Spatial Mobility Capital: A Valuable Resource for the Social Mobility of Border-Crossing Migrant Entrepreneurs?
Spatial mobility is considered a valuable resource for social mobility. Yet, we still have an insufficient understanding of the extent to which and under what conditions geographical movement across national borders represents an asset for social advancement. Addressing this research gap, we offer a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-05-01
|
| Series: | Societies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/3/77 |
| _version_ | 1827656553685057536 |
|---|---|
| author | Yvonne Riaño Christina Mittmasser Laure Sandoz |
| author_facet | Yvonne Riaño Christina Mittmasser Laure Sandoz |
| author_sort | Yvonne Riaño |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Spatial mobility is considered a valuable resource for social mobility. Yet, we still have an insufficient understanding of the extent to which and under what conditions geographical movement across national borders represents an asset for social advancement. Addressing this research gap, we offer a theoretical contribution to the fields of transnationalism, migration/mobility, and social geography. We focus on 86 cross-border migrant entrepreneurs who live in Barcelona (Spain), Cúcuta (Colombia), and Zurich (Switzerland), and combine geographical and mental maps, biographical interviews, ethnographic observations, and participatory <i>Minga</i> workshops. Our results show significant inequality in opportunity among the studied entrepreneurs and reveal different geographies of risk and uncertainty for their cross-border mobilities. We theoretically propose that the ability to use spatial mobility as a resource for social mobility depends largely on three intersecting factors: the entrepreneur’s social position, his or her location in geographical space, and his or her strategies. Moreover, we have formulated the concept of spatial mobility capital to define the necessary conditions for spatial mobility to become a valuable resource for social advancement: individuals must be in control of their spatial mobilities, such mobilities need to match their socio-economic needs and personal aspirations, and they must be able to move safely. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:29:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7eab5f67de934dcc987f5236d66c036b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4698 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:29:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Societies |
| spelling | doaj.art-7eab5f67de934dcc987f5236d66c036b2023-11-23T18:58:14ZengMDPI AGSocieties2075-46982022-05-011237710.3390/soc12030077Spatial Mobility Capital: A Valuable Resource for the Social Mobility of Border-Crossing Migrant Entrepreneurs?Yvonne Riaño0Christina Mittmasser1Laure Sandoz2Institute of Geography, National Center of Competence in Research “on the move”, University of Neuchâtel, 2000 Neuchatel, SwitzerlandInstitute of Geography, National Center of Competence in Research “on the move”, University of Neuchâtel, 2000 Neuchatel, SwitzerlandInstitute of Geography, National Center of Competence in Research “on the move”, University of Neuchâtel, 2000 Neuchatel, SwitzerlandSpatial mobility is considered a valuable resource for social mobility. Yet, we still have an insufficient understanding of the extent to which and under what conditions geographical movement across national borders represents an asset for social advancement. Addressing this research gap, we offer a theoretical contribution to the fields of transnationalism, migration/mobility, and social geography. We focus on 86 cross-border migrant entrepreneurs who live in Barcelona (Spain), Cúcuta (Colombia), and Zurich (Switzerland), and combine geographical and mental maps, biographical interviews, ethnographic observations, and participatory <i>Minga</i> workshops. Our results show significant inequality in opportunity among the studied entrepreneurs and reveal different geographies of risk and uncertainty for their cross-border mobilities. We theoretically propose that the ability to use spatial mobility as a resource for social mobility depends largely on three intersecting factors: the entrepreneur’s social position, his or her location in geographical space, and his or her strategies. Moreover, we have formulated the concept of spatial mobility capital to define the necessary conditions for spatial mobility to become a valuable resource for social advancement: individuals must be in control of their spatial mobilities, such mobilities need to match their socio-economic needs and personal aspirations, and they must be able to move safely.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/3/77informal mobilitiestransnational migrant entrepreneursspatial mobilitysocial mobilitysocial inequalityspatial mobility capital |
| spellingShingle | Yvonne Riaño Christina Mittmasser Laure Sandoz Spatial Mobility Capital: A Valuable Resource for the Social Mobility of Border-Crossing Migrant Entrepreneurs? Societies informal mobilities transnational migrant entrepreneurs spatial mobility social mobility social inequality spatial mobility capital |
| title | Spatial Mobility Capital: A Valuable Resource for the Social Mobility of Border-Crossing Migrant Entrepreneurs? |
| title_full | Spatial Mobility Capital: A Valuable Resource for the Social Mobility of Border-Crossing Migrant Entrepreneurs? |
| title_fullStr | Spatial Mobility Capital: A Valuable Resource for the Social Mobility of Border-Crossing Migrant Entrepreneurs? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial Mobility Capital: A Valuable Resource for the Social Mobility of Border-Crossing Migrant Entrepreneurs? |
| title_short | Spatial Mobility Capital: A Valuable Resource for the Social Mobility of Border-Crossing Migrant Entrepreneurs? |
| title_sort | spatial mobility capital a valuable resource for the social mobility of border crossing migrant entrepreneurs |
| topic | informal mobilities transnational migrant entrepreneurs spatial mobility social mobility social inequality spatial mobility capital |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/12/3/77 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yvonneriano spatialmobilitycapitalavaluableresourceforthesocialmobilityofbordercrossingmigrantentrepreneurs AT christinamittmasser spatialmobilitycapitalavaluableresourceforthesocialmobilityofbordercrossingmigrantentrepreneurs AT lauresandoz spatialmobilitycapitalavaluableresourceforthesocialmobilityofbordercrossingmigrantentrepreneurs |