Public Transport, Urban Mobility, and the Neoliberal City: The Ethnographic Case of Tarragona in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Abstract

Urban mobility can be understood as a fundamental phenomenon of modernity. Since the 15th century, cities have gained substantial importance for the development of human life. Today, neoliberalism permeates our lives and has also taken hold in urban contexts, impacting issues such as urban mobility and public transportation. Tarragona is no exception to these dynamics and will serve as a case study to analyze and problematize the current situation. Thus, the primary objective of this research focuses on the evolution of demands for the right to urban mobility in Tarragona, taking into account its specific socio-historical variables. Utilizing qualitative methodology, this study employs techniques that range from bibliographic reviews and interviews to participant observation. In this regard, the Tarragona case will be contrasted with global historical processes of popular mobilization and urban mobility. The findings indicate a historical trajectory rooted in popular mobilization, where the role of neighborhood associations is crucial and is currently intertwined with a productive shift in the city, oriented toward the tourism sector, where civil society and state actors converge.