Contenu du sommaire : Regards sur la mobilité socio-spatiale

The autor proposes a comprehensive approach to mobility - taken as a major phenomenon in western contemporary societies - wich goes beyond the opposition to sedentarity, in order to underline the strong relation existing among movement, identities, and territories. Since hierarchical, nested territorial systems cannot any longer explain social and business relations, and since these relations, are not resting on spatial proximity, the approach which is proposed here involves a system of nomadic and sedentary forms of territoriality, and its heuristic value is exemplified.

This paper analyses the role of migration in residential social change in London during the intercensal decade 1971-81 using data from the 1 % Longitudinal Survey. It compares the socio-economic composition of out-migrants from, and in-migrants to London with the changing socio-economic composition of continuing residents, and it assesses the relative importance of migration and in-situ social change. It shows that while the incidence of out-migration of professional and managerial workers from London is high, this is partly offset by high levels of inmigration into these groups, especially among young people who were economically inactive in 1971 but who were classed as managers or professional workers in 1981. There is also a high level of internal occupational change as new entrants into the labour force replace departures. As a result of these changes, the occupational structure of London has not experienced a downwards shift which would be expected on the basis of out-migration alone.

This study uses data from the Longitudinal Study of England and Wales to examine the relationships between social and geographical mobility. It shows that inter-regional migration is social class specific, that social mobility and geographical mobility are positively related, and that inter-regional migration is strongly associated with upward intra-generational social mobility.

The rural-urban fringe within the Ile de France region is concerned with a very fast growth of housing supply and a high mobility of households. During the last interccnsal period we can notice an important increase of short-distance mobility, specially of low-income households. Thus the fringe belt is experiencing both a spreading out of urban migrants housing careers, and a short-distance redistribution. This phenomenon allows families according to their social group to ajust their home size to their income level.

Residential mobility as such has many components, some of which are explored in this paper, in the case of the Ile-de-France over the last two decades (1968-1982). On the supply side, the growth of the housing stock has different effects, according to the type of local lousing mix. On the demand side, the age effect is prominent and far more important than the type of household composition and the social status. At the regional level, residential mobility tends primarily to reproduce demographic differences. Its effects upon social segregation are fare more complex and differentiated.

This paper presents a classification of the "communes" and the districts of the larges "communes" of the Rhône-Alpes region, according to the socio-economic structure of their population, or more precisely in relation to their professional categories and the branch of economic activities of their residents. Among the proximities and oppositions between the socio-professional groups, the most significant "neighbourhoods" come out. And in a dual manner, it is possible to sum up the mutual position of the "communes" or of their districts, corresponding to the degree of similitarities of their social morphology. In simple terms this organisation is conveyed out by sectorial specificities on the one hand, by hierarchical oppositions on the other hand. A hierarchy is sketched out for the largest "communes" in connection with what may be called -as for people- their "socio-economic status".

Settlements of new residents in the Dijon agglmeration has deeply modified its demographic, social and spatial structures. But, if the socio-spatial logics which determine th counturbanisation are verified here, we must say that this general scheme varies according to the local conditions.

Medium-sized towns have already been brought back into broad daylight in the field of the inter-regional planning but also in what concerns the identity of these towns and in the future they are likely to give to their populations - mainly from the rural surroundings. If, at first, that is to say within two - or even one - generations these medium-sized towns have enabled their new citizens to become part of the middle classes, to-day they are unable to retain the most qualified social groups and especially the new social elites related to new technologies ; or, precisely, the medium-sized towns are trying to draw these new technologies which carry dynamics : their ways are more or less the same, yet with unequal assets. To start again weakened dynamics, to improve an intermediate situation in the urban hierarchy in pushing forward the limits which are locally set to the social mobility is the new challenge that a great number of medium-sized towns are trying to win.