Mobile Lives

Hot off the press! A new book just published (May 14th, Routledge) called 'Mobile Lives' by Anthony Elliot and John Urry. It's description is ideal for this New Mobilities blog:

How should we understand the personal and social impacts of complex mobility systems? Can lifestyles based around intensive travel, transport and tourism be maintained in the 21^st century? What possibility post-carbon lifestyles?

In this provocative study of "life on the move", Anthony Elliott and John Urry explore how complex mobility systems are transforming everyday, ordinary lives. The authors develop their arguments through an analysis of various sectors of mobile lives: networks, new digital technologies, consumerism, the lifestyles of ‘globals’, and intimate relationships at-a-distance. Elliott and Urry introduce a range of new concepts – miniaturized mobilities, affect storage, network capital, meetingness, neighbourhood lives, portable personhood, ambient place, globals – to capture the specific ways in which mobility systems intersect with mobile lives.

Also - another new book has just hit the market which may be of interest to some readers of this blog. It is titled UNDERSTANDING TOURISM by Kevin Hannam and Dan Knox, Sage 2010 and contains a very interesting mobilities view of tourism with useful student-friendly text and exercises.

Just thought I would pass it on!

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Do we now need ID cards for regional trips?

Another worrying development in the realm of 'restricted mobilities': this time the proposal for needing to track the movements of around 60million domestic UK passengers a year:

Passengers on ferries to the Isle of Wight and Scottish islands such as Mull and Skye will soon have to carry identity papers to comply with new police anti-terror powers.

And travellers flying between British cities or to Northern Ireland face having their personal data logged when booking tickets and checking in.

Until now ferry passengers on most routes in Britain have not been required to produce ID and internal flight passengers only face random police checks.

But under new Government security rules that will come into force next year, personal data, including name, date of birth and home address, will be typed into a computer record for the police by the booking clerk or travel agent.

Passengers will also face further ID checks when boarding their flight or ferry.

I would like to think that this was an April Fool's joke - yet the story was last updated on 29th March '09....

Read original article - 'Now we need ID cards for a trip to the Isle of Wight'

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Travel will never be the same again

Here it comes - it now appears that the travel plans and personal details of every holidaymaker, business traveler and day-tripper who leaves Britain are to be tracked by the Government under the new 'E-Borders' travel surveillance scheme:

Anyone departing the UK by land, sea or air will have their trip recorded and stored on a database for a decade. Passengers leaving every international sea port, station or airport will have to supply detailed personal information as well as their travel plans. So-called "booze crusiers" who cross the Channel for a couple of hours to stock up on wine, beer and cigarettes will be subject to the rules.

In addition, weekend sailors and sea fishermen will be caught by the system if they plan to travel to another country - or face the possibility of criminal prosecution. The owners of light aircraft will also be brought under the system, known as e-borders, which will eventually track 250 million journeys annually.

Even swimmers attempting to cross the Channel and their support teams will be subject to the rules which will require the provision of travellers' personal information such as passport and credit card details, home and email addresses and exact travel plans.

The full extent of the impact of the government's "e-borders" scheme emerged amid warnings that passengers face increased congestion as air, rail and ferry companies introduce some of the changes over the Easter holidays.

Read original post at - 'All travel plans to be tracked by Government'

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Aeromobilities

Aeromobilities is based on the 2006 Cosmobilities conference on Air Time Spaces in Lancaster. It provides a broad introduction to the study of air travel, airspaces and aviation from the perspective of the social sciences and the humanities. The book makes a strong case for a systematic, interdisciplinary study of some of the most powerful forces that have shaped our mobile globalization.

‘Aeromobilities’ by Saulo Cwerner, Sven Kesselring and John Urry, available from all good bookstores or direct from the Routledge website.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Aeromobilities, Globalization and Social Theory 1. Aeromobilities and the Global 2. Global Transfer Points: the Making of Airports in the Mobile Risk Society Part 2: The Production of Airspaces 3. >store>forward> Architectures of a Future Tense 4 Connecting the World: Analyzing Global City Networks Through Airline Flows 5. Airport Codes/Spaces 6. Air Craft: Producing UK Airspace 7. Around the World in 80 Airports Part 3: The Social Life of Air Travel 8. Airborne on Time 9. A Life in Corridors: Social Perspectives on Aeromobilities and Work in Knowledge Organizations 10. Getting into the Flow Part 4: Governing Air Travel 11. Science, Expertise, and Local Knowledge in Airport Conflicts: Towards a Cosmopolitical Approach 12. Helipads, Heliports and Urban Air Space: Governing the Contested Infrastructure of Helicopter Travel

Click to read more on 'Aeromobilities'

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IBM builds online version of China's famed Forbidden City

The ultimate in 'virtual tourism', and this time it's a forbidden city!

IBM on Friday opened online doors to an interactive, animated replica of the 178-acre (720,000 square-meter) walled fortress of the famed Forbidden City in China, which served for centuries as an exclusive realm for the nation's emperors.



"Forbidden City: Beyond Space & Time" is billed as a first-of-a-kind, fully immersive, three-dimensional virtual recreation of "this Chinese cultural treasure."

Visitors to the virtual Forbidden City can explore it as animated avatars, able to chat with others or take part in activities such as archery, cricket fighting, or a board game called Weiqi.

Read more at - 'IBM builds online version of China's famed Forbidden City'

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Tourism and the politics of culture

Tim Winter over at the Post-conflict Heritage site has done some interesting work examining post-colonial tourism in terms of post-conflict reconstruction, nation building, and socio-economic rehabilitation. The blog has also been following the dispute on the Thai/Cambodian border over the temple world heritage site of Preah Vihear:

An extract from 'Thai-Cambodian Border Spat Heats Up' in Time Magazine:

Thai soldiers take position after clashes with Cambodian soldiers at the disputed border area of the Preah Vihear temple, Si Sa Ket province, Thailand, 15 October 2008

Gunfire crackled across the border between Thailand and Cambodia on October 15, reigniting tensions between the two Southeast Asian nations over a disputed swathe of land near an ancient Hindu temple. For days, troops from both countries have flooded the area near the Preah Vihar temple, and each side claims the other fired Wednesday's first shot.

A blog of great interest to readers of Tourism issues especially - Post-conflict Heritage

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One Giant Leap For Virgin Galactic

Wired's Autopia blog looks at Virgin Galactic's plan to make commercial space travel a reality:

Richard Branson calls it "one of the most beautiful and extraordinary aviation vehicles ever developed." And while this may be a little on the loquacious side, there's no doubt that today's unveiling of Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo in the Mojave desert is big news.

WhiteKnightTwo, which has been named Eve in honor of Branson's mother, is the carrier aircraft that will be be used to help carry SpaceShipTwo in orbit, and is a key part of Virgin Galactic's plan to make commercial space travel a reality. It has a maximum altitude of over 50,000 feet, driven by four very powerful Pratt & Whitney engines, and at 140 feet, WhiteKnightTwo's wingspan is the largest of any carbon composite aircraft every built. Beyond that, it just looks cool. With its graceful wings and sleek shape, it's destined to be one of the sexiest things in the sky.

Read in full - 'One Small Step for Richard Branson, One Giant Leap For Virgin Galactic'

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Galactic Spaceport in Europe

The town Kiruna in Northern Sweden has been chosen to be the future European base for Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic passenger space program:

Officials there are busy whipping the town into shape for Virgin's arrival -- evaluating their infrastructure, researching weather issues, and working out potential regulatory hurdles with Sweden and the European Union. Kiruna will join Spaceport America in New Mexico as a Virgin Galactic operating base, and hopes to see flights begin in 2010 or 2011...

...One of the town's major selling points is its stunning views of the Aurora Borealis, which could be viewed up close by passengers on board a spacecraft such as Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo.

Read more at 'Swedish City Gears Up For Virgin Galactic Spaceport'
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A bus too far?

Are we returning to the earlier modes of arduous yet adventurous mobility of travel? As of now tickets go on sale for an express coach service from London to China. It's called the BuddhaBus - is this the future for low-impact long-haul travel....or traveling hell??

It wasn't that long ago that a 16-day journey to China would have been seen as a minor miracle: today having to spend more than 24 hours travelling anywhere fills us with horror. Flying has spoilt us.

Spending two weeks in a bus is about as appealing to most people as a stretch in prison. But our grandparents would spend months at sea and regard it as nothing worse than an adventure. They travelled that way out of necessity - because there was no other means. For those who feel they must cross continents today, longer, slower journeys are a necessity of a different kind. There is another means, but it is wrecking the biosphere.

Read more - 'A bus too far?'

See also, a new company called noflights.com, whose purpose is to make it easier for people to journey without flying - just launched March 08.

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Soon New Year may be celebrated in Space

Perhaps in a few years time New Year could be celebrated in Space, if you had a spare £100,000... as flights launched in Arctic will be first to take people inside the northern lights.

This article from GuardianUnlimited talks of Richard Branson's 'Virgin Galactic' plans to fly passengers into the aurora borealis - the northern lights - something that no human has done before:

The operations room of the Esrange space centre near Kiruna in the far north of Sweden is one of a handful of places in the world that perform space launches. The facility, 200 kilometres north of the Arctic circle, is used by the European Space Agency and others to launch rockets and balloons for studying the upper atmosphere and the effects of microgravity. It also serves as a monitoring station for numerous satellites that orbit between the north and south poles.

In three years, if all goes to plan, Esrange will act as mission control for the European outpost of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic.

The company hopes to begin commercial space flights from a purpose-built spaceport in New Mexico in 2010, but flights from Kiruna should follow soon afterwards. Once they are up and running, Virgin Galactic expects to be flying about 5,000 passengers a year.

Now thats a new type of tourism...!

Read in full here
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New airship era takes off... Helium mobilities!

The Guardian writes how the world's biggest airship will make its first commercial flight over Tokyo later this week, '70 years after the Hindenburg disaster brought the golden age of the dirigible to a fiery end':

The new helium-filled Zeppelin NT is 75 metres (246ft) long and will take passengers between 300-600 metres above Tokyo at speeds of up to 50 miles an hour. Built by the German firm Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik, the Zeppelin will offer regular weekend and holiday flights over Tokyo from this Friday, including a night flight on Christmas Day and a sunrise excursion on New Year's Day.

Tickets for the 90-minute trips, the first commercial airship flights in Japan, will cost 126,000 yen (£550) for daytime flights and 168,000 yen for those at night, says its owner, Nippon Airship.

"We will fly much lower than an airplane at a leisurely pace," said the firm's president, Hiroyuki Watanabe.

Is the future??


Read in full - 'New airship era takes off in Tokyo'

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EcoTripping

TravelHacker has an interesting post on what it calls 'Eco-Tripping' which says that 'Whether you’re concerned about treading lightly or you just want to immerse yourself in authentic culture, eco tripping is something you should look into. It offers a myriad of opportunities, from trekking mountains to supporting local communities halfway around the world'.

They then give a list of 25 'top' destinations (which are debatable!) - eg's being: .

1. Alonissos: Alonissos’ National Marine Park is home to the endangered monk seal and lots of other interesting species of wildlife. It’s environmentally protected and has status as one of The European Community’s six “ECO Islands.” A number of Alonissos rentals are electricity-free.

2. The Lodge at Chaa Creek: This 330-acre ecoresort is located in western Belize on the banks of the Macal River. Resort activities are focused around the environment, culture, and archaeology of Belize. You’ll be able to explore the river, hike, watch birds, go mountain biking, and more. This resort has won the Conde Nast Traveler’s Ecotourism Award.

3. Maho Bay: One of the world’s first ecoresorts, Maho Bay Camp is built on 14 acres of gorgeous land. This simple inn by the water uses boardwalks to preserve trees and brush and other strategies for treading lightly. Because of this, the 100 units that make up the camp are nearly invisible.

Read in full - 'EcoTripping: 25 Vacations for Green Travelers'
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Over-heated Med stokes tourism fears

Today's Observer writes on how temperatures in southern Europe reach record heights to the point that traditional holiday destinations may soon become unbearably hot and dangerously dry... a sure affect upon Med mobilities and tourism:

Greece is now on a war footing against weather phenomena 'the likes of which we have never seen', the country's Public Order Minister, Byron Polydoras, warned this weekend.Polydoras was speaking as countries around the Mediterranean roasted, with temperatures soaring to 'furnace levels', as one meteorologist described it.

Temperatures are likely to reach 43C in the shade this week, making this the hottest summer on record for Greece in the past century. Macedonia has declared a state of emergency. Spain, Italy and France are experiencing droughts that are measuring up to become the worst on record.

According to the most recent bulletin from the French government, the situation remains 'preoccupying', with recent rain in the north failing to replenish subterranean reservoirs.

Many politicians now fear the Mediterranean coast may soon become too hot to sustain a viable tourist industry.

Read full article: Over-heated Med stokes tourism fears

Medical Tourism

Looks like the trend in medical tourism is increasing...!

The trend goes beyond the waves of "health tourists", including many Britons, who fly to Malaga for a cheaper hip replacement or a shorter waiting list than back home. All the Norwegians have to do is get the approval of their doctors, fill in a few forms and they are eligible for six weeks to a lifetime stay near Benidorm, at the expense of Norwegian tax payers.

Read more in - 'Norway looks after its elderly - in Spain'

Global-warming tourism

Now this is something to read and believe - a mobility convergence of tourism and climate change: creating travel holidays to witness climate change - how paradoxical is that?!

The effects of climate change are leading to a distinctive new form of 21st-century travel: global-warming tourism.

A US tour company will be running a special trip this summer to view Warming Island, the remarkable new feature of the Greenland coast produced by the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and featured on the front page of The Independent last week.

Betchart Expeditions of Cupertino, California, a company specialising in natural history tours and safaris all over the world, is mounting a 12-day voyage to the new island, 400 miles north of the Arctic Circle, led by the man who discovered it in 2005, the veteran American explorer Dennis Schmitt.

Travellers will set out in September from Reykjavik in Iceland and sail in comfort on board the 50-passenger expedition ship, MVAleksey Maryshev across the Denmark Strait to the island's location half-way up Greenland's remote east coast.

Read the full story in

'A holiday at the end of the Earth: tourists paying to see global warming in action'

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Space & Culture - Food Mobilities

The current Space and Culture issue is well worth checking out as it deals with food mobilities. Papers include:

Food Mobilities: Traveling, Dwelling, and Eating Cultures

Eating Difference: The Cosmopolitan Mobilities of Culinary Tourism

Follow the Thing: "West Indian Hot Pepper Sauce"

Papers can be downloaded as pdf whilst this issue remains the current one.

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Space Tourism - Virgin Style!

A new partnership between ailing NASA and rising Virgin Galactic!

NASA said Wednesday it has inked a two-year agreement with space-tourism company Virgin Galactic to collaborate on future technologies for commercial spaceflight:

As part of the deal, Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic will work with the scientists and facilities at the NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley to support its current plans for suborbital spaceflight. By 2008, Virgin Galactic, a U.S. subsidiary of Branson's Virgin Group, plans to take six passengers up to a low-Earth orbit in its SpaceShipTwo. How exactly NASA will assist in that effort is still up for discussion, according to a NASA representative.

In addition, NASA and Virgin Galactic will explore the development of technologies that go beyond Virgin's suborbital effort. Those will include hybrid rocket motors and hypersonic vehicles capable of traveling five times the speed of sound, according to NASA.


Read the story here from C/Net