A Finer-Scale Perspective on Climate ‘Micro-mobility’: Short-Distance Movements of People and Communities in Response to Climate Change

Recent research on climate change mobilities has called for greater attention to be placed on short-distance mobility or ‘micro-mobility’, in addition to the wealth of literature on migration over longer distances (such as rural-urban migration or international migration). In this chapter, we present our findings on the impact of climate on micro-mobility, derived from a systematic literature review, and analyse short-distance mobility at three nested and intersecting spatial scales: (1) the primary household location; (2) subtle changes to everyday and seasonal mobility; and (3) subtle changes to highly mobile livelihoods. For each of these spatial scales, we present a case study drawn from the authors’ research experiences in Fiji, Cambodia and Australia. Micromobility can be one of the most common forms of movement in response to climate change but remains little studied. Our findings suggest that while micro-mobility helps to maintain livelihoods and attachment to place, it can also have uneven impacts within communities on physical health, mental health, income-generating opportunities, expenses and access to services. Unless information is collected at fine spatial and temporal scales, these subtle and nuanced shifts may remain ‘invisible’ for the purposes of planning, policy and management linked with climate change adaptation.