Technologies of mobility in the Americas: introduction

The claims that “we” live in a mobile world, that “we” live mobile lifestyles, and that mobile technologies have changed the way “we” relate to place, time, and to one another should, by now, surprise no one. “Mobility,” indeed, has become a buzzword of the day. From TV commercials touting the capabilities of the latest electronic gadget to new ownership laws facilitating time share agreements between similarly cosmopolitan mobile leisure seekers, and from ubiquitous iPods and iPads to the latest startup low-cost airline, mobility in all its multiple shapes seems to rule the world. Take for example the very context in which the opening words of this chapter are being typed.