La dimensión social de la movilidad sostenible: una reflexión sociológica sobre ciudad, medio rural y desigualdad

The social dimension of sustainable mobility: a sociological reflection on cities, rural areas and inequality

Carmen Elboj-Saso and Antonio Gutierrez-Lythgoe

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This paper offers a sociological reflection on sustainable mobility. Challenging a predominantly technological and environmental understanding of the transition, it argues that mobility is a social phenomenon: an everyday practice embedded in power relations, inequalities of class, gender, age, and territory, and cultural meanings that shape how people move. Drawing on the sociology of mobilities—including power geometry, motility capital, the system of automobility, practice theory, and mobility of care—the paper examines three spatial scales: the urban scale, where sustainable mobility may become a marker of social distinction; the rural scale, where car ownership and use are often essential to territorial belonging; and the national scale, where mobility emerges as a dimension of social cohesion, belonging, and recognition. The analysis considers not only existing inequalities but also the democratizing potential of mobility. Depending on how social policies are designed and implemented, the transition towards sustainable mobility can expand access to urban spaces, essential services, and collective life. The paper concludes that mobility can only be considered truly sustainable if it is also socially just.

Keywords: sustainable mobility; sociology of mobility; social inequality; mobility justice; democratisation of mobility; rural areas; social cohesion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 Q56 R11 R41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10-21
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:131498

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