Mobility becoming migration: Understanding youth spatiality in the twenty-first century

Abstract

The aim of this chapter, and the next, is to provide readers with an expanded introduction of sorts, engaging with prominent theoretical themes in the study of youth spatiality. Of particular interest is appreciating the relationship between our two main terms of reference, migration and mobility, the former having a certain gravitas, the latter a more youthful and carefree aura. This chapter will however show that the distinction between these two modalities is artificial and detrimental to our appreciation of youth spatiality, with mobility and migration being linked both literally and imaginatively. While the intention is certainly not to reinvent the entire youth mobility research field, we can provide some ideas for a conceptual rethink, starting with acknowledgement of the importance of integrating mobility with migration, and vice versa, moving towards outlining a youth mobility paradigm capable of accommodating a diverse range of perspectives. This includes drawing upon evidence from the Global North and Global South, and both long-duration and fixed-term forms of exchange