INCLUSIVE MOBILITY OR INCLUSIVE ACCESSIBILITY? A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE

“Inclusive mobility” is part of a set of political priorities defined by several European countries to refer to the social dimension of transport or daily mobility policies. More generally, “inclusiveness” refers to social cohesion, which has been one of the declared objectives of the European Union since the beginning of the 2000s. As a way to facilitate access to opportunities, individual mobility is currently considered as a necessary prerequisite for people’s participation in social activities. In contrast, immobility or “lack of mobility” would be a risk factor for social exclusion. However, due to the ambiguity of mobility—which can be considered either as an essential resource or as a cost; as a basic right or as an injunction to be “mobile”—political objectives of inclusive mobility can mask some contradictions. In this article, we focus on different issues related to inclusive mobility in Europe. First, we discuss the way in which social aspects of transport and mobility are taken into account in the European and national political agendas. Then, we give a picture of social inequalities regarding daily mobility in different European countries. Finally, we discuss the opportunity to change political priorities from inclusive mobility to inclusive accessibility. Received : 09 January 2017 Accepted : 06 March 2017 Published online : 02 May 2017