Families and transportation: Moving towards multimodality and altermobility?

This article explores the transport modal practices of parents with young children in everyday urban life. It is based on a qualitative multi-site approach that takes into account the geographic location, urban form and socio-economic characteristics of four Vancouver (British Columbia) neighborhoods. Our analysis of semi-structured interviews with parents reveals that modal practices were contextually contingent along a spectrum of auto-dependency, multimodality and altermobility. The results expose the contradictions, inequities and social ambiguities of parental modal practices and raise questions about how they might represent possible instances of a transition away from auto-dependency and towards sustainable transportation.