Shared journeys, linked lives: a relational-biographical approach to mobility practices

Baby on board: the impact of sling use on experiences of family mobility with babies and young children

“…It is also important to mention experiences with public transport. Previous studies have shown that the transition to parenthood is often marked by an increase in car dependency (Rau and Sattlegger 2017). However, several of those I interviewed either could not drive or did not have access to a car during the day when they were at home with a child.…”

“…For example, becoming a parent can precipitate a profound transformation in how you engage inand experiencedifferent kinds of mobilities (Rau and Sattlegger 2017). Thanks, largely, to these developments, there is now a strong literature exploring family mobility experiences, with studies exploring the school run across different modes of transport (Dowling 2000, Jensen et al 2015 and family holidays (Hall and Holdsworth 2016).…”

“…In this way, it becomes possible to 'do' family in different ways (Jensen 2016(Jensen , 2017)for example, by using the affective affordances/skinship (Tahan 2010, 2013, Jensen 2017) enabled by the sling to manage potential challenges (tiredness, busy roads, cold weather) differently. Equally, such conclusions are a reminder of the importance of exploring early family life 'in the moment', as it were, since research over a longer timespan of months or years tends to obscure these momentary fluxes in mobility through a focus on the growing independence and capabilities of children as they grow (Rau and Sattlegger 2017).…”

Changing Suburban Daily Mobilities in Response to a Mobility Intervention: A Qualitative Investigation of an E-bike Trial

“…Mobility practices are also negotiated and coordinated with people back home. Rau and Sattlegger [63] argue for the importance of including the whole household as the research unit when studying mobility practices, as household members negotiate, coordinate, and re-order practices and activities in relation to each other. Julia, an informant living with her husband and two teenage children, noted that she could not bike to work when her children were younger because she needed to pick them up from kindergarten, to chauffeur them to different activities, and do grocery shopping.…”

Mobility across the life course: an introduction to a dialogue

“…Instead, highly complex sets of socialisation processes both reflect and promote the emergence of 'linked lives' (Elder et al, 2006). Given the general orientation of the mobility biographies approach towards conceptual and methodological individualism, this linking of lives, including through processes of mobility (socialisation) has received relatively little attention (but see Rau and Sattlegger, 2018, for an example of an in-depth qualitative inquiry into shared journeys and linked lives). This budding area of inquiry highlights the central role of personal social networks for travel involving household or family members (Ho and Mulley, 2015) as well as interactions with people beyond the household (Lin and Wang, 2014;Sharmeen et al, 2014).…”