Urban nomadism: everyday mobilities of waste recyclers in Beijing

This paper investigates everyday mobilities through an account of the waste industry in Beijing. It suggests the analysis of livelihood strategies of waste traders as a productive domain of enquiry to foster our understanding of the connection between labour and mobility. Existing literature on China pays little attention to the everyday mobilities of marginal urban actors. Yet these practices tell an insightful story about the political, economic, and ecological transformations of the country. Through their analysis, this paper develops the idea of ‘urban nomadism’ as a tool to analyse practices that rework oppressive circumstances dictated by capital and produce new dimensions of living.