Cultural dimensions of urban mobility

Authors

  • Carlos Lange Valdés Universidad de Chile

Abstract

Urban mobility, particularly that developed on a daily basis by city-dwellers, is a problem area of increasing importance for the operation of the urban system and for the development of social life. Although urban mobility has been an object of analysis for a long time, the consolidation of the global city paradigm and its unstoppable expansion allowed it to question the “urban concept”, generating new queries about its traditional approaches.
This situation is of particular importance for social sciences, as they face the challenge of enhancing the understanding of urban mobility, as far as its socio cultural dimensions are concerned. This paper establishes three approaches about how urban mobility is addressed from a social sciences perspective. The first approach reveals its importance as object of study. The second one demarcates a socio cultural perspective. The last one poses questions that may be used for future research.

Author Biography

Carlos Lange Valdés, Universidad de Chile

B.A. in Social Anthropology, Universidad de Chile. Master’s Degree in Urban Development, PUC. Doctoral student in Social Sciences and Communication, Universidad de Deusto. INVI Academic, FAU Universidad de Chile