IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i7p4023-d530214.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards Sustainable Mobility? The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Romanian Mobile Citizens in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Silvia Marcu

    (Instituto de Economía, Geografía y Demografía, Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 28037 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

Using the case study of Romanians in Spain, this article highlights how the COVID-19 crisis presents both challenges and opportunities when it comes to human mobility and sustainability. Drawing on in-depth interviews with mobile people during the period of lockdown and circulation restrictions, and in accordance with the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the paper advances and contributes to the relevance of sustainability and its impact on people’s mobility in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. I argue that even in the midst of the crisis, sustainable ways may be found to promote and protect human mobility. The paper raises the way sustainability acts as a driver, gains relevance and influence, and contributes to the creation of new models of resilient mobility in times of crisis. The conclusions defend the respect for the SDGs regarding human mobility and emphasise the role of people on the move as sustainable actors learning to overcome distance and the barriers to their mobility during the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvia Marcu, 2021. "Towards Sustainable Mobility? The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Romanian Mobile Citizens in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:4023-:d:530214
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/4023/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/4023/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Luca Barbarossa, 2020. "The Post Pandemic City: Challenges and Opportunities for a Non-Motorized Urban Environment. An Overview of Italian Cases," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-19, September.
    2. Tim Cresswell, 2021. "Valuing mobility in a post COVID-19 world," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 51-65, January.
    3. Silvia Marcu, 2019. "The limits to mobility: Precarious work experiences among young Eastern Europeans in Spain," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 51(4), pages 913-930, June.
    4. Ole B. Jensen, 2021. "Pandemic disruption, extended bodies, and elastic situations - Reflections on COVID-19 and Mobilities," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 66-80, January.
    5. Adam Przybylowski & Sandra Stelmak & Michal Suchanek, 2021. "Mobility Behaviour in View of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic—Public Transport Users in Gdansk Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, January.
    6. Yoan Molinero-Gerbeau & Ana López-Sala & Monica Șerban, 2021. "On the Social Sustainability of Industrial Agriculture Dependent on Migrant Workers. Romanian Workers in Spain’s Seasonal Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.
    7. Noel B. Salazar, 2021. "Existential vs. essential mobilities: insights from before, during and after a crisis," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 20-34, January.
    8. Charles Heller, 2021. "De-confining borders: towards a politics of freedom of movement in the time of the pandemic," Mobilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(1), pages 113-133, January.
    9. Darmody, Merike & Smyth, Emer & Russell, Helen, 2020. "The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for policy in relation to children and young people: a research review," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number SUSTAT94.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Silvia Marcu, 2024. "New Trends of Thought in Response to Post-Pandemic Work Precariousness Among Second-Generation Romanian Citizens in Spain," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-19, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Guadalupe González-Sánchez & María Isabel Olmo-Sánchez & Elvira Maeso-González, 2021. "Challenges and Strategies for Post-COVID-19 Gender Equity and Sustainable Mobility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, February.
    2. Naughton, Linda & Cunha, Francisco & Padeiro, Miguel & Santana, Paula, 2023. "What the pandemic and its impact on the mobility and well-being of older people can teach us about age-friendly cities and communities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    3. Cheng Sun & Yaxuan Xiong & Zhiqin Wu & Jie Li, 2021. "Enclave-Reinforced Inequality during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from University Campus Lockdowns in Wuhan, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-21, November.
    4. Bruno Marques & Jacqueline McIntosh & Chitrakala Muthuveerappan & Krzysztof Herman, 2022. "The Importance of Outdoor Spaces during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Aotearoa—New Zealand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-17, June.
    5. Amir Reza Khavarian-Garmsir & Ayyoob Sharifi & Mohammad Hajian Hossein Abadi & Zahra Moradi, 2023. "From Garden City to 15-Minute City: A Historical Perspective and Critical Assessment," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Francesco Demaria & Stefano Vicari, 2023. "Adolescent Distress: Is There a Vaccine? Social and Cultural Considerations during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-11, January.
    7. Kostas Rontos & Barbara Ermini & Luca Salvati, 2023. "Enlarging the divide? Per-Capita Income as a measure of social inequalities in a southern European City," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 345-361, February.
    8. Ekström, Karin M. & Jönsson, Håkan, 2022. "Orchestrating retail in small cities," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    9. Fatima-Zahra Jaouimaa & Daniel Dempsey & Suzanne Van Osch & Stephen Kinsella & Kevin Burke & Jason Wyse & James Sweeney, 2021. "An age-structured SEIR model for COVID-19 incidence in Dublin, Ireland with framework for evaluating health intervention cost," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(12), pages 1-25, December.
    10. Roman Dostál & Josef Kocourek & Aneta Matysková & Karolína Moudrá & Vojtěch Nižňanský, 2021. "The Implementation of the Smart City Process—Researchers’ Knowledge in Detecting Transport System Defects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    11. Daniel Albalate & Xavier Fageda, 2022. ""Have Low Emission Zones slowed urban traffic recovery after Covid-19?"," IREA Working Papers 202222, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Dec 2022.
    12. Marcos Lacasa Cazcarra, 2024. "Machine Learning Analysis of the Impact of Increasing the Minimum Wage on Income Inequality in Spain from 2001 to 2021," Papers 2402.02402, arXiv.org.
    13. Mihaela ZAMFIR & Ileana CIOBANU & Andreea Georgiana MARIN & Mihai-Viorel ZAMFIR, 2021. "Smart dwellings. Architectural perspectives opened by COVID-19 pandemic," Smart Cities and Regional Development (SCRD) Journal, Smart-EDU Hub, Faculty of Public Administration, National University of Political Studies & Public Administration, vol. 5(2), pages 33-49, May.
    14. Nolan, Anne & Smyth, Emer, 2022. "Disrupted transitions: young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS142.
    15. Sreten Simović & Tijana Ivanišević & Bojana Bradić & Svetlana Čičević & Aleksandar Trifunović, 2021. "What Causes Changes in Passenger Behavior in South-East Europe during the COVID-19 Pandemic?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-11, July.
    16. Adam Przybylowski & Sandra Stelmak & Michal Suchanek, 2021. "Mobility Behaviour in View of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic—Public Transport Users in Gdansk Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, January.
    17. Tiziana Campisi & Socrates Basbas & Anastasios Skoufas & Nurten Akgün & Dario Ticali & Giovanni Tesoriere, 2020. "The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Resilience of Sustainable Mobility in Sicily," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-24, October.
    18. Pezoa, Raúl & Basso, Franco & Quilodrán, Paulina & Varas, Mauricio, 2023. "Estimation of trip purposes in public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic: The case of Santiago, Chile," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    19. Yang, Chao & Wan, Zhiyang & Yuan, Quan & Zhou, Yang & Sun, Maopeng, 2023. "Travel before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: Exploring factors in essential travel using empirical data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    20. Michał Suchanek & Agnieszka Szmelter-Jarosz, 2023. "Car enthusiasm during the second and fourth waves of COVID-19 pandemic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:7:p:4023-:d:530214. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.