ABSTRACT
Reconstructing Mobilities Introduction: What Do We Need to Know? There is a paucity of empirical information on everyday mobility and the ways in which it has changed in Britain over the past century. This is one reason why assumptions about mobility change are based on broad-brush interpretations of global change rather than on detailed assessments of what has actually happened. Because everyday mobility is viewed as mundane and commonplace, such movement has been neglected in the compilation of official statistics and reports and in detailed academic studies. Most everyday mobility requires little thought or planning, it is just something that is done on a daily basis and the routine nature of such movement means that it disappears from view. Thus, whereas a family may spend weeks discussing, planning and booking a holiday trip to the Mediterranean; travelling to work, going to the supermarket, or taking children to school are activities that are all completed without a second thought. However, whilst a holiday appears to be an expensive and exciting event, it probably occupies just two weeks and in total will almost certainly cost much less than the real costs of travel for everyday purposes on the other 50 weeks of the year. However, because we do such trips regularly we do not usually think about, plan, or record them systematically.
