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Transport, Society and Place

Transport intersects with working lives and society, and we explore these relationships.

Mobility is a vital feature of people’s wellbeing. It satisfies both the basic need of moving from one place to another and connects people. Importantly, mobility is a concept that empowers social, cultural, and economic activity.

This theme aims to support multidisciplinary and cross-faculty research that allows for holistic explorations addressing the complexity of the relations between mobility, society and place. Projects that promote change in mobility behaviours strongly influence the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. These outcomes are important in terms of social justice, an ageing population and levelling-up the life chances of whole neighbourhoods, cities and regions.

We’re fundamentally concerned with issues that impact working lives globally. This includes:

  • transport poverty
  • liveability
  • social connectedness
  • health
  • wellbeing
  • the impact of mobility expectations
Our projects
  • 2021–2024 - Research Project: Identity, Mobility and Place. A study of The Peak District.
  • 2021–2024 - Research Project: Global Mobility and Academics.
  • 2021–2025 - Research Project: Advanced Care Research Centre: The Person in Context
  • 2021–2024 - Research Project: Homes for Living (Innovate UK)
  • 2021–2026 - Research Project: Applied Research Collaboration Northeast and North Cumbria
Our publications
  • Howe-Walsh, L., Kirk, S. & Oruh, E. (2022) Are People the Greatest Asset: Talent Management in SME Hotels in Nigeria during the COVID crisis. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Special Issue. By invitation.  https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-03-2022-0321.
  • Kirk, S. & Howe-Walsh, L. Global Commuting in Emerging Markets: The Asia-Pacific Region in Sinha, P., Parth, P. & Prikshat, V. (Eds) (2021) Emerging Market Multinationals and Strategic Management. Routledge.
  • Ridgeway, M. and Kirk, S. (2021) Home Sweet Home: Creating a sense of place in globally mobile working lives, Global Networks. doi.org/10.1111/glob.12313.
  • Kirk, S. (2020) ‘Sticks and Stones: The Naming of Global Talent’, Work, Employment and Society. DOI: 10.1177/0950017020922337.
  • Kirk, S. (2019) ‘Identity, Glass Borders and Globally Mobile Female Talent’, Journal of Global Mobility, 7 (3) 285-299. DOI: 10.1108/JGM-02-2019-0010.
  • Davies, L.E., Mercer, S.W., Brittain, K., Jagger, C., Robinson, L. and Kingston, A. (2022). The association between multimorbidity and mobility disability-free life expectancy in adults aged 85 years and over: A modelling study in the Newcastle 85+ cohort. PLoS Medicine, 19(11), p.e1004130.
  • Kingston, A., Comas-Herrera, A. and Jagger, C. (2018). Forecasting the care needs of the older population in England over the next 20 years: estimates from the Population Ageing and Care Simulation (PACSim) modelling study. The Lancet Public Health, 3(9), pp.e447-e455.
  • Bennett, H.Q., Kingston, A., Lourida, I., Robinson, L., Corner, L., Brayne, C.E., Matthews, F.E. and Jagger, C. (2021). The contribution of multiple long-term conditions to widening inequalities in disability-free life expectancy over two decades: Longitudinal analysis of two cohorts using the Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies. EClinicalMedicine, 39, p.101041.
  • Bennett, H.Q., Kingston, A., Spiers, G., Robinson, L., Corner, L., Bambra, C., Brayne, C., Matthews, F.E. and Jagger, C. (2021). Healthy ageing for all? comparisons of socioeconomic inequalities in health expectancies over two decades in the cognitive function and ageing studies I and II. International journal of epidemiology.
  • Kingston, A., Wohland, P., Wittenberg, R., Robinson, L., Brayne, C., Matthews, F.E., Jagger, C., Green, E., Gao, L., Barnes, R. and Arthur, A. (2017). Is late-life dependency increasing or not? A comparison of the Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies (CFAS). The Lancet, 390(10103), pp.1676-1684.
  • Vigar,G.(2022) The Politics of Mobility Policy, in Vickerman,R., (ed.) International Encyclopaedia of Transportation, Elsevier pp.131-134.
  • Varna, G., and VIGAR, G. (2019) ‘Connecting places: towards participatory ordinary urbanism’ in Docherty,I., Shaw,J., (eds)., Transport Matters, Bristol: Bristol University Press
  • Parsons R, VIGAR G. (2018) 'Resistance was futile!' Cycling's discourses of resistance to UK automobile modernism 1950-1970, Planning Perspectives 33(2) pp. 163-183.
  • VIGAR,G. (2017) The Four Knowledges of Transport Planning: enacting a more communicative, trans-disciplinary policy and decision-making, Transport Policy, Volume 58, pp.39–45
  • Palacin R, VIGAR G, Peacock S. (2016) Transport poverty and mobility. In: Davoudi,S., and Bell,D., eds. Justice and fairness in the city. Bristol: Policy Press.