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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: Little is known about "frequent walkers" whom we define as people who walk for an hour or more in public space on most days of the week. We hypothesised that they might be a group of early adopters, with the potential to make the transportation system become healthier and more sustainable. This contribution describes how and why a convenience sample of frequent walkers in urban/suburban Switzerland acquired and maintained such a habit, how they integrated so much walking into their schedules, and what they perceive as facilitators or hindrances to walking.
Methods: This trans-disciplinary mixed-methods study had 3 phases: quantitative, qualitative, and spatial. This contribution describes the qualitative phase and the spatial phase, where 48 volunteers were equipped with a GPS tracker and followed for 8-10 days. Detailed computer-assisted follow-up interviews then concentrated on walking routes and routines, together with their justifications. The trans-theoretical model of behaviour change was used as a reference framework.
Results: Several participants had become frequent walkers recently and were able to discuss their "conversion", while more established walkers explained how and why they had maintained their habit. Concern with personal health, pleasure and wellbeing were key motivators for walking. Getting up earlier in the morning or using different routes to leave and to return home were popular as time-management strategies. Walking was facilitated - but not decisively - by nearby parks or green spaces. Participants mentioned road traffic, narrow or missing pavements (sidewalks), and slow traffic lights as hindrances, together with traffic noise, air pollution and tobacco smoke. Environmental motivation was hardly mentioned and we found no trace of an informal community of frequent walkers: some participants who were acquainted were not aware that the other was also a frequent walker. Some said they tended to switch off while walking, operating in a socially closed mode. Individual rather than collective motivations emerged from the analysis.
Conclusions: From the pooled analysis, there emerged a group of frequent walkers whose walking was mainly for transport and was well integrated into their daily routines. Others walked for leisure but not for transportation, leading to less favourable environmental impacts. Based on this sample, frequent walking can be seen as an embodied, situated and inconspicuous practice, inspired by pleasure and wellbeing rather than environmental concerns. Due to their discretion, such frequent walkers are unlikely to inspire a change in the mobility system. However, we can learn from them.
Language: en |