ABSTRACT
Is this increase in flows a natural consequence of radical individualization or is it the cause? An observed increase in the scope and speed of flows is not intrinsically synonymous with an increase in social fluidity. Travel through geographical space in particular could very well be seen as a constraint to, and not a broadening of, movement in social space. Couples with two working partners are an excellent example of this. When both partners have jobs in different cities and decide to cohabitate, for instance, obvious concessions must be made. While one of the partners can ultimately give up his/her job, compromises are more often made around daily mobility and residential location (Kaufmann, 2008). Such examples illustrate the need to leave the theoretical world so that the two - theory and empirical research - might work hand in hand. More specifically they suggest that veritable theoretical thinking is in fact fed by empirical research.
