical perspectives that thematize this connection. The paper will first discuss the concepts of transport studies related to this topic, which problematise unequal access to transport networks. Then, drawing on the international literature, I will try to show how the concept of segregation can be extended to patterns of spatial mobility. The paper then discusses approaches related to the new mobility paradigm, which define mobility as capital. Finally, I will outline a theoretical framework drawing on Bourdieu’s theory, that interprets mobility practices as practices that maintain symbolic distinctions. In conclusion, I will try to show how these approaches can be applied to the analysis of the spatial-social processes that emerged or intensified in Hungary in the decades following the change of regime.