Intensive mobilities: The experiential politics of long-distance workers

This paper explores the intensities of long distance commuting journeys as a way of exploring how bodily sensibilities are being changed by the mobilities that they undertake. The context of this paper is that many people are travelling further to work than ever before owing to a variety of factors which relate to transport, housing and employment. Yet we argue that the experiential dimensions of long distance mobilities have not received the attention that they deserve within geographical research on mobilities. This paper combines ideas from mobilities research and contemporary social theory with fieldwork conducted in Canada, Denmark and Australia to develop our understanding of the experiential politics of long distance workers. Rather than focusing on the extensive dimensions of mobilities that are implicated in patterns and trends, our paper turns to the intensive dimensions of this experience. By exploring how experiences of long-distance workers become constituted by a range of different material forces enables us to more sensitively consider the practical, technical, and political implications of this increasingly prevalent yet underexplored regime of work.