Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 April 2017
Let $M$ be a compact manifold. We show that the identity component $\operatorname{Homeo}_{0}(M)$ of the group of self-homeomorphisms of $M$ has a well-defined quasi-isometry type, and study its large-scale geometry. Through examples, we relate this large-scale geometry to both the topology of $M$ and the dynamics of group actions on $M$. This gives a rich family of examples of non-locally compact groups to which one can apply the large-scale methods developed in previous work of the second author.