The way things flow: exploring the movement of bodies, data and goods

Mobility shapes society in countless ways. Looking at society from the perspective of mobility reveals that its key moments of development coincide with the removal of obstacles to human flow--in the physical movement of people, goods, ideas, and spoken and written language.
This book explores mobility in various essayistic modes, from visual essays to scientific essay to broad cultural speculations. Mobility Society addresses, among other topics, energy politics and oil's grip on everyday life; urban transportation policy; the restrictions placed upon differently abled bodies; patterns of data flow; human mobility and Blackness; the politics of speed; concepts of "freedom" in relation to mobility; the appearance and experience of permanence in architectural and other objects; geological movement; and the politics of mobile phones. The design of the book encourages the reader to discover and explore unsuspected relations between mobilities and aspects of our evolving society.