Abstract This article explores the spatial mobility of disadvantaged populations in order to enhance our understanding of transport poverty. It is based on participatory GPS tracking data collected in peripheral rural regions in Czechia and Germany. The data provide information on the two-week mobility of 61 socially disadvantaged study participants belonging to the following groups: (a) the lone elderly, (b) the labor market disadvantaged, and (c) single parents. The quantitative analysis utilizes group comparisons of activity space metrics. The results show that the mobility of disadvantaged people varied little between countries and regions, which indicates that individual social disadvantage mattered more than regional spatial disadvantage. Daily mobility depended on individual mobility strategies, and on people's embeddedness in social networks. The mobility patterns of socially disadvantaged groups differed, and showed considerable within-group variability. Our analysis finds that the effects of car access depended on the respondents' levels of social disadvantage; and that a car was not a merely a transport variable, but a socially conditioned variable. Understanding how automobility in rural peripheries is mediated by social ties, and how it can both enable and constrain chances for social participation, is essential for developing measures aimed at reducing transport poverty.

    Highlights The mobility of disadvantaged people varies little between countries and regions. Patterns of mobility differ between and within socially disadvantaged groups. Car access is a key factor enabling extensive mobility with group-specific effects. Social networks are crucial for mobility potentials and obligations in rural areas. GPS tracking is valuable for measuring the mobility of the socially disadvantaged.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Transport poverty meets car dependency: A GPS tracking study of socially disadvantaged groups in European rural peripheries


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    2022-04-16




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




    Travel Behavior Patterns of Different Socially Disadvantaged Groups

    Dodson, Jago / Burke, Matthew / Evans, Rick et al. | Transportation Research Record | 2010


    Identifying accessibility problems and appropriate solutions for socially disadvantaged groups

    Jones, P. / Association for European Transport | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2008


    Identifying accessibility problems and appropriate solutions for socially disadvantaged groups

    Jones, P. / Association for European Transport | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2008


    Transport poverty meets the digital divide: accessibility and connectivity in rural communities

    Velaga, Nagendra R. / Beecroft, Mark / Nelson, John D. et al. | Elsevier | 2012