Abstract

CAVALCANTE, Sylvia et al. The meaning of the car and the everyday mobility. Rev. Mal-Estar Subj [online]. 2012, vol.12, n.1-2, pp. 359-388. ISSN 1518-6148.

This quantitative-qualitative study aimed to know everyday's mobility patterns used by the people who attend a private university. It also intended to understand the meaning that the participants attribute to the car. For its viability 600 surveys were applied and five focal groups were established with a total of 39 individuals. The investigation took place between the months of November 2009 and January 2010. The quantitative data was examined using descriptive statistical analysis, while the qualitative data was interpreted upon a content analysis based in Bardin. The results highlighted that most of the interviewed move predominantly by private automobile, this choice being made due to a high perception of violence risk. Furthermore, the car is seen from objective and subjective attributes: aside from fulfilling the needs of locomotion of users, conditioned by the life and city context of where they live, it also offers social status and feelings of power and freedom.

Keywords : Everyday mobility; meaning of the car; quantitative-qualitative research.

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