Conference Agenda

Since the "mobility turn" (Hannam et al., 2006; Sheller and Urry, 2006), scholarly attention has increasingly focused on various forms of mobilities. However, this emphasis has often led to prioritizing movement, while immobility is frequently framed as a deficiency or lack of agency (Franquesa, 2011). Yet, there are certain instances where immobility should not be merely understood as a failure, an inability to move, or a lack of aspirasions. Decisions to stay can be shaped by complex, context-specific factors that merit closer examination, allowing for more nuanced interpretations (Jónsson, 2011; Marston et al., 2019; Mata-Codesal, 2015; Silva, 2024).

It is not always clear whether immobility stems from a voluntary decision or from external constraints. These situations can be understood in a more nuanced way through Bourdieu’s thoughts on the interplay between social and physical spaces, which illuminate how dispositions encoded in spatial habitus shape preferences for residential choices and (im)mobility. (Tomay and Berger, 2024).

The literature frequently highlights selective migration as a key feature of disadvantaged settlements with adverse socio-economic indicators. However, if the decline of the affected villages is associated with the outmigration of younger, better-educated, and more capable individuals, what does this suggest about those who stay behind? In this context, they are often portrayed as powerless individuals, incapable of change or action. This presentation seeks to challenge such reductionist interpretations by exploring the narratives of residents in a small village in the Ormánság region of Hungary, affected by outmigration, characterized by peripheral spatial position and inadequate transport infrastructure.

Our analysis is based on 29 semi-structured interviews and data recorded in fieldwork diaries. The findings reveal that in every case, respondents’ long-term decisions to stay in the studied settlement are shaped by a complex interplay of factors. Their relationship to their place of residence is influenced not only by the perception of constraints and disadvantages but also by the practical benefits they evaluate from their own perspective and the spatial dispositions embedded in their habitus. The reductionist view that attributes their immobility solely to a lack of agency fails to capture the multifaceted nature of their decision-making process.

References:

Franquesa J (2011) ‘We’ve lost our bearings’: Place, tourism, and the limits of the ‘mobility turn’. Antipode 43(4).

Hannam K, Sheller M and Urry J (2006) Editorial: Mobilities, immobilities and moorings. Mobilities 1(1).

Jónsson G (2011) Non-migrant, sedentary, immobile or ‘ left behind ’? Reflections on the absence of migration. The IMI Working Papers Series (April). Epub ahead of print 2011.

Marston G, Zhang J, Peterie M, et al. (2019) To move or not to move: mobility decision-making in the context of welfare conditionality and paid employment. Mobilities 14(5).

Mata-Codesal D (2015) Ways of Staying Put in Ecuador: Social and Embodied Experiences of Mobility–Immobility Interactions. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 41(14).

Sheller M and Urry J (2006) The new mobilities paradigm. Environment and Planning A 38(2).

Silva AV da (2024) Beyond the American dream: unveiling the complexity of young people’s (im)mobility in Governador Valadares, Brazil. Mobilities. Routledge. Epub ahead of print 2024.

Tomay K and Berger V (2024) Inclusion or Exclusion? The Spatial Habitus of Rural Gentrifiers. Social Inclusion 12.

This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on mobility patterns in small islands like El Hierro. The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 brought about significant transformations in mobility at both global and local levels. The pandemic imposed restrictions on movement, altered daily travel habits, and triggered residential changes, with the unique insular characteristics of small islands playing a crucial role in these dynamics.

By analyzing statistical data on residential shifts (sourced from the National Statistical Institute) and qualitative insights obtained through in-depth interviews conducted as part of the RE-PLACE project, this study sheds light on the relationship between crises, remoteness, perceptions of safety, and human mobility.

However, it is essential to examine the transformative potential of crises and whether the mobility changes induced by the pandemic are temporary or lasting. This research adopts a diachronic perspective to differentiate between structural and circumstantial shifts. Key questions guiding the analysis include: Did the pandemic result in long-term changes in mobility on El Hierro? How was the island’s external appeal perceived by residents? Did local policies contribute to increased mobility to remote islands after the pandemic? Did the pandemic boost tourism development in El Hierro? Were mobility trends on El Hierro consistent with those observed in other small island contexts?

Answering these questions will enhance our understanding of the long-term effects of pandemic-driven mobility changes and highlight the opportunities or missed possibilities for island spaces like El Hierro.

Considering the current negative demographic trends in rural Latvia (Krisjane et al., 2017; Dahs et al., 2024), newcomers play an important role in restoring the composition of the population; newcomers are contributors of the demographic imbalance and the agents of change. Therefore, the attraction and retention of newcomers has the potential to ensure the sustainable development of rural areas.

Since there is a lack of research in Latvia that would focus on a deeper study of the integration of newcomers in rural areas, thereof the aim of the research is to explore what the integration process of newcomers in the rural areas is, to identify factors that promote or hinder the integration of newcomers in the rural area in Latvia. The integration process of newcomers in rural Latvia was analysed based on the social integration model four dimensions: structural, cultural, interactive and identification integration (Bosswick W., Heckman F., 2006).

The research data was collected using a qualitative social research approach – case studies in remote rural communities that included semi-structured individual and group interviews with newcomers, municipality representatives, and local activists, as well as published and unpublished materials from rural nongovernmental organizations.

The integration process in rural Latvia takes place through several elements: home, work, places and events, as well as society and various organizations. While there are many factors that contribute to the integration of newcomers in the rural areas, which are related with development of home in the rural area, different job opportunities, activities outside home and local community, there are also factors that can negatively affect newcomers’ future intentions to stay in the rural area. Among them are such factors as housing shortage, reluctance of local society to accept newcomers, concerns about school closures and unorganized infrastructure. In many places, opportunities for structural integration are gradually diminishing.

This study was supported by National Research Programme “Letonica for the development of Latvian and European society” Project No. VPP Letonika-2021/4-0002 “New solutions in the study of demographic and migration processes for the development of the Latvian and European knowledge society”.

The return of Brazilian migrants from Europe has gained increasing attention in recent years, particularly due to rising repatriation requests driven by unemployment, housing difficulties, and legal barriers. However, official records only capture cases registered through formal channels, failing to provide a comprehensive picture of returnees’ circumstances, degrees of (in)voluntariness, and waiting periods. Moreover, existing studies on transnational return migration largely focus on reintegration in Brazil, leaving a gap in understanding the obstacles, delays, and immobilities young Brazilian migrants encounter when attempting to return from the Global North.

While migration studies have traditionally emphasized movement, recent scholarship highlights the need to focus on immobility to rethink mobility and transnationalism. This study examines the complexities of return migration, moving beyond the voluntary/involuntary dichotomy to explore the constraints that shape (im)mobility. By adopting the "mixed migration paradigm," we analyse how young migrants reconcile their aspirations for return with the material, social, and legal resources available to them.

Based on ethnographic research conducted in Portugal, this paper develops the concept of homo emigraturus—migrants perpetually poised for movement—and examines how "geometries of power" shape their mobility constraints. The study investigates how power relations, social structures, and economic conditions create a persistent sense of limbo, where migrants are trapped between the desire to return and the inability to do so. This paradox generates deep frustration and reshapes their migratory experience, exposing the co-construction of mobility and immobility.

By centring immobility as an analytical framework, this study critiques the widespread association of migration with hypermobility and uninterrupted movement. It contributes to ongoing debates by foregrounding return mobility and the experiences of young migrants—two areas gaining prominence in both academic and policy arenas. Additionally, it examines dominant narratives surrounding mobility, movement, and flow through an immobility perspective, expanding discussions on return migration. Finally, it explores the tensions that shape contemporary youth mobilities amid global migration trends, uncertainty, and shifting socio-political landscapes, offering essential contributions to both policy and academic discourse.