On the relation between mobility and inhabitation

The paper reflects on the spatiality of mobile dwelling in bringing together two different bodies of empirical work; one on train commuting with commuters living in the countryside and working in the city and one on inhabitation with a group of urban dwellers that have recently moved to the countryside. Both studies are conducted in the Zealand- and Capital Regions of Denmark and refer to Copenhagen as the major city. The studies demonstrate the multiplicity and relationality between mobility and dwelling as well as testify to the social impact on the everyday accommodation of distance. The spatial aspect that the paper concentrates on is the relation between proximity and distance. As the studies show, there is no fixed connection between a metric distance and the way it gets experienced and accommodated. Rather, distances of mobile dwelling are relative to the projects, tasks and goals they connect with. In order to theorise this intrinsic relationality and to sort out some characteristics of the kind of spacing involved, the paper looks to the concept of de-severing (i.e. removing distance) from Heidegger (1962/1926) and couples it with the practice understanding of material settings that can be read from Schatzki (2002, 2010 and 2016 unpublished). The paper aims to discuss how proximity and distance are connected with practical understandings, social relations and material objects and how, as practice proceeds, they are both changeable as well as co-constitutive of the spaces of everyday life.