IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v54y2016icp10-21.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“I am like a deaf, dumb and blind person”: Mobility and immobility of Chinese (im)migrants in Flushing, Queens, New York City

Author

Listed:
  • Yu, Shaolu

Abstract

This paper contributes to research on daily mobility experience of (im)migrants in cities and expands the conceptualizations of mobility by examining intentionality and its relations to locality. Through place-based research on mobility and immobility of Chinese (im)migrants in Flushing, Queens, New York City, this paper explores: 1) mobility patterns of recent (im)migrants in an urban setting; 2) the constraints, resources and their coping strategies for everyday mobility; and 3) the dialectal relationship between voluntary and involuntary immobility, and between mobility and ethnic communities. This study reveals that immobility is not always the result of inaccessibility, but structural barriers in the broader society such as socioeconomic inequality and racial discrimination. Involuntary immobility encourages overdependence on locality. With its high place accessibility, Flushing provides (im)migrants with a plethora of ethnic mobile resources, as well as social networks and community resources. The relative immobility among Chinese (im)migrants in Flushing is compensated by the flows and movements of people, goods and information both at the local and transnational scale. The contrast between insider-ness and outsider-ness further enhances their attachment to the local community and discourages them from moving. Thus, locality mitigates involuntary immobility but paradoxically nurtures voluntary immobility that hinders the transfer of potential mobility to actual mobility, and physical mobility to social mobility. Without considering locality, stillness is easily mistaken for immobility; without considering intentionality, accessibility is easily equated to mobility. Therefore, solutions to transportation equity do not lie solely in transportation accessibility itself, but more broadly in individual capability, immigration policy, labor market equality and community development.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu, Shaolu, 2016. "“I am like a deaf, dumb and blind person”: Mobility and immobility of Chinese (im)migrants in Flushing, Queens, New York City," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 10-21.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:54:y:2016:i:c:p:10-21
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2016.05.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692316302393
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2016.05.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Preston, John, 2009. "Epilogue: Transport policy and social exclusion--Some reflections," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 140-142, July.
    2. Urry, John, 2012. "Social networks, mobile lives and social inequalities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 24-30.
    3. Berg, Jessica & Levin, Lena & Abramsson, Marianne & Hagberg, Jan-Erik, 2014. "Mobility in the transition to retirement – the intertwining of transportation and everyday projects," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 48-54.
    4. Susanne Nordbakke & Tim Schwanen, 2014. "Well-being and Mobility: A Theoretical Framework and Literature Review Focusing on Older People," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 104-129, February.
    5. Hine, Julian, 2003. "Social exclusion and transport systems," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 263-263, October.
    6. Blumenberg, Evelyn, 2008. "Immigrants and transport barriers to employment: The case of Southeast Asian welfare recipients in California," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 33-42, January.
    7. Vincent Kaufmann & Manfred Max Bergman & Dominique Joye, 2004. "Motility: mobility as capital," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 745-756, December.
    8. Sylvie Fol & Gabriel Dupuy & Olivier Coutard, 2007. "Transport Policy and the Car Divide in the UK, the US and France: Beyond the Environmental Debate," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 802-818, December.
    9. Power, Anne, 2012. "Social inequality, disadvantaged neighbourhoods and transport deprivation: an assessment of the historical influence of housing policies," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 39-48.
    10. Joachim Otto Habeck & Ludek Broz, 2015. "Introduction: Experience and Emotion in Northern Mobilities," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 511-517, September.
    11. Tal, Gil & Handy, Susan, 2010. "Travel behavior of immigrants: An analysis of the 2001 National Household Transportation Survey," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 85-93, March.
    12. Delbosc, Alexa & Currie, Graham, 2011. "The spatial context of transport disadvantage, social exclusion and well-being," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1130-1137.
    13. Hodgson, Frances, 2012. "Everyday connectivity: equity, technologies, competencies and walking," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 17-23.
    14. Bose, Pablo S., 2014. "Refugees in Vermont: mobility and acculturation in a new immigrant destination," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 151-159.
    15. Lovejoy, Kristin & Handy, Susan, 2011. "Social networks as a source of private-vehicle transportation: The practice of getting rides and borrowing vehicles among Mexican immigrants in California," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(4), pages 248-257, May.
    16. Jones, Peter & Lucas, Karen, 2012. "The social consequences of transport decision-making: clarifying concepts, synthesising knowledge and assessing implications," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 4-16.
    17. Brake, Jenny & Mulley, Corinne & Nelson, John D. & Wright, Steve, 2007. "Key lessons learned from recent experience with Flexible Transport Services," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(6), pages 458-466, November.
    18. Lucas, Karen, 2012. "Transport and social exclusion: Where are we now?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 105-113.
    19. Stanley, John K. & Hensher, David A. & Stanley, Janet R. & Vella-Brodrick, Dianne, 2011. "Mobility, social exclusion and well-being: Exploring the links," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 45(8), pages 789-801, October.
    20. Valenzuela, Abel Jr. & Schweitzer, Lisa & Robles, Adriele, 2005. "Camionetas: Informal travel among immigrants," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 895-911, December.
    21. Motte-Baumvol, Benjamin & Nassi, Carlos D., 2012. "Immobility in Rio de Janeiro, beyond poverty," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 67-76.
    22. McQuoid, Julia & Dijst, Martin, 2012. "Bringing emotions to time geography: the case of mobilities of poverty," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 26-34.
    23. Mimi Sheller & John Urry, 2006. "The New Mobilities Paradigm," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 38(2), pages 207-226, February.
    24. John F. Kain, 1968. "Housing Segregation, Negro Employment, and Metropolitan Decentralization," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 82(2), pages 175-197.
    25. Evelyn Blumenberg & Michael Smart, 2014. "Brother can you Spare a Ride? Carpooling in Immigrant Neighbourhoods," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(9), pages 1871-1890, July.
    26. Nordbakke, Susanne, 2013. "Capabilities for mobility among urban older women: barriers, strategies and options," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 166-174.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lingqian Hu, 2021. "Gender differences in commuting travel in the U.S.: interactive effects of race/ethnicity and household structure," Transportation, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 909-929, April.
    2. Shirgaokar, Manish & Nobler, Erin, 2021. "Differences in daily trips between immigrants and US-born individuals: Implications for social integration," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 103-114.
    3. Behrsin, Ingrid & Benner, Chris, 2017. "Contested spaces and subjectivities of transit: Political ecology of a bus rapid transit development in Oakland, California," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 95-103.
    4. Hu, Lingqian & Klein, Nicholas J. & Smart, Michael J., 2021. "Comparing immigrant commute travel adaptation across and within racial/ethnic groups," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 112-122.
    5. Yijing Chen & Claudia Rafful & Mercedes Mercado & Lindsey Carte & Sonia Morales-Miranda & Judeline Cheristil & Teresita Rocha-Jiménez, 2022. "Hoping for a Better Future during COVID-19: How Migration Plans Are Protective of Depressive Symptoms for Haitian Migrants Living in Chile," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-15, August.
    6. Goldwyn, Eric, 2020. "Anatomy of a new dollar van route: Informal transport and planning in New York City," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schwanen, Tim & Lucas, Karen & Akyelken, Nihan & Cisternas Solsona, Diego & Carrasco, Juan-Antonio & Neutens, Tijs, 2015. "Rethinking the links between social exclusion and transport disadvantage through the lens of social capital," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 123-135.
    2. Bose, Pablo S., 2014. "Refugees in Vermont: mobility and acculturation in a new immigrant destination," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 151-159.
    3. Ryan, Jean & Wretstrand, Anders & Schmidt, Steven M., 2015. "Exploring public transport as an element of older persons' mobility: A Capability Approach perspective," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 105-114.
    4. Jean Ryan, 2020. "Examining the Process of Modal Choice for Everyday Travel Among Older People," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Benjamin Motte-Baumvol & Julie Fen-Chong & Olivier Bonin, 2023. "Immobility in a weekly mobility routine: studying the links between mobile and immobile days for employees and retirees," Transportation, Springer, vol. 50(5), pages 1723-1742, October.
    6. Duvarci, Yavuz & Yigitcanlar, Tan & Mizokami, Shoshi, 2015. "Transportation disadvantage impedance indexing: A methodological approach to reduce policy shortcomings," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 61-75.
    7. Robin Hickman & Mengqiu Cao & Beatriz Mella Lira & Alexis Fillone & Jose Bienvenido Biona, 2017. "Understanding Capabilities, Functionings and Travel in High and Low Income Neighbourhoods in Manila," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 161-174.
    8. Franz Buhr & Jennifer McGarrigle, 2017. "Navigating Urban Life in Lisbon: A Study of Migrants’ Mobilities and Use of Space," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 226-234.
    9. De Vos, Jonas & Witlox, Frank, 2017. "Travel satisfaction revisited. On the pivotal role of travel satisfaction in conceptualising a travel behaviour process," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 364-373.
    10. Farber, Steven & Mifsud, Anika & Allen, Jeff & Widener, Michael J. & Newbold, K. Bruce & Moniruzzaman, Md, 2018. "Transportation barriers to Syrian newcomer participation and settlement in Durham Region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 181-192.
    11. Martínez, Cristhian Figueroa & Hodgson, Frances & Mullen, Caroline & Timms, Paul, 2018. "Creating inequality in accessibility: The relationships between public transport and social housing policy in deprived areas of Santiago de Chile," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 102-109.
    12. van Dülmen, Christoph & Šimon, Martin & Klärner, Andreas, 2022. "Transport poverty meets car dependency: A GPS tracking study of socially disadvantaged groups in European rural peripheries," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    13. Pyrialakou, V. Dimitra & Gkritza, Konstantina & Fricker, Jon D., 2016. "Accessibility, mobility, and realized travel behavior: Assessing transport disadvantage from a policy perspective," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 252-269.
    14. Kębłowski, Wojciech & Van Criekingen, Mathieu & Bassens, David, 2019. "Moving past the sustainable perspectives on transport: An attempt to mobilise critical urban transport studies with the right to the city," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 24-34.
    15. Ahern, Aoife & Vega, Amaya & Caulfield, Brian, 2016. "Deprivation and access to work in Dublin City: The impact of transport disadvantage," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 44-52.
    16. Zhao, Pengjun & Yu, Zhao, 2021. "Rural poverty and mobility in China: A national-level survey," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    17. Belton Chevallier, Leslie & Motte-Baumvol, Benjamin & Fol, Sylvie & Jouffe, Yves, 2018. "Coping with the costs of car dependency: A system of expedients used by low-income households on the outskirts of Dijon and Paris," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 79-88.
    18. McLaren, Arlene Tigar, 2016. "Families and transportation: Moving towards multimodality and altermobility?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 218-225.
    19. Shirgaokar, Manish & Nobler, Erin, 2021. "Differences in daily trips between immigrants and US-born individuals: Implications for social integration," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 103-114.
    20. Kerstin Stark & Anton Galich, 2020. "Acceptable Automobility through Automated Driving. Insights into the Requirements for Different Mobility Configurations and an Evaluation of Suitable Use Cases," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-22, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:54:y:2016:i:c:p:10-21. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.