Dear Colleagues, 

Residential mobility is an enduring topic of study, perhaps because the causes and consequences of residential relocation are so varied across time, settings, and sociodemographic groups. Traditional human capital conceptualization sees residential mobility as a key mechanism for upward social and economic mobility. Under the right circumstances, moves can grant access to better employment, education, resources, and amenities. The absence of such upwardly mobile moves, or residential immobility, is often discussed in the context of negative outcomes for these families who are “stuck in place”. Frequent moves within a short period of time are also often discussed in the context of negative impacts on families and children, characterized as “residential instability”. However, in our changing society, are those conceptualizations accurate or outdated? A new trend of “mobile residentiality”, whereby some people abandon the concept of a permanent residence and seek residence only rarely or temporarily [1], challenges the notion of “instability”. Additionally, scholars are increasingly pointing to a “mobility bias” in residential mobility research and housing policy [2,3], whereby some reasons for immobility, such as social connections and residential rootedness, have been systemtically ignored. The human capital framework leaves little room to delve into the motivations, benefits, and drawbacks for those who move very frequently or very infrequently. The goal of this Special Issue is to publish papers that challenge and expand researchers’ and policymakers’ notions of residential (im)mobility. 

This Special Issue aims to highlight the changing landscape of residential mobility over time and across settings. For this Special Issue, residential mobility is conceptualized broadly as the degree to which individuals change their residence and can include short- or long-distance moves within a city, region, or country. Special Issue submissions should reflect on new trends and critical conceptualizations of residential (im)mobility, including, but not limited to, mobile residentiality, mobility bias, and residential rootedness. Submissions are encouraged from any social science discipline and methodological tradition, including qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods approaches. Papers should include a theoretical framework and empirical analysis. 

References

1. Wang, Y. Residential mobility or mobile residentiality? Exploring the effects of place stability and variety in consumer psychology. Consum. Psychol. 2022, 32(3), 537–540.
2. Schewel, K. Understanding immobility: Moving beyond the mobility bias in migration studies. Migr. Rev. 2020, 54(2), 328–355.
3. Shelby, H. Why place really matters: A qualitative approach to housing preferences and neighborhood effects. Policy Debate 2017, 27(4), 547–569. 

Dr. Amy Spring
Guest Editor

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• residential mobility
• residential immobility
• internal migration
• mobility bias
• residential instability
• housing