Tension between Fast and Slow Mobilities

Abstract

This article analyzes the dialectic of fast and slow mobilities as a continuous tension, since the mid-twentieth century, characterized by three evolutions of the functional, phenomenological, and social dimensions of mobility infrastructure and practices in Brussels, Belgium. It is based on the content analysis of diverse “embodiments” of social imaginaries: mobility infrastructures, narratives and sensory-motor behaviors, and images, movies, and photographs. It casts light on the great triple evolution of (1) the scale of the designed city; (2) the limits between spaces devoted to speed, slowness, and overlaps; and (3) the promoted aesthetics in terms of atmospheres and urban experience. These developments strongly relate to the changing meaning of slow and fast mobilities and to a broader change in the societal relationship to space and time.

Public Transport in the Disabling City: A Narrative Ethnography of Dilemmas and Strategies of People with Mobility Disabilities

“…The study of the daily mobility practices of PMDs and their collective and individual meanings allows us to understand how their identities evolve and how these have an impact on their social participation. The notion of "constellations of mobility" [42][43][44] provides a framework for the study of the dynamics between movements, practices, meanings, and social interactions. These dynamics evolve within "phygital spaces" [45,46] (created from physical and no-presential interactions) and "places of mobility", where accessibility and social inclusion are constantly being redefined [47,48]-in terms of Morin's complexity paradigm [49], spaces and places would not be containers but both the cause and effect of such dynamics in a constant feedback loop.…”

“…Studies in experiential narrative research in disabling situations can explore the impact of the perception of time on constellations of mobility, in particular the social construction of mobility disabilities in relation to representations of fast and slow mobilities [44], resistance and "dominant rhythms" [108] (p. 81), and the notion of repetitions (social habits) proposed in Lefebvre's "rhythmanalysis" [109]. It would be important to look more closely at the tension that can exist between what is conceived as urban space, including transport networks and travel infrastructures, and what is experienced by citizens.…”