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OPINIONS

SOMEWHERE, SOFIA COPPOLA - THE CAR AS A SOCIAL MASK

Hanja Maksim

16/07/2018

We have chosen the film Somewhere not only for the variety of mobility-related concepts it addresses, but also for the fact that it explores and illustrates two major aspects of this domain that are central to the current interests in the social sciences in a particularly rich and relevant way: mobility as social change, and the question of speed as associated with the myth of the automobile, and its opposite — the slow.

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OPINIONS

EXISTENZ, DAVID CRONENBERG - LIQUID LIFE: A CASE STUDY

Hanja Maksim

16/07/2018

eXistenZ is a film that has the potential to greatly inspire research in that it frontally challenges the virtualization of our existence through technology by offering a comparison between the real world, in which we continue to live and evolve, and a world made from scratch. Only this kind of artistic support, it seems, can address this topic in such a comprehensive manner, and thus tackle social science concepts from a new angle.

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OPINIONS

Slow is beautiful. Or is it? John Berger on riding a bike

Javier Caletrío

12/07/2018

Experienced at once as an aspiration and a burden, speed is a much contested mark of modern lives which seems to have no place in visions of sustainable futures. Art critic John Berger has written thought-provoking passages about the thrills of riding a motor bike.

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CROSSED PERSPECTIVES

Is mobility the answer to poverty ?

Leslie Belton Chevallier, Giulio Mattioli

24/04/2017

Is access to employment, services and leisure merely a matter of mobility for the most disadvantaged? What are the obstacles and alternatives? These are some of the questions Leslie Belton Chevallier and Giuilio Mattioli attempt to answer.

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CONTROVERSIES

The future of cars: triumph or decline?

Francis Papon , Mathieu Flonneau

13/01/2017

Over the last decade, the future of cars has been at the heart of controversy that has been the subject of numerous prospective studies. This controversy is not about the need for an energy transition – whose advent is no longer a subject of debate - but more about the role of cars in the future. Should the use of cars be called into question? What policies should be implemented? What should the role of cars be?

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CONTROVERSIES

Living environments and leisure mobility: challenging the compact city

Sébastien Munafò, Marc Pearce (Mobile Lives Forum)

28/11/2016

Should we advocate for the compact city? Geographer Sébastien Munafò defends the indispensability of this model, particularly for its environmental qualities and the urbanity it fosters. Marc Pearce of the Mobile Lives Forum, on the other hand, feels it is crucial to consider, instead, many lifestyles in presence in city areas such as Geneva or Zurich and the diversity of living environments they require.

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CROSSED PERSPECTIVES

Motility and viscosity: a new understanding of mobility for better policy making

Vincent Kaufmann, Catherine Doherty

07/06/2016

Through the study of mobility practices in Australia and European countries, sociologists Catherine Doherty and Vincent Kaufmann develop two different but complementary analyses of mobility potential on an individual and contextual level. Will these new concepts help further our understanding of mobility practices and renew public action in very different national contexts? Both authors feel this will be the case and explain why.

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CROSSED PERSPECTIVES

Questioning art and social science crossovers

Ursula Biemann, Valérie Pihet

14/03/2016

Valérie Pihet and Ursula Biemann discuss the crossovers between artistic creation and scholarly research in the field of mobility. Either working together, or in parallel, these two disciplines have a significant contribution to make in terms of the public debate.

Thematics : Theories

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CONTROVERSIES

Multi-Level Perspective and Theories of Practice: a mistaken controversy?

Dale Southerton, Matt Watson

25/11/2015

In the thriving field of sustainability transitions, an interesting discussion has flourished about the merits of and relationship between two analytical approaches, known as multi-level models of innovation and theories of social practice.

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CROSSED PERSPECTIVES

Changing behaviour for a low-carbon future

Matt Watson, Frédéric De Coninck

28/10/2015

British geographer Matt Watson and French sociologist Frédérick De Coninck discuss the role of practices in reducing our carbon footprint. Can taking into account people’s daily constraints more seriously be the key to developing more effective policies and hastening the transition towards low-carbon mobility?

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CROSSED PERSPECTIVES

Internet, territories and centralities

Benjamin Bayart, Boris Beaude

16/04/2015

Boris Beaude, a geographer, and Benjamin Bayart, an engineer and ardent supporter of freedom of expression, discuss the tensions that have arisen concerning the internet, the main platform for virtual mobility. Designed as something without a centre, which could not be fully controlled and would free people from regional limitations, the internet seems unable to deliver on these promises – as a result of pre-existing constraints.

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CROSSED PERSPECTIVES

Neo-nomads and highly mobile people

Stéphanie Vincent-Geslin & Emmanuel Ravalet, Maude Reitz & Yves Pedrazzini

24/02/2015

Four researchers assess the traits and similarities of and the differences between the subjects of their respective fields of study: neo-nomads, the focus of the ‘noLand’s man’ research project, and high mobility as studied in the framework of the JobMob investigation.

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