(Im)mobility infrastructure: a 21st-century dystopia?

Based on the contributions in the special issue on Infrastructures and (Im)mobile Lives and the author's observations about changes in global mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic, this article proposes to broaden the concept of migration infrastructure into (im)mobility infrastructure. While migration infrastructure coordinates international migration, (im)mobility infrastructure manages people's physical movement, both over long distance and on a daily basis, partly through the redistribution of mobility across types and populations. Mobility and immobility become deeply entwined. (Im)mobility infrastructure is important for building social resilience against crises such as pandemics, but can seriously undermine citizen rights.