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This dissertation brings together an archive of texts that both reflect and challenge the construction of a contemporary crisis of social mobility and working-class decline as a racial problem. British news media, political rhetoric, and creative work such as literature and film have increasingly represented the expansion of multicultural Britain, particularly after postwar decolonization, as responsible for the loss of the good life for the white working classes. In response to this causatively intertwined narrative of migrant mobilities and class stagnation, this doctoral project has developed an alternate dialogue between the present day and the postwar by examining social mobility as an affective genre in representations of race and class. By exploring literary and cinematic representations of urban mobilities, the home, and the school, my thesis demonstrates the ways in which social mobility materializes as an affective structure that shapes the connections between white working-class and migrant communities in more nuanced ways than has been portrayed by British media and politicians. My analysis of literature and film reveals that the affective genre of social mobility since the postwar era has tended to shore up the continuation and preservation of white nationalism through the marginalization and continued exploitation of racialized subjects. And yet, although the contemporary rhetorical construct of social mobility and its apparently racially-caused endangerment utilizes the white working class as its litmus test and ultimate victim, what the narrative of the good (white) life obfuscates is its inaccessibility for not just the racialized other, but for the white working classes as well. Thus, while my project teases out the colonial structuring of relationships between white working class and migrant and minority ethnic subjects within narratives of class desire, it also ultimately understands classed and racialized communities as jointly — if unevenly — impacted by capitalism. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This project critically examines the common portrayal of the decline of white working-class social mobility as caused by immigration and multiculturalism in British media, politics, and culture. In particular, this narrative of racially-caused social “immobility” cultivates a comparison between the postwar era, which was supposedly a time of working-class affluence, and the twenty-first century present, which is characterized through economic austerity and lack of opportunity for lower income communities. My dissertation counters this popular and politically motivated narrative by bringing together an archive of cultural material — literature, film, political speeches, and news media coverage — that provides a more nuanced description of interactions between the white working class and migrant communities in Britain from the postwar and contemporary eras. This thesis ultimately examines social mobility as a desire that mediates relationships between classed and racialized people under capitalism, rather than a pre-existing economic and social privilege that has been “taken away” by immigrants and the expansion of multiculturalism in Britain.

Already home to an established Afghan American community, the Washington D.C. metropolitan region has seen a further increase in the number of Afghan refugees since the Fall of Kabul in 2021. This study explores the perceptions of mobility among Afghan refugee women as they resettle in their new communities. Through semi-structured interviews and a cognitive mapping exercise with nine women, this study reveals that barriers to daily mobility stem from lacking literacy and English language proficiency and from not possessing a driver's license—leading to restrictions in their desired mobility. The following themes surfaced through thematic analysis: reliance on social networks, a desire for third places and sense of independence and freedom. This study hopes to shed light on the lived experiences of Afghan women, an underrepresented population in mobility studies. The findings from this preliminary study also seek to inform cities with larger refugee populations to consider refugees in planning and design decisions. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning / Already home to an established Afghan American community, the Washington D.C. metropolitan region has seen a further increase in the number of Afghan refugees since the Fall of Kabul in 2021. Because refugees don't have a car upon arrival, daily travel is a challenge. This study explores the perceptions of transportation mobility among nine recently resettled Afghan women in their new community of Northern Virginia through maps and interviews. Mobility is movement between an origin and destination and also the meaning behind the movement. This study reveals that barriers to mobility stem from lacking literacy and English language proficiency and from not possessing a driver's license. The following themes surface through analyzing and identifying patterns from the maps and interviews: reliance on social networks, a desire for communal places (referred to as third places) and sense of independence and freedom. This study hopes to shed light on the lived experiences of Afghan women, an underrepresented population in mobility research studies. The findings from this preliminary study also seek to inform cities with larger refugee populations to consider refugees in planning and design decisions.

Urban energy systems are often studied in a very similar way in the sense that the characteristics of the underlying physical infrastructure are weighted as the main determinants of energy use predictions, while the behavior of the human population in relation to this systemthe so-called ``energy consumers''in time and urban spaces is effectively neglected. The spatial and temporal variations in infrastructure-population interactivity greatly complicate urban energy systems; the unremitting growth in population and advances in technology mean that the dynamic interrelationship between the population and urban environment will continue to grow exponentially, resulting in increasing uncertainties, unreliable predictions and poor management decisions given the inadequacy of existing approaches. In this dissertation, I explore the interdependencies of spatiotemporal fluctuations of human mobility as an indicator for human activities and energy use in urban areas in three main studies. First, I show that the fluctuations of intra-urban human mobility and energy use have an underlying structure across both time and space, and that human mobility can indeed be used as a predictor for energy use in both dimensions. Second, I examine how one of the dominant drivers of this structure, namely individuals' location-based activities, influence patterns in energy supply and demand across building types (i.e. residential and commercial buildings) and show how variations in the human mobility networks of two distinct urban populations (the so-called returners and explorers) can explain fluctuations in energy use. Third, I introduce an integrated approach for predicting urban energy use across time and space by incorporating these interdependencies. Generating predictive models that capture the spatiotemporal variations in these determinants in urban settings, as suggested in this research, will contribute to our understanding of how variations in urban population activities for particular times and locations influence can be applied to estimate energy use patterns in surrounding areas. / PHD

On-Demand Mobility (ODM) is a concept to address congestion problems. Using electric aircraft and vertical take-off with limited landing (VTOL) capabilities, the ODM concept offers on demand transportation service between designated landing sites at a fraction of driving time. The purpose of this research is to estimate the potential ODM demand and understand the challenges of introducing ODM using the Northern California region (including major cities like San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Jose) as an area of study and a second, less rigorous analysis for the Washington-Baltimore region. A conditional logit model was developed to estimate mode choice behavior and to estimate ODM demand; presenting automobile and public transportation as the two competing modes to ODM. There are significant challenges associated with the service including ability to operate in bad weather, vehicle operating cost, siting and cost of landing sites, and overall public acceptance of small, remotely operated aircraft. Nine scenarios were run varying the input for a base fare, landing fare, cost per-passenger-mile, auto operational costs, and ingress (waiting) times. The results yielded sensitivity of demand to all these parameters and especially showed a great difference in demand when auto costs were decreased from the standard American Automobile Association (AAA) cost per mile to a likely, future auto operating cost. The challenge that aerospace engineers face is designing an aircraft capable of achieving lower operational costs. The results showed that in order for the ODM to be a competitive mode, the cost per passenger-mile should be kept at $1. / Master of Science

This study focuses on conducting a benchmarking analysis for light wheeled and tracked robotic vehicles. Vehicle mobility has long been a key aspect of research for many organizations. According to the Department of Defense vehicle mobility is defined as, "the overall capacity to move from place to place while retaining its ability to perform its primary mission"[1]. Until recently this definition has been applied exclusively to large scale wheeled and tracked vehicles. With new development lightweight ground vehicles designed for military and space exploration applications, the meaning of vehicle mobility must be revised and the tools at our disposal for evaluating mobility must also be expanded. In this context a significant gap in research is present and the main goal of this thesis is to help fill the void in knowledge regarding small robotic vehicle mobility assessment. Another important aspect of any vehicle is energy efficiency. Thus, another aim of this study is to compare the energy needs for a wheeled versus tracked robot, while performing similar tasks. The first stage of the research is a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art in vehicle mobility assessment. From this review, a mobility assessment criterion for light robots will be developed. The second stage will be outfitting a light robotic vehicle with a sensor suite capable of capturing relevant mobility criteria. The third stage of this study will be an experimental investigation of the mobility capability of the vehicle. Finally the fourth stage will include quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the benchmarking study. / Master of Science