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Research Program

Ongoing Projects / Mobility

More and more people are moving often – farther, faster, and with greater ease. Mobility is, in other words, a central sociological phenomenon tied to processes of globalization. The multiplicity of individual choices, technological advancements, and demands for a flexible workforce are some factors that incite people to move. New family structures – e.g. single parents whose resources are based on the support of the extended or reconstituted families – are themselves “mobile” in the sense that they are broken up into many households, and often dispersed in more than one city, if not countries. Some sociological researchers have pinpointed the individualistic component of mobility: the act of moving implies the individual, not the masses. That is to say that the experience of movement shapes the essence of the individual being. Noteworthy, in light of this research, is the constantly rising value of mobility in our societies: mobility has become a form of socio-cultural capital essential for a good career. Yet mobility also allows for the development of certain abilities, the experience of certain emotions, and the creation of an identity. Hence, though mobility may be considered a social lever in the labour market, our research proposes a broader appraisal of mobility as a catalyst for personal development.

VESPA has initiated two research projects exploring the impacts of mobility and collaborates with two others:

• Understanding the city as a generative of socio-political mobilization: The case of Los Angeles,, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
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• Appréhensions et opportunités face à la mobilité des jeunes. Le cas montréalais, funded by the Centre Métropolis du Quebec, in partnership with the Direction de la diversité sociale de la Ville de Montréal.
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• La métropolisation vue par ses axes de mobilité, équipe Métropolisation et Société, funded by the Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture (FQRSC), under the direction of Jean-Pierre Collin, with Gilles Sénécal, Pierre J. Hamel, Laurence Bherer and Julie-Anne Boudreau.
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• Les Autochtones et la ville: identité, mobilité, qualité de vie et gouvernance, réseau DIALOG, , funded by the Community-University Research Alliance (CUPA) of the SSHRS, under the direction of Carole Lévesque and Edith Cloutier.
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