Many ways to care: mobility, gender and Gauteng’s geography

Abstract

Despite growing scholarship recognising every-day mobility and the manifestations of geographies of care of children and their caregivers, their practices are still under-researched and largely viewed as deviations from the norm. Cultural expectations, socio-economic conditions, and identities, amongst a host of other intersectional factors, influence how ‘care’ is understood and practised in different households and individuals. Based on significant fieldwork in 5 communities across the Gauteng city-region, South Africa, over a period of 9 months and using a mixed-method approach, this paper traces notions of ‘good’ parenting, the influence of gendered social norms and the specifics of urban morphology to explore the daily footprints of care. The Gauteng case, an exemplar of city-regions in the global south, offers insights into the complexities of care in a context of state absence in daily care and the consequent need for high levels of privatised responsibility. The method comprises focus groups, qualitative interviews as well as an innovative mobility tracking app on smartphones. Our analysis shows how relations of care within the domestic sphere influence mobility patterns, transport choices and spatial footprints at the urban scale, at locations of care as well as through materialities of care. The physical manifestations and spatial implications of parental geographies of care need to be understood and considered at both a theoretical and policy level to address the spatial and transport needs of parents and families in the urban environment.