Spatial mobility of students in a large city

The proposed material is devoted to the sociological analysis of spatial mobility of students of a large industrial city. The article attempts to determine the theoretical and methodological boundaries of spatial mobility and fit it into the modern sociological discourse. Spatial mobility as an individually designed and socially determined phenomenon is associated with the process of constructing identity. Spatial identity is a dynamic nonlinear process, because, firstly, an individual simultaneouslyacts as a representative of different in composition, number and properties social groups and communities (including virtual); secondly, in the context of globalization and the expansion of cosmopolitan ideology, the coordinates and boundaries of space as the fundamental basis of the individual’s self-consciousness are blurred.The authors of the article focus on the study of factors and conditions that determine the readiness for mobility, the choice of the vector of spatial movement, as well as the evaluation of the attractiveness of the city as a place of residence and the implementation of students needs. The researchers characterize the dialectical and multifaceted choice of the desired and ideal place for young people to live, which becomes the basis for the participation of cities in the global competition for human resources. The lack of competitive advantages (opportunities for professional and personal self-realization, favorable environment, high income level of citizens, quality of life, developed leisure infrastructure) becomes a factor in the outflow of young people to more attractive areas. The authors use the materials of a sociological study (2019), the object of which were the students of Ekaterinburg. Based on a standardized survey of students attended by 250 people (101 boys and 149 girls), as well as 8 in-depth interviews with 4 girls and 4 boys, the paper argues that the factors of attractiveness of the city are conditions conducive to upward vertical mobility. The most attractive factors for choosing the vector of spatial mobility are economic (including professional), environmental and social and cultural stability, which creates conditions for the successful implementation of life plans, manifestations of initiative and innovative activity. Choosing a city for the realization of their interests, students are guided by the ability of the territory to provide opportunities for informal interaction and freedom in the choice of everyday practices. These indicators form the basis for the formation of spatial identity through the symbolization of places, urban events and the experience of “collision” with the city.