Applied (im)mobilities in turbulent times: transdisciplinarity, creativity and mobility justice

This special issue re-visits what we might mean by "applied" within im/mobilities studies in an era defined by socio-political turbulence, unevenly distributed harms and existential threats. The issue suggests that such conditions necessarily require contributions from a range of fields, concerns and interests. It is this diversity that we draw attention to, acknowledging the various and intersecting ways in which mobilities scholars are thinking through questions of application. The contributions within the issue illustrate that such applications are not just confined to measurable societal or economic "impact" as conventionally employed, but also through the movement of ideas and practice (whether intentional or not) across disciplinary boundaries and also beyond the academy in creative ways that contribute to the challenges of mobility justice and trouble the borders of knowledge generation and use. This short introductory paper outlines the origins and rationale of this special issue as well as the core connected themes that are, in different ways, considered across the papers: transdisciplinarity, creativity and mobility justice. We go on to summarise the approaches and arguments of the exciting and diverse range of contributions.