Transient Lives, Lasting Impact: The Role of on-the-Go Populations in Shaping Marseille’s Neighbourhoods

This research explores the contribution of “on-the-go” individuals, those who do not consider themselves permanent residents, such as tourists, visiting researchers, refugees, and transient workers, to the life of ordinary neighbourhoods. Research on urban spaces has often focused on the influence of long-term residents. In this study, we focus instead on how these transient populations may impact micro-segregation patterns in Marseille, a Mediterranean city with rich social and urban complexities. By concentrating on two neighbourhoods in Marseille (IV and V arrondissements), this paper seeks to answer two central questions. First, where can we draw the line between spatial “permanence” and “on-the-goness”? A priori, we define as on-the-go people all those individuals who do not define themselves as permanent residents, ranging, for example, from tourists, to visiting scholars, to refugees, to non-tenured priests. However, is residency the primary factor that defines one’s contribution to a neighbourhood, or how do transient individuals, despite their temporary presence, play an integral role in shaping the community? Second, what specific contributions do on-the-go individuals make to the neighbourhood’s social fabric, economic activities, and cultural heritage? Rather than viewing these populations as peripheral to neighbourhood life, this research argues that their presence, even if short-term, leaves lasting impressions on urban dynamics. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research combines field observation, interviews, and ethnographic walks to examine the everyday presence, lives, and contribution of transient populations. The analysis focuses on how these on-the-go individuals might subtly but significantly shape processes of urban inequality and segregation, challenging conventional assumptions about the stability and permanence of urban contributors. By questioning the intersection of mobility and community-building, this study broadens the scope of how we understand the forces shaping contemporary urban spaces, offering fresh insights into the ways transient populations may influence the long-term evolution of neighbourhoods.