Mobility Justice: The Politics of Movement in An Age of Extremes

by Mimi Sheller

Mobility justice is one of the crucial political and ethical issues of our day. We are in the midst of a global climate crisis and extreme challenges of urbanization. At the same time it is difficult to ignore the deaths of thousands of migrants at sea or in deserts, the xenophobic treatment of foreign-born populations, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as the persistence of racist violence and ethnic exclusions on our front doorstep. This, in turn, is connected to other kinds of uneven mobility: relations between people, access to transport, urban infrastructures and global resources such as food, water, and energy. In Mobility Justice, Mimi Sheller makes a passionate argument for a new understanding of the contemporary crisis of mobility. She shows how power and inequality inform the governance and control of movement, connecting these scales of the body, street, city, nation, and planet into one overarching theory of mobility justice. This can be seen on a local level in the differential circulation of people, resources, and information, as well as on an urban scale, with questions of public transport and 'the right to the city'. On the planetary scale, she demands that we rethink the reality where tourists and other kinetic elites are able to roam freely, the military origins of global infrastructure, and the contested politics of migration and restricted borders. Mobility Justice offers a new way to understand the deep flows of inequality and uneven accessibility of a world in which the mobility commons has been enclosed.

Genres: Nonfiction, Urbanism, Urban Planning, Politics, Urban Studies, Sociology, Urban

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 25, 2018

About the author

Mimi Sheller is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Mobilities Research and Policy at Drexel University. She is the author of Democracy after Slavery, Consuming the Caribbean, Citizenship from Below, and Aluminum Dreams.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although 'Mobility Justice' was published in 2018, it took me back to writing up my PhD thesis in 2015. I wish it had been around then, as the concept of mobility justice would have been extremely useful to tie my conclusions together. A number of theories and academics that Sheller discusses did make it into my discussion, notably Urry's system of automobility and Kaufmann's concept of motility. On an intellectual level, I appreciated 'Mobility Justice' as a thoughtful and profound synthesis of mobility theories into something new and promising. On an emotional level, I found it hard to read as it gave me a sharply ambivalent sense of nostalgia. Writing up my PhD really wasn't a good time for my mental health, but at least I was immersed in my own research that I really cared about. That, and microwave rice packets, are all that kept me going at the time. In my academic career since then, I've spent virtually no time doing research that's meaningful to me. In an ideal world my research would fall within the scope of mobility justice; in reality I'm trapped in a business school teaching statistics.

Of course, none of that is any reflection on Sheller's book, which impressed me very much. It connects transport and environmental and social justice more carefully and systematically than anything else I've ever read. The central thesis is that previous theories have done so partially, without fully recognising the complexity of inequalities within mobility systems. Successive chapters focus on refugees and migration, technology and smart cities, car culture, and the environment. The interdependence of all is emphasised throughout. The writing style is academic without being obscure, despite drawing upon some challenging theorists like Paul Virilio. I found the concept of mobility commons helpful and was pleased that the principles of mobility justice mentioned in each chapter were brought together in an appendix. These are wide-ranging, further reinforcing the message that true mobility justice would require regulation of data collection, tax havens, industrial pollution, habitat preservation, and carbon budgets, as well as more buses. Several principles focus on cities, which I took to mean urban areas in general. (There is no internationally agreed definition of a city and national thresholds vary wildly. Some villages in the USA have larger populations than the UK city of Ely.)

It is a tribute to Sheller's good writing that I managed to read 'Mobility Justice' at all, given that the pandemic and work mayhem are making recreational non-fiction hard to manage. In retrospect it's astounding that during my PhD I read Slavoj Žižek for fun; I think my brain had more capacity before Brexit, Trump, and COVID-19. The effort to look past my own issues around academia was worth making, as 'Mobility Justice' is a thought-provoking and inspiring read. Notably, I hadn't previously considered the mobility implications of neo-nationalist anti-immigration policies. Sheller is also particularly good at explaining the contrast between frictionless mobilities of the super-rich and restrictions upon the low-paid who labour for their ease. The highlight for me, though, is this simple yet powerful statement: 'Mobilities do not just take place, they make place.'

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A literature review in book form. Clearly articulates the argument for an (im)mobility framework at all scales and provides principles of mobility justice to go with each. Definitely influential to my thesis but also needs to be combined with other works on specific subject positions/processes (e.g. racialization, gendering, etc.), so they don't get subsumed under the mobility framework.

[Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

zij legt gekke linken, ben echt grote fan, maar was wel zware paté (mss een betere editor zoeken?)

[Nic Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great information, but the text would have benefited from a good editor.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

In agreement with other reviewers who have noted that this is really a reference text. It doesn't really advance a new argument and instead summarizes and connects a great deal of existing literature. And unfortunately, it does so in a pretty redundant and jargon-laden fashion, which is entirely unnecessary for most of the content covered.

5 star ideas but really, really dull delivery, so 3 stars overall. Go see Mimi Sheller talk about this stuff, though, she's way more interesting in person than in this book.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rigorous, methodical examination of intersectional mobility. While often dry, Mobility Justice serves as a helpful bridge between theories of mobility and elevates the conversation beyond transportation to encompass movement and existence across society and the life cycle. At minimum, Sheller exposes all the ways a person can have "frictionless mobilities," especially in contrast to the restricted mobility of inequitably resourced, overpoliced, and underprivileged groups.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

very comprehensive but as a result it’s mostly an annotated bibliography. good resource tho

[Jolien Vandoorne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think mobility justice is one of the most important topics in our current society. Mobility justice refers to whether everyone can access the city fairly, who can move freely, and who faces barriers to services and opportunities. It is closely connected to climate action and the right to the city. Mobility justice goes beyond just access. It tackles deeper issues like power dynamics, social inequality, and the impacts of climate change. To achieve true fairness, we need to look at all dimensions of mobility justice and take it as a starting point in creating fair cities.

However the book is too dull and academic to show the importance of it in an accessible manner. In desperate need of a graspable version because this does no justice... ;)

[Alia Salleh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This provides a comprehensive rethink of ‘mobility’, drawing from a comprehensive lit review. It therefore is a good book to start on the topic. Mobility here goes beyond transport, but the inherent movement within society. I picked this book to expand my perspective on public transports but got so much more. No kidding I skimmed through some chapter especially on borders, but the final few chapters deserve a careful read. Recommended.

[Sarah Cavar · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really incredible book, perfect for people with an academic background but without significant experience in mobility/geography studies. Not only was it informative, but it was written clearly and accessibly — truly a joy to read.

[manasa k · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good reference! wish it had a little more about theoretical solutions rather than base its text in the shortcomings of other research done on mobility. great chapter on the potentials of transformative transportation justice

[Floris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very inspiring. Extremely interesting. More needed than ever before.

At the same time: terribly edited, sometimes incredibly repetitive and overly difficult.

[alzabo · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little too continental. but beneath the word slog of "assemblages," "constellations," "ontologies," and "choreographies" of mobility, she's getting at some important ideas

[Sam Orndorff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to a theory of mobility justice. I think it lacks specificity but is meant to be general anyway. This is a good overview of a concept that ought to be more widely discussed.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be turgid and conceptual. I feel that it attempted to do too much but achieved little because of this. Many of the points raised are important points and it has definitely changed the way I think on various topics.

[asher white · Rating 2 out of 5]

ultimately pretty frustrating super redundant and reliant on academic jargon i.e. passionless retreads of the same language ("racialized, classed, gendered, and international inequities") without much actual thoughtful development. felt cursory. very helpful bibliography and useful as a cheat sheet to the last 15 years of mobility studies