Ne Pas Dépasser la ligne!

Full-Scale Research on Transit Areas such as Train Stations and Airports

« Ne Pas Dépasser la Ligne» deals with key concepts increasingly popular in the field of social sciences such as “movement control” and “identity formation” Inequality is the common theme underlying these concepts. Train stations and airports are places where some enjoy freedom of anonymity, but others suffer from anonymous inequality. The title of this book arouses interest in the invisible “line” drawn between these two extreme cases. This book considers concepts, policies, and practices of mobility in the six dimensions of cause/ speed/rhythm/path/experience/friction. As findings, the book presents observations of the “mobility elite” class. Why does someone pass safely at the train station and not queue at the airport? These smooth and rapid movements are due to someone else’s “non” movement or immobility. The author, a British humanities geographer, states that mobility hierarchies exist throughout society. In the top-tier class are mobility elites who move relatively often and comfortably; in the bottom-tier class mobility underclass members who are subject to restricted or forced movement. The book provides conceptual tools for us to understand the meaning of mobility, before discussing issues of mobility inequality. The book explains differences between space and place, between movement and mobility; and distinguishes between physical movement and personal and social meanings of mobility. From where, you ask? The venues of research are airports – most evidently showing the contractions inherent in modern mobility. The book presents unique color photographs of movements and stops at train stations and airports, offering valuable insights for understanding concepts and policies of mobility in overall social systems. The final chapter of the book contains conversational discussions between main author Tim Cresswell and Mikaël Lemarchand Director of Social Engagement and the Ecological Transition at the “Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français.”