To Örebro University

Residential segregation contributes to unequal living conditions and opportunities for youths. Research in this field often focuses on the effects in marginalized areas and therefore tends to overlook socioeconomically advantaged groups, as well as how people’s everyday mobility shapes these processes. This dissertation examines the relationship between youth mobility and segregation processes by exploring how young people’s positions in social and physical space are expressed through their everyday mobility in a segregated city.

The theoretical framework deepens the understanding of place, segregation, and mobility, where Bourdieu’s theory of how capital and habitus influence an individual’s position in social space is complemented by Lefebvre’s ideas about physical space. The concept of embodied mobility is also developed, capturing the individual’s perception of themselves as a mobile or immobile subject.

The sample consists of youths (age 15–16) from areas with different socioeconomic classifications. Three data collection methods were used: mental maps (99 participants), interactive maps (96), and interviews (10), which were analysed using different content analysis methods.

The results show that areas that are socioeconomically similar to one’s own are most often included, while non-similar areas in this regard are excluded in the youths’ mental maps. The interactive maps and interviews show that the extent and patterns of mobility vary depending on the residential area and shape young people’s perceptions of themselves as mobile subjects. These differences are reinforced by gender and first language, including in perceptions of (un)safe places. Considering the study’s theoretical framework, segregation appears to operate as a social process in which differences in social space are translated into mobility in physical space. Boundary crossings, i.e. places where the mobility overlaps, have potential to challenge inequalities— something social work can contribute to through its responsibility for urban planning.