Walking in the City as an Experienced Practice

Walking in the city generates a distinctive minding process, a pathic dimension involving mood, lived-body feelings, lived relations, and reflections on life and self. Based on self-observation and self-reporting of thoughts, body feelings, and emotions during walks, the paper describes these essential features of the walking phenomenon. The authors suggest that walking fosters a contemplative engagement with the urban environment, shaping emotional and bodily experiences.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The paper is a contemplative explication of the walking process. What are the essential features of walking, and how do those who stroll around the city experience walking? We used contemplative research methods and explication of the phenomenon of walking. The research is based on self-observation and self-reporting about the thoughts, body feelings, and emotions that emerge during walks. In the paper, we describe the features of the phenomenon of walking. First, we investigate the minding process generated by walking in the city. Then, we elaborate on the pathic dimension of walking (especially the mood), body feelings (lived body), lived relations, and reflections on life and self that are a consequence of walking.