Several authors delineate “geographies of opportunity,” which are assumed to influence individual life courses. In transport geography and related subjects, “opportunity” is a term that is frequently used to circumscribe dynamics of spatial and social mobility. However, previous approaches to opportunity usually apply deductive reasoning in such a way that opportunity represents a local feature whose functional utility impacts individual lives. Such approaches are inadequate for the analysis of individual life courses, as neither the emergence of opportunity nor its meaning for individual motives is sufficiently incorporated. Such neglect may lead to insufficient or even incorrect conclusions about the relation of space, mobility and the life course, because a concept for systematic mappings of opportunities in both individual life courses and space has not yet been developed. This paper aims to reconceptualize opportunity as a personally and socially experienced interrelation between agents and their socio-spatial environment with beneficial outcomes for the respective life courses. With regard to mapping opportunity, pockets of local order and occasions are presented as mappable spatiotemporal entities. Occasions are sections in timespace, which are unique and meaningful to the development of the individual life course. Finally, we discuss implications for empirical application, future research, planning and policy.

中文翻译：

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在时间和空间上映射机会：一种归纳方法

几位作者描述了“机会地理”，这些机会被认为会影响个人的生命历程。在交通地理学和相关学科中，“机会”是一个经常用于界定空间和社会流动动态的术语。然而，以前的机会方法通常以这样一种方式应用演绎推理，即机会代表一种局部特征，其功能效用会影响个人生活。这种方法不足以分析个人的生命历程，因为机会的出现及其对个人动机的意义都没有被充分纳入。这种忽视可能导致对空间、流动性和生命历程的关系的不充分甚至不正确的结论，因为尚未开发出系统地映射个人生命历程和空间中的机会的概念。本文旨在将机会重新概念化为代理人与其社会空间环境之间的个人和社会经验的相互关系，并为各自的生命历程带来有益的结果。关于映射机会，局部秩序和场合的口袋被呈现为可映射的时空实体。场合是时间空间中的片段，对个体生命历程的发展具有独特性和意义。最后，我们讨论了对实证应用、未来研究、规划和政策的影响。本文旨在将机会重新概念化为代理人与其社会空间环境之间的个人和社会经验的相互关系，并为各自的生命历程带来有益的结果。关于映射机会，局部秩序和场合的口袋被呈现为可映射的时空实体。场合是时间空间中的片段，对个体生命历程的发展具有独特性和意义。最后，我们讨论了对实证应用、未来研究、规划和政策的影响。本文旨在将机会重新概念化为代理人与其社会空间环境之间的个人和社会经验的相互关系，并为各自的生命历程带来有益的结果。关于映射机会，局部秩序和场合的口袋被呈现为可映射的时空实体。场合是时间空间中的片段，对个体生命历程的发展具有独特性和意义。最后，我们讨论了对实证应用、未来研究、规划和政策的影响。