Emotions while walking in urban space - How an everyday walk influences mental wellbeing in Berlin
Merzoug, S., Jarass, J. (2021). Emotionen beim Zufußgehen im urbanen Raum – Einflüsse eines alltäglichen Fußwegs auf das mentale Wohlbefinden in Berlin. Internationales Verkehrswesen 4|2021, 64-68.
Abstract
Environmental influences play a special role in active mobility, i.e. cycling and walking. Especially pedestrians are continuously exposed to the influence of the immediate environment due to their slower speed: they are the ones who most perceive negative environmental effects such as street noise and the risk of crime. The environmental stimuli of the urban space thus trigger emotional reactions in pedestrians and influence their mental and physical well-being in ways that differ from other traffic participants. This article uses quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate which objectively measurable emotional reactions occur during a walk, how these emotions correlate with spatial characteristics and to what extent physical reactions correspond to the subjective assessment of the test persons.