Sense of place and migratory histories. Idiotopy and idiotope

Research on mobility often considers migration to be a discrete act by which individuals
change their place of residence as a result of constraints or by decision. A richer
approach would take into account the whole migratory process involved, the sequence
of connected movements. However, between each of these movements there is a period
of installation within a specific space of relationships, in a socially constructed place.
Thus, the study of mobility becomes inseparable from the study of settlement or
permanence. This paper establishes the interest in, and even the need for, elaborating
concepts that express the interaction between people and places, and how these
interactions contribute to an understanding of migratory movements and of "place
histories”. It also explores a pertinent methodological approach. Geographical
identification (
idiotopy
) and place identification (
idiotope
) are proposed as useful
concepts. Finally, qualitative methods would seem to provide the most useful tools for
working with the variables involved in this kind of research.