From Roots to Routes: Migration and the Reconstruction of Sense of Place in the Zeitgeist

In the information society, the zeitgeist shaped by technological developments and neoliberal policies has turned mobility into a constitutive element of social life. In this process, new forms of mobility have emerged, diversifying forms of migration and nomadism, and the individual's relationship with space has undergone a radical transformation. However, despite this fluidity in social life, the sense of place in current migration literature is still largely interpreted through "sedentarist metaphysics," which accepts stasis and physical fixity as the norm. This study problematizes this sedentarist approach and aims to re-evaluate the relationship between migration and sense of place through the theoretical framework of the "spatial turn" and "mobility turn." The study analyzes the transformation of the sense of place through its basic components and identifies fundamental axes of transformation: from physical contact to digital networks in place attachment; from ownership to access and infrastructure in place dependence; and from singular roots to rhizomatic networks extending along the life course in place identity. The findings reveal that the sense of place is not lost; on the contrary, it is reconstructed in motion as an emotional refuge and repair mechanism in the age of uncertainty.