This research investigates the effects of speed on the person-environment relationship, with a particular focus on human environmental experience of landscape during movement. Departing from the assumption that the acceleration of both material (physical speed) and immaterial (the pace of everyday life) rhythms influence human experience of the environment, the thesis hypothesises that speed of movement significantly shapes the experiential aspects of being on the move, such as the employment of the senses, the role of the body, and the affective relationship of the person with his/her surroundings. The central research question addressing how speed and mode of movement influence environmental experience points towards the need of a comparative approach that examines various speeds and modes of movement. Existing literature associates high speeds with kinaesthetic deprivation and dissociation from surroundings, whereas slow and active mobility are positioned as potential mitigators of these effects. However, while slow mobility has been extensively studied in urban commuting, its role in non-urban leisure contexts remains underexplored. This gap frames the research scope within the domains of slow tourism and slow travel, in which slowness is promoted as an opportunity for experiencing one’s surroundings during leisure practices. Despite conceptual claims advocating the experiential benefits of slowness, empirical evidence remains scarce, particularly as far as movement is concerned. The ultimate purpose of this thesis is thus to provide empirical insights into slow movement for leisure in non-urban contexts, contributing to discussions on sustainable mobility and leisure, and informing urban design strategies for walking and cycling infrastructure. To investigate the potential of slowness in reinstating human environmental experience, the research adopts a twofold line of inquiry: a conceptual exploration of the effects of speed on the person-environment relationship, and an empirical examination of the sensory, embodied, and affective aspects of human environmental experience during movement for leisure purposes in non-urban contexts. For the conceptual framework, an interdisciplinary approach integrates insights from psychology, urban design, mobilities studies, and philosophy, structuring the theoretical analysis around environmental experience, movement, and slowness. Subsequently, the empirical part of the thesis employs a multilevel mixed methods research design to examine the person-environment relationship during movement, that is by addressing aspects regarding both the physical environment and human experience. The study collects spatial data to analyse environmental features affecting human experience (Level 1 – Environment), and qualitative data on the sensory, embodied, and affective aspects of such experience during movement (Level 2 – Person). The latter were collected through the method of the intercept survey, in which walkers, cyclists, and drivers were invited to complete an oral questionnaire addressing their environmental experience of landscape during movement. Data collection was performed in non-urban settings in Lombardy along walking and cycling routes, in which vehicular traffic is also present. Through the concurrent triangulation of spatial and qualitative data, the thesis illustrates that variations in speed and mode influence not only sensory and corporeal aspects of human experience, but also its embodied and affective dimension; and thus the person’s overall relationship with the environment. The findings demonstrate that while higher speeds under-stimulate vision and kinaesthesia, limit multisensory engagement, and weaken person-environment interaction, slower speeds are associated with restorative and transformative experiences that resonate with conceptual claims regarding the experiential benefits of slow travel. The research thus provides empirical evidence which aims not only to contribute to a conceptualisation of slowness, but also to provide directions for the design of walking and cycling routes – directions that are based on the consideration that a tangible understanding of human behaviour in relation to the environment constitutes an essential prerequisite for effective policy, planning, and design for human mobile and leisure practices.
La ricerca indaga gli effetti della velocità sulla relazione persona-ambiente, con un’attenzione particolare all’esperienza umana dell’ambiente e del paesaggio durante il movimento. Partendo dall’assunto che l’accelerazione dei ritmi sia materiali (velocità fisica) sia immateriali (ritmo della vita quotidiana) influenzi l’esperienza umana dell’ambiente, la tesi ipotizza che la velocità di movimento plasmi in modo significativo gli aspetti esperienziali dell’essere in movimento, come l’impiego dei sensi, il ruolo del corpo e la relazione affettiva della persona con l’ambiente circostante. La domanda di ricerca centrale - che indaga come la velocità e la modalità di spostamento influenzino l’esperienza ambientale - evidenzia la necessità di un approccio comparativo che esamini diverse velocità e modalità di movimento. La letteratura esistente associa le alte velocità alla deprivazione cinestetica e alla dissociazione dall’ambiente circostante, mentre la mobilità lenta e attiva è posizionata come possibile mitigatrice di tali effetti. Tuttavia, sebbene la mobilità lenta sia stata ampiamente studiata nei contesti urbani legati al pendolarismo, il suo ruolo nei contesti ricreativi non urbani rimane poco esplorato. Questo vuoto di conoscenza definisce il campo di indagine della ricerca nei domini del turismo lento e dei viaggi lenti, nei quali la lentezza è promossa come opportunità per vivere e sperimentare il paesaggio circostante durante pratiche di svago. Nonostante i frequenti richiami teorici ai benefici esperienziali della lentezza, le evidenze empiriche rimangono scarse, in particolare per quanto riguarda il movimento. L’obiettivo ultimo di questa tesi è quindi fornire dati empirici sul movimento lento per scopi ricreativi in contesti non urbani, contribuendo alle discussioni sulla mobilità sostenibile e sul tempo libero, e offrendo spunti utili per la progettazione di infrastrutture pedonali e ciclabili. Per indagare il potenziale della lentezza nel ristabilire l’esperienza umana dell’ambiente, la ricerca adotta una doppia linea d’indagine: da un lato, un’esplorazione concettuale degli effetti della velocità sulla relazione persona-ambiente; dall’altro, un’analisi empirica degli aspetti sensoriali, corporei e affettivi dell’esperienza umana dell’ambiente durante il movimento per scopi ricreativi in contesti non urbani. Il quadro teorico si basa su un approccio interdisciplinare che integra contributi provenienti da psicologia, progettazione urbana, studi sulla mobilità e filosofia, strutturando l’analisi teorica attorno ai concetti di esperienza ambientale, movimento e lentezza. La parte empirica della tesi adotta un disegno di ricerca misto multilivello per esaminare la relazione persona-ambiente durante il movimento, prendendo in considerazione sia gli aspetti legati all’ambiente fisico, sia quelli legati all’esperienza umana. Lo studio raccoglie dati spaziali per analizzare le caratteristiche ambientali che influenzano l’esperienza umana (Livello 1 - Ambiente) e dati qualitativi sugli aspetti sensoriali, corporei e affettivi di tale esperienza durante il movimento (Livello 2 - Persona). I dati qualitativi sono stati raccolti attraverso il metodo dell’intercept survey, in cui camminatori, ciclisti e automobilisti sono stati invitati a rispondere oralmente a un questionario riguardante la loro esperienza ambientale del paesaggio durante il movimento. La raccolta dati è avvenuta in contesti non urbani in Lombardia, lungo percorsi pedonali e ciclabili in cui è presente anche il traffico veicolare. Attraverso la triangolazione simultanea dei dati spaziali e qualitativi, la tesi dimostra che le variazioni di velocità e di modalità di spostamento influenzano non solo gli aspetti sensoriali e corporei dell’esperienza umana, ma anche la sua dimensione affettiva e incarnata, e quindi la relazione complessiva della persona con l’ambiente. I risultati evidenziano che velocità più elevate riducono la stimolazione della vista e della cinestesia, limitano il coinvolgimento multisensoriale e indeboliscono l’interazione persona-ambiente, mentre velocità più lente sono associate a esperienze rigenerative e trasformative, in linea con i concetti teorici sui benefici esperienziali del viaggio lento. La ricerca fornisce dunque evidenze empiriche che non solo contribuiscono alla concettualizzazione della lentezza, ma offrono anche indicazioni per la progettazione di percorsi pedonali e ciclabili - indicazioni fondate sull’idea che una comprensione tangibile del comportamento umano in relazione all’ambiente costituisca un prerequisito essenziale per politiche, pianificazione e progettazione efficaci delle pratiche mobili e ricreative umane.
Towards slowness : exploring human environmental experience of landscape during movement
RIGA, DAFNI THEODOSIA
2024/2025
Abstract
This research investigates the effects of speed on the person-environment relationship, with a particular focus on human environmental experience of landscape during movement. Departing from the assumption that the acceleration of both material (physical speed) and immaterial (the pace of everyday life) rhythms influence human experience of the environment, the thesis hypothesises that speed of movement significantly shapes the experiential aspects of being on the move, such as the employment of the senses, the role of the body, and the affective relationship of the person with his/her surroundings. The central research question addressing how speed and mode of movement influence environmental experience points towards the need of a comparative approach that examines various speeds and modes of movement. Existing literature associates high speeds with kinaesthetic deprivation and dissociation from surroundings, whereas slow and active mobility are positioned as potential mitigators of these effects. However, while slow mobility has been extensively studied in urban commuting, its role in non-urban leisure contexts remains underexplored. This gap frames the research scope within the domains of slow tourism and slow travel, in which slowness is promoted as an opportunity for experiencing one’s surroundings during leisure practices. Despite conceptual claims advocating the experiential benefits of slowness, empirical evidence remains scarce, particularly as far as movement is concerned. The ultimate purpose of this thesis is thus to provide empirical insights into slow movement for leisure in non-urban contexts, contributing to discussions on sustainable mobility and leisure, and informing urban design strategies for walking and cycling infrastructure. To investigate the potential of slowness in reinstating human environmental experience, the research adopts a twofold line of inquiry: a conceptual exploration of the effects of speed on the person-environment relationship, and an empirical examination of the sensory, embodied, and affective aspects of human environmental experience during movement for leisure purposes in non-urban contexts. For the conceptual framework, an interdisciplinary approach integrates insights from psychology, urban design, mobilities studies, and philosophy, structuring the theoretical analysis around environmental experience, movement, and slowness. Subsequently, the empirical part of the thesis employs a multilevel mixed methods research design to examine the person-environment relationship during movement, that is by addressing aspects regarding both the physical environment and human experience. The study collects spatial data to analyse environmental features affecting human experience (Level 1 – Environment), and qualitative data on the sensory, embodied, and affective aspects of such experience during movement (Level 2 – Person). The latter were collected through the method of the intercept survey, in which walkers, cyclists, and drivers were invited to complete an oral questionnaire addressing their environmental experience of landscape during movement. Data collection was performed in non-urban settings in Lombardy along walking and cycling routes, in which vehicular traffic is also present. Through the concurrent triangulation of spatial and qualitative data, the thesis illustrates that variations in speed and mode influence not only sensory and corporeal aspects of human experience, but also its embodied and affective dimension; and thus the person’s overall relationship with the environment. The findings demonstrate that while higher speeds under-stimulate vision and kinaesthesia, limit multisensory engagement, and weaken person-environment interaction, slower speeds are associated with restorative and transformative experiences that resonate with conceptual claims regarding the experiential benefits of slow travel. The research thus provides empirical evidence which aims not only to contribute to a conceptualisation of slowness, but also to provide directions for the design of walking and cycling routes – directions that are based on the consideration that a tangible understanding of human behaviour in relation to the environment constitutes an essential prerequisite for effective policy, planning, and design for human mobile and leisure practices.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/241497