Emotional Well-Being and Environmental Restorativeness in Slow Travel: Experiential Qualities and Motivational Possibilities

Abstract

Slow travel, characterised by reduced pace, immersion, and interaction with the surroundings, is increasingly recognised as a sustainable mobility practice in the context of leisure. This paper examines emotional well-being and environmental restorativeness as experiential qualities associated with slow travel. Data were collected through a multilevel mixed methods research design combining spatial analysis with intercept surveys conducted with 19 walkers and 31 cyclists, capturing participants’ reflections during their leisure activities. Participants’ responses were analysed using thematic analysis to identify patterns in the experiential and affective qualities of walking and cycling for leisure in non-urban settings. The findings suggest that participants frequently described their slow travel experiences in terms of emotional well-being and environmental restorativeness, referring to feelings of pleasure, relaxation, and personal fulfilment during walking and cycling. Participants’ descriptions frequently referred to specific physical features, such as vegetation, water, and open landscapes, in conjunction with positive affective experiences. These patterns are interpreted as thematic co-occurrences between environmental characteristics and experiential qualities of slow travel. By highlighting how walkers and cyclists describe their experiences in relation to the environment, the study provides exploratory insights into the experiential qualities of slow travel. While the findings are context-specific, they provide a foundation for future research on the relationship between movement, environment, and well-being, highlighting the intertwined role of physical features, experiential qualities, and psychological states and pointing to possible connections between slow travel experiences, motivations related to mobility practices, and broader discussions on sustainable mobility.

1. Introduction

From the “pleasure of being on the move” [1] and the “beauty of speed” [2], human movement and mobilities have always been intrinsically associated with states of emotional well-being. The advent of high-speed movement and automobility during the twentieth century has exacerbated this perception of mobility—and, especially, speed—as synonymous with well-being: “the achievement of movement itself […] has almost become—if not a social goal—at least a reassurance of well-being to a wide band of society” [3] (p. 152). Modernity did not just promise speed, but also the possible access to speed as a means towards a desired “good life” [4] and subjective emotional well-being. Yet the mechanisation of movement has transformed the human condition by introducing new conceptual dimensions of how we interpret space and time, technology and culture, city and territory, and even our own ability to perceive the environment [5]. The mechanisation and acceleration of movement have fundamentally reshaped the person–environment relationship, particularly transforming the nature of perception and corporeality [6,7]. Furthermore, the increasing volume of mobility in the twentieth century has surpassed planetary boundaries, inducing “climate change and biodiversity loss […]; air pollution, noise, congestion, traffic fatalities, and public health costs […]; and the weakening of social cohesion and space for public life” [8] (p. 756). In an era in which climate change is a matter more pressing than ever, well-being in relation to mobilities is no longer framed as the mere emotional thrill associated with higher speeds of movement [1] (which simultaneously correspond to higher carbon emissions), but as the physical well-being of—increasingly sedentary—humans and ecological well-being of the planet. In this light, the concept of One Health regards “human and biodiversity health as entwined” [9] (p. 582) and thus pleads for “an integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimize the health of people, animals and the environment” [10]. Referring to disruptions in environmental conditions and to the movement of people, animals, and products as a potential global health threat, One Health “mobilizes multiple sectors, disciplines and communities at varying levels of society” [10] to collaborate in creating long-term sustainable strategies and solutions.

Under this lens, mobility is a crucial subject to be addressed in the process of establishing sustainable coexistence between humans and the environment. Transitioning into sustainable mobility practices that combine benefits for both humans and the environment lies at the heart of European and worldwide policy for sustainable development [11]. Active mobility constitutes one of the pillars of sustainable mobility by the European Commission [12]: it is performed through the use of non-motorised modes of movement in which motion is generated by the human body, primarily through walking and cycling, but also by the use of scooters, skateboards, and other non-motorised modes or their human-powered variants [13]. Active mobility contributes to several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including 7 (affordable and clean energy), 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and 13 (climate action) [11]. Most importantly, in relation to the focus of this paper, it also advances Goal 3 (good health and well-being). Correspondingly, a growing body of literature has examined the relationship between emotional well-being and mobility by exploring specific modes or purposes of movement [14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22]. Studies on the emotional and experiential aspects of active mobility have extensively focused on urban commuting, yet such everyday mobilities are more aligned to transport and differ substantially from active mobility for leisure [7,14,17,23]. Building on this distinction, although active mobility has been widely studied in relation to urban commuting, its role in non-urban leisure contexts remains underexplored. This gap positions the study presented in this paper within the field of slow travel, where slowness is framed as a means of restoring the person–environment relationship. Despite conceptual claims regarding the experiential benefits of slow travel, empirical evidence remains limited. This paper aims to offer exploratory insights into slow travel, contributing to discussions on sustainable mobility and offering a conceptual foundation for the design and planning of walking and cycling environments.

Slowness and Slow Travel

When it comes to leisure, the practice of slow travel encapsulates both the sustainable and active dimensions of mobility, while introducing the concept of speed and time as a central factor of experience. Nevertheless, there seems to be “little consensus on what ‘slow’ actually means, and how it is practiced or interpreted in relation to different tourism contexts, cultures, and mobilities” [24] (p. 3). Some scholars perceive slow travel as a form of leisure mobility that is performed through sustainable and active modes of movement that have a lower environmental impact and contribute to reducing carbon emissions [25,26,27,28,29,30,31]. The prefix ‘slow’ here signifies a reconceptualisation of time: “to slow down is to act and move differently, to experience the social and ecological environment in ways that counter the logic of speed” [32] (p. 117). Contrary to everyday mobilities, slow travel places “more emphasis on the journey—experiencing a place by travelling by a slow means through landscape and environment” [33] (p. 77). Put differently, what people travel for is not necessarily the destination, but the experience of being on the move and in the world in a particular way [2]. From this standpoint, slow travel represents the experiential passage between places rather than the mere displacement from point A to point B that often characterises everyday commuting [23,24]. Slow travel does not necessarily entail a long-distance walking or cycling holiday; it may equally refer to a single-day excursion. The essential aspect is the emphasis on slowness and on a conception of travel as passage, flow, and movement through active mobility modes.

Although research on slow travel has been flourishing during the past decades, slowness as both concept and practice remains of rather niche interest within and beyond academia. So far, there have been few structured attempts to conceptualise slowness in scientific terms; even less so in the public debate, where references to slowness hold negative connotations of a backwards-thinking and nostalgic view of human rhythms of the past [24,30]. In contrast, slowness can be understood as a set of sustainable practices that act as a thread linking humans and the environment [23]. Slowness does not signify stillness or immobility but rather constitutes a relational threshold and an opportunity to find one’s own rhythm and pace of acceleration [23,32,34]. In terms of active mobility, slowness may be defined in terms of a threshold speed: “20–25 km/h is a speed that can easily be achieved and maintained physically or using a modest quantity of energy: on foot, by bicycle, canoe, small motor or sailboats, by horseback or pack-mule, and so on” [31] (p. 10). With reference to slowness as both a mindset and an alternative way of being on the move, scholars suggest that if speed destroys the connection with landscapes, places, and the environment, then slow travel restores it [23,30,35].

While slow travel is certainly rooted in a sustainable approach to movement and the environment, slow travel should not be understood as a mere “repackaging” of sustainable mobility, but rather as a practice that is infused by the wider qualities of slowness [30] (Figure 1). Despite a growing body of literature on slow travel, references to its experiential dimension and potential in restoring the person–environment relationship remain on a rather theoretical level [7,36]. Oh et al. address the need for “a multidisciplinary, phenomenological in-depth understanding of slowness from the [person’s] behavioural perspective” [34] (p. 215). Studies providing qualitative, empirical evidence on the emotional and experiential aspects of slow travel practices are limited, for exceptions, see [36,37,38]. For Scuttari, this lack of evidence may be due to “the predominance of a technical approach to transport for tourism”; yet “understanding the experiential features of tourists’ displacement across space is crucial” [36] (p. 1) because it can contribute to promoting slow, active, and sustainable forms of movement for travel and leisure, as well as lay the foundation for designing suitable infrastructure to support such practices. In fact, achieving a sustainable transition in mobilities does not only depend on infrastructure improvements, but also, and perhaps first and foremost, on understanding mobility behaviour: in this case, during slow travel.

In Italy, where this paper is being written, slow travel is mostly understood as synonymous with a technical approach to sustainable mobility, and national strategies to promote slow travel fail to address the experiential dimension of slowness [39,40,41]. An exception can be found in the VENTO project, which consists of a 700 km long cycling route to connect Venice (VENezia) to Turin (TOrino) [39]. VENTO adopts a territorial planning approach that is not limited to infrastructure design but highlights the potential of slow travel as a tool for territorial regeneration, regional development, but also reconnection between humans and the environment [39]. VENTO is considered a slow line that sews together places and humans within a cohesive, experiential, and participatory kind of landscape [31]. If well-designed, slow lines can become “linear schools of experiential knowledge” [23] and pedagogical narration where humans spontaneously learn to understand, value, and eventually take care of landscapes and environments [42]. In this light, this paper proposes to take a step back to examine the experiential dimensions of slow travel so as to contribute to forming a holistic conceptual framework for policies and design strategies of slow travel infrastructures. Understanding mobility behaviour during slow travel means acknowledging a distinct form, purpose, and speed of movement that stems from the concept of slowness and gives rise to specific emotions during the person–environment interaction; voicing them is deemed essential for informing research on travel experiences in terms of emotional well-being [20,36,43].

The purpose of this paper is therefore to provide exploratory empirical insights into conceptual discussions on the experiential qualities of slow travel, by examining how experiences of slowness are described in terms of emotional well-being and the person–environment relationship (see Figure 2). The paper presents a study that was developed in the context of a PhD research project, which was funded by the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. Building on previous literature on the links between slow mobility practices and well-being, the study investigates how walkers and cyclists describe their experiences during leisure movement in non-urban environments. In particular, the study explores the relationship between specific physical features of the environment (such as natural landscapes, low traffic, sensory stimuli) and reported affective and restorative experiences during slow travel. The study addresses the following research questions: How are walkers’ and cyclists’ experiences of emotional well-being and restoration reflected in their accounts of slow travel in non-urban settings? Which physical features of the environment are associated with positive affective and restorative experiences during slow travel? In addition, the paper considers how such experiences may relate to broader discussions on mobility motivations and sustainable mobility practices. The ultimate goal of this paper is to provide exploratory observations that may inform future discussions on planning and design approaches for slow travel environments, considering both the experiential perspective of walkers and cyclists, and the physical elements of the environment that may contribute to a positive and engaging experience of slowness.

Although the origin of this research is situated in the field of urban planning and design, a topic such as the person–environment relationship entails a significant degree of complexity and thus requires an interdisciplinary approach [44]. Accordingly, this paper integrates insights from environmental psychology and urban studies through an iterative process that transcends disciplinary boundaries, with the ultimate purpose of providing a foundation for rethinking how walking and cycling infrastructure for slow travel can be conceived and designed.

The paper is structured as follows. The following section includes an overview of the theoretical background of the topic, regarding, firstly, emotional well-being in relation to mobilities and slow travel; and secondly, the concept of environmental restorativeness as conceptualised in environmental psychology. Following this theoretical foundation, the paper presents a preliminary development of an empirical method to investigate the experiential qualities of slow travel and how those relate to physical features of the environment and the concept of slowness. The findings are subsequently discussed in terms of walkers’ and cyclists’ affective experiences, with particular attention to emotional well-being. Simultaneously, the findings are interpreted in terms of the relationship between the physical features of the environment and affects of restoration, as reportedly experienced by participants during walking or cycling. Finally, the paper reflects on the experiential qualities of slow travel and how these observations may inform an understanding of a broader shift towards sustainable mobility.

2. Theoretical Background

2.1. Emotional Well-Being

Emotional well-being generated from experiences of movement is framed within the subjective well-being paradigm, which encompasses a person’s positive and negative affects [16]. In strict psychological terms, affect includes both emotions and feelings in terms of drive states, such as thirst or hunger; regarding person–environment interactions and transactions, affect is used in a narrower sense as synonymous with emotion [45,46,47]. When referring to affects, one thus refers to a person’s feelings and emotions that are driven by their purposes, motivations, desires, and values [14,46]. Scholars distinguish between two dimensions of well-being that are simultaneously mediated by the environment and the activity undertaken by the person [15,16,19]:

• Eudaimonic well-being refers to “maximising one’s virtue and realising one’s potential” [15] (p. 103) and is related to positive affective states of autonomy, freedom, control, and mastery in managing one’s surroundings.
• Hedonic well-being refers to the degree of pleasure and interest, and is related to positive affective states of pleasantness, satisfaction, and arousal generated by a particular activity.

Concerning movement, eudaimonic and hedonic well-being might be experienced in terms of specific affective states that may be evoked by (the speed and mode of) movement, such as stress, excitement, pleasure, boredom, control and so on [14]. Although most studies investigating affective experiences of movement have focused on negative affects of stress [14], some scholars have attempted to correlate mobile well-being with the concept of flow [48,49]. Originally conceived by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, the concept of flow describes experiences of full immersion in an activity, during which the person is concentrated and positively challenged, without experiencing boredom or distraction [48]. An experience of flow is often referred to as an optimal experience, since it is profoundly enjoyable and valuable, even if mundane, while entailing transformative potential and nurturing a sense of well-being [48,49]. Flow relates to both eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. In terms of the former, during a state of flow, a person “can achieve levels of task proficiency and efficiency beyond what is possible in other mental states” [48] (p. 7), and thus experience affects of autonomy, control and mastery. In terms of the latter, a state of flow implies that the person experiences the activity that s/he is carrying out as intrinsically rewarding [49,50] and hence entails affects of pleasure and satisfaction. The state of flow can thus “be characterized as one where sensorial, motor, cognitive and emotional processes are orchestrated in a way that not only facilitates the achievement of the ongoing task but also gives an intrinsic sense of well-being and personal fulfilment” [48] (p. 7). Scholars suggest that a person who experiences flow during movement might seek to replicate the activity so as to attain well-being [49]. Hence, it can be argued that considerations of mobile well-being and flow do not only refer to the assessment of specific affective states while being on the move but may also inform future decisions regarding the person’s choice of mode of movement [14].

Studies on motivations and mode choice regarding movement distinguish between two sets of factors that may inform the mobility behaviour. On one hand, motivations for carrying out an activity of movement might be instrumental, in which the activity is a means to another end [19]. For instance, a person might choose to travel to another city by train rather than on a bicycle because such mode is faster: in this equation, the train represents the means, while saving time (getting there faster) is the end. On the other hand, motivations may also be of an affective nature [14]; for example, a person avoids using the bicycle because of negative affects of stress incited by heavy traffic, while someone else might choose the bicycle for the positive (eudaimonic) affect of freedom attached to cycling. Naturally, motivations for choosing a particular mode of movement can be a combination of both instrumental and affective factors, i.e., a person chooses the car because it is faster (instrumental) and more comfortable (affective). A distinction between instrumental and affective factors may illuminate how an activity of movement is evaluated and experienced [14]. Affect influences preference, which in this context means that a person is likely to prefer an experience of movement that, besides responding to his/her instrumental needs (if any), is of positive affective nature and linked to well-being [17]. Moreover, affect is crucial in the formation of attitudes, which in turn influence the intention and desire to use a particular mode of movement again in the future [17,51].

As far as active mobility and slow travel are concerned, it has been shown that such mobility practices are overall associated with physical and emotional well-being [15,52,53]. Physical, because of the health benefits of increased corporeal activity that draws away from sedentary lifestyles; and emotional, because of the potential of slowness in restoring human affective experience and contact with the environment [54,55]. For example, a recent study on the experience of urban cyclists found that, regardless of their purposes (instrumental or affective) and motivations for cycling (such as health, environmental or economic reasons), participants reported an enhanced connection to place and “pragmatic, physical, restorative, and emotional rationales for initiating and maintaining urban cycling practices” [52] (p. 1).

2.2. Environmental Restorativeness

Experiencing an environment involves affective responses: an environment may be “interesting, gloomy, frightening, relaxing” or “pleasant, likeable, exciting, and so on” [56] (p. 120). Such responses consist of attributing an affective quality to a thing, event, or place [14] and are thus defined as affective appraisals. Ulrich argues that “an affective state is an important indicator of the nature and significance of a person’s ongoing interaction with an environment”, on the premise that “virtually no meaningful thoughts, actions, or environmental encounters occur without affect” [47] (p. 85). Scholars of environmental psychology affirm that the degree of preference for an environment is influenced by the different degrees of pleasure and interest that the environment exerts on an individual [47,56,57,58,59]. A tool for describing this interrelation can be found in Russell and Pratt’s [56,60] model of detailed descriptors of affective quality with regard to the environment (Figure 3 and Figure 4). The model accounts for four extreme combinations through which an environment can be appraised: pleasant and interesting (exciting); pleasant and uninteresting (relaxing); unpleasant and interesting (distressing); unpleasant and uninteresting (gloomy).

Considering slow travel as a leisure practice that often takes place beyond urban environments, the topic of this paper inevitably requires a consideration of the potential of natural environments to enhance emotional well-being. Research on the person–environment relationship has suggested that contact with the environment, particularly in natural contexts, has a restorative effect on humans [47,61,62]. Echoing the concept of One Health, “theories of restorative environments […] tie the restorative agency of nature on human health to biological and psychological processes that are described among other physical reactions as increased positive affect and decreased negative affect” [37] (p. 210). In this light, it might be suggested that an environment’s potential for restoration is characterised by a “therapeutic component representative of holistic connections between nature, the self, and physical, social, and mental well-being” [63] (p. 3).

In environmental psychology, the restorative potential of natural environments has been mainly conceptualised through the Stress Reduction Theory (SRT) and Attention Restoration Theory (ART) [64]. Essential literature on ART proposes that spending time in natural environments can help restore individuals’ ability to focus. Restorative experiences thus appear as opportunities to reduce the fatigue of directed attention (i.e., prolonged mental effort, being alert and vigilant to one’s surroundings) [61]. It might be argued that everyday life is infused by individuals’ effort for directed attention, especially if we factor in the human condition of living in urban contexts as one characterised by speed and overstimulation: “more than half the world’s population lives in urban areas. From a psychological perspective, urban lifestyles impose increasing demands on our cognitive resources. […] According to ART, these enhanced demands on directed attention may be linked to attention fatigue” [65] (p. 305). In this respect, the Kaplans have produced a large body of research investigating the relationship between stress, fatigue, and the potential of natural environments in restoring emotional well-being [58,61,62,66]. Kaplan and Talbot provide the following considerations for a psychologically oriented definition of nature (or, in their words, wilderness) in the context of restorative environments [62] (p. 199):

• There is a dominance of the natural. There are relatively few human and human-constructed elements with which to contend.
• There is a relative absence of civilized resources for coping with nature. Nature must be dealt with on what one might be tempted to characterize as “its own terms.”
• There is a relative absence of demands on one’s behaviour that are artificially generated or human imposed. A primary activity is the meeting of one’s vital needs.

The concept of restorativeness suggests that a pre-cognitive affective state of stress or anxiety tends to dissolve when the person is exposed to a peaceful, relaxing, and pleasing environment [47]. A restorative experience is particularly influenced by the variable of interest, “not only because it attracts people and keeps them from getting bored, but also because it allows them to function without having to call on their capacity for voluntary or effortful attention” [62] (p. 188)—the degree of interest of the environment thus guides the person’s behaviour and actions. According to Kaplan [61], for a natural environment to be restorative, it should be further characterised by four components: being away, extent, compatibility, and fascination. Firstly, being away allows one to disengage from mental tasks that demand focused attention: “In fact, people often use ‘getting away’ as a shorthand for going to a restorative place” [61] (p. 173). Secondly, a restorative environment must possess sufficient extent to engage cognitive processes, providing sufficient visual and experiential stimuli to occupy a substantial portion of an individual’s attentional capacity. Thirdly, “there should be compatibility between the environment and one’s purposes and inclinations. In other words, the setting must fit what one is trying to do and what one would like to do” [61] (p. 173). Fourthly, a restorative environment incites the affect of fascination towards its natural aspects: “many of the fascinations afforded by the natural setting qualify as ‘soft’ fascinations: clouds, sunsets, snow patterns, the motion of the leaves in the breeze—these readily hold the attention, but in an undramatic fashion” [61] (p. 174).

While ART is frequently referenced, the extent of empirical support behind it remains uncertain [65]. Drawing for phenomenology, the concept of restorativeness “combines elements of phenomenology and environmental psychology to understand how the perception of natural environments may contribute to feelings of restoration and well-being” and employs particular focus on how “affective responses to specific environmental qualities can play a crucial role in reducing stress, enhancing attention, and promoting well-being” [64] (p. 1). In this light, the new frontier on the restorative potential of natural environments is “to investigate the characteristics of the environment, or rather the set of the environmental elements and the relationships that connect them […] that, when entering into relationship with the individual, produces a restorative effect” [64] (p. 12).

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Research Design

To address the topic presented above, this paper presents a conceptually informed empirical study on the experiential and affective qualities of walking and cycling for leisure in non-urban environments. By adopting a multilevel mixed methods research design (MMRD) [67,68], this study attempts to examine both components—or levels—of the person–environment relationship: that is, Level 1—Environment; Level 2—Person. At the first level, spatial data was collected to assess physical features of the environment that might influence the experience of slow travel. As noted by Rucks-Ahidiana and Bierbaum [69], spatial data often capture measurable characteristics of geographic or built environments, and when assessed for patterns, these data can be integrated with qualitative information to function as quantitative evidence within a mixed methods framework. At the second level, the study collected qualitative data to address the experiential standpoint of walkers and cyclists; adopting a qualitative approach was deemed essential for voicing individuals’ own perspective on their experience, “as a means to better understand how people engage in particular settings” [68] (p. 2). Together, spatial and qualitative data enable the exploration of relationships between environmental characteristics and experiential qualities of slow travel, while remaining grounded in participants’ reported experiences. In this framework, Level 1—Environment provides the spatial context for interpreting participants’ experiences, while Level 2—Person captures the experiential dimension of movement within those environments.

The study adopts the concurrent triangulation design typology, as both spatial and qualitative data were collected and analysed simultaneously and subsequently compared [67]. Spatial data from Level 1—Environment were visually represented through photographs, maps, and drawings, and triangulated with qualitative data emerging from Level 2—Person. As the study was qualitatively driven, the spatial analysis of the settings (Level 1—Environment) served a complementary role to the data derived from participants’ responses [70]. Scholars note that multilevel MMRDs do not prescribe a single direction for achieving integration, but rather identify several commonly used techniques, such as data transformation, textual discussion, and joint displays [68]. In this study, integration across the two data types and levels of inquiry is achieved through the textual discussion of the findings presented in Section 4.

3.2. Study Settings

Data collection took place in three locations in the Po Valley in Lombardy, Northern Italy. The selection of these locations reflects the observation that urban studies have traditionally privileged cities and peri-urban environments, while non-urban and semi-rural contexts have often been examined primarily in relation to urban areas rather than as independent fields of inquiry [23,71,72]. This deprives the non-urban from a conceptual framework that will serve as a base in planning for slow travel in a sustainable and durable way [23]. To this end, this study is situated in non-urban contexts that support leisure-oriented movement and are characterised by exposure to natural landscapes and low levels of motorised traffic. More specifically, the study was performed on existing walking and cycling routes: on the embankments of Castelnuovo Bocca d’Adda (Province of Lodi) and Piacenza (Province of Piacenza) along the Po River, and of Governolo (Province of Mantova) along the Mincio River. While in proximity to urban contexts (the Castelnuovo Bocca d’Adda and Governolo towns, as well as the city of Piacenza), the three settings present a distinctive semi-rural landscape that is characteristic of the Po valley: running parallel to the river, the routes are marked by various types of vegetation, plains, and crop fields. The settings thus combine various degrees of rurality with extensive natural features and limited urban infrastructure, thereby embodying the environmental characteristics that inform the analytical framework adopted in this study. The embankments are not fully accessible to vehicular traffic; however, driving is permitted in the selected settings. Although the settings are part of national and international cycling routes, to date, there exists no infrastructure (except for signage) to separate vehicular from pedestrian and cycling traffic. Typically constructed in asphalt, the embankments constitute secondary roads that are mostly used by local inhabitants (walkers, cyclists, and drivers). This implies the potential of intercepting walkers and cyclists whose activity varies in terms of duration (ranging from hours to days) and purpose, including leisure, travel, or physical exercise. In particular, the embankments were selected in consideration of the possibility to intercept both long-distance and short-distance cyclists, due to their position along or in proximity to national and international cycling routes (i.e., Bicitalia, VENTO, and EuroVelo) (

Table 1. Spatial characteristics of the three settings of the study. Data on population were retrieved from ISTAT [72]. Data on cycling routes and vehicular traffic were retrieved from bicitalia.org [73].

	Castelnuovo Bocca d’Adda	Governolo	Piacenza
Province	Lodi	Mantua	Piacenza
Municipality (comune)	Castelnuovo Bocca d’Adda	Roncoferraro	Piacenza
Population/municipality	1.534	6.899	103.121
Distance from closest urban area	200 m from Castelnuovo Bocca d’Adda	500 m from Governolo	2 km from Piacenza
Embankment	Po River (in proximity)	Mincio River (adjacent)	Po River (adjacent)
International cycling routes	EuroVelo 8 (part of)	EuroVelo 7 (part of) EuroVelo 8 (in proximity)	EuroVelo 5 (part of) EuroVelo 8 (part of)
National cycling routes	Bicitalia 2 (part of) VENTO (part of)	Bicitalia 1 (in proximity) Bicitalia 2 (part of) VENTO (in proximity)	Bicitalia 2 (part of) VENTO (part of)
Vehicular access	Restricted: permit only	Restricted: residents only—priority to cyclists (west)/Restricted on weekends: residents only (east)	Restricted: permit only (west)/Restricted on weekends: permit only (east)
Vehicular traffic	Very low, <50 vehicles/day	Low, <500 vehicles/day	Low, <500 vehicles/day
Speed limit (km/h)	10	30 (west)/50 (east)	30
Road width (m)	4.5	5.5	6.5

). Data collection was conducted across three settings to enable comparison and strengthen the robustness of the findings. The three settings were not treated as case studies, but as spatial frameworks within which the study was contextualised.

3.3. Data Collection

Spatial data collected for Level 1—Environment provided a contextual and analytical framework for interpreting qualitative responses emerging from Level 2—Person [67]. Field observations were conducted to document the environmental characteristics of the selected settings, including landscape features, spatial configurations, and infrastructural elements relevant to walking and cycling practices. Visual documentation in the form of photographs was produced to capture key physical features and spatial relationships within the settings. In addition, maps and analytical drawings were developed to support the systematic examination of spatial structures and physical characteristics. Together, these materials enabled a structured representation of the spatial contexts in which participants’ experiences of slow travel unfolded (see Figure 5 for an example).

Qualitative data for Level 2—Person were collected through the method of intercept survey [74,75,76], in which participants were passers-by within the study settings, thereby increasing the likelihood of intercepting individuals engaged in walking or cycling for leisure. Participants were intercepted during their respective activity of movement and invited to reply to a pre-defined questionnaire. The deliberate inclusion of participants from two activity groups (walkers and cyclists) allowed the examination of subgroup particularities and supported comparative analysis [67,77]. A key advantage of this method was the immediacy of data collection, as participants were approached in situ and almost while on the move, enabling the capture of experiences in a direct and minimally mediated manner [14,36].

The questionnaire (presented in

Table 2. Open-ended and closed questions composing the questionnaire.

Question	Type	Options	Branching
Which is the purpose of your walking/cycling activity today?	Closed	Leisure Physical exercise Transport	-
2. For how long will you be walking/cycling?	Closed	<30 min 30 min–1 h 1 h–2 h Half day The whole day More than one day	-
3. Have you already walked/cycled along this route before?	Closed	Yes No	-
4. Did you perform any stops during the walking/cycling activity?	Closed	Yes [>4B.] No	4B. Why?
5. Did you ever feel the need to speed up or slow down?	Closed	Yes, speed up [>5B.] Yes, slow down [>5B.] No	5B. Why?
6. Name three elements (natural and/or artificial) that you saw along the route and that remained in your mind.	Open-ended	-	-
7. Which part of the route did you prefer? Why?	Open-ended	-	-
8. Describe the context of the route in three words.	Open-ended	-	-
9. Is there something you did not enjoy during your walking/cycling activity?	Closed	Yes [>9B.] No	9B. What?
10. Think of your daily trips. Which modes of movement do you use the most? Choose up to two.	Multiple choice	Walking Bicycle Car Bus Metro Train	-
11. Age	Closed	<17 18–24 25–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 65–74 75+	-
12. Education level	Closed	Primary school Middle school High school Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Ph.D.	-
13. Place of residence	Open-ended	-	-

) addressed participants’ purpose and duration of movement, familiarity with the surroundings, perception of speed during movement, physical features perceived along the route, overall experience, and demographic characteristics. The questionnaire was administered orally to maintain the possibility for participants to voice additional observations about their experience, thus making room for unexpected qualitative insights to emerge between questions [78]. Prior to participation, individuals were informed about the purpose of the study and provided their verbal consent to take part in the survey. Participation was voluntary and responses were recorded anonymously.

Overall, 19 walkers (response rate = 70%) and 31 cyclists (response rate = 57%) agreed to participate in the intercept survey. Given the exploratory qualitative nature of the study and the in situ recruitment strategy, the number of responses was considered sufficient to capture a range of experiential perspectives relevant to the study. Because participants were recruited in situ, individual variables such as age, cycling experience, or overall activity level were not controlled for in the sampling process. Rather than isolating the influence of specific participant characteristics, the exploratory qualitative design sought to capture a diversity of experiential perspectives among walkers and cyclists encountered in the study settings.

All intercept surveys were conducted on weekends, with the purpose to intercept more potential participants who move for leisure purposes. The intercept survey in Castelnuovo Bocca d’Adda (CBA) was conducted on 30 September 2023, from 10:00 to 17:00. The survey in Governolo (GV) was conducted on 7 and 8 October 2023, from 09:00 to 18:00 and from 09:00 to 15:00, respectively. The survey in Piacenza (PC) took place on 28 October 2023, from 09:00 to 15:00. All three surveys were conducted under warm and favourable weather conditions.

3.4. Data Analysis

Although the questionnaire addressed a multitude of aspects and yielded a rich set of data, data emerging from the open-ended questions proved to be more insightful in illustrating participants’ experience of slow travel, including references to emotional well-being and environmental restorativeness. The paper thus presents an analysis of participants’ responses to open-ended questions. Responses were analysed using thematic analysis [79], whereby codes were developed to categorise qualitative data extracts and identify recurring patterns and common threads (i.e., themes and sub-themes). Coding was performed manually. Each data extract (i.e., a participant’s response to a question) was read independently and assigned one or more codes based on the codebook presented in

Table 3. Definitions of codes used for the thematic analysis of participants’ responses to the questionnaire. Some codes are associated with visual codes used for spatial analysis for Level 1—Environment.

Code	Definition	Visual Code
Agriculture	Refers to physical features that denote the agricultural dimension and activity of the setting (e.g., fields, plantations, farmsteads).
Auditory	Participants’ references to sounds (e.g., birds chirping).
Body	Participants’ references to their own body and/or their corporeal needs (e.g., to rest).
Built environment	Refers to visually perceived physical features of the built environment (e.g., house, industrial edge, bridge).
Distressing	See Table 4 below.
Dull	See Table 4 below.
Elevation	Participants’ references to the topography of the environment (e.g., flatness) or the embankment itself.
Exciting	See Table 4 below.
Gloomy	See Table 4 below.
Ground	Refers to physical features related to the ground surface, such as slopes of ground materials.
Interesting	See Table 4 below.
Instrumental	Participants’ references to their own instrumental purposes.
Landmark	Refers to specific elements of the built environment that act as landmarks either because of their cultural value or because of their salience in the visual field (e.g., bell tower).
Landscape	Participants’ explicit use of the word landscape (in vivo).
Olfactory	Participants’ references to smells (e.g., manure).
Pace	Participants’ explicit references to their own pace and/or rhythm of movement, or to the concept of speed.
Panorama	Participants’ references to an open visual field, to the horizon, and/or to panoramic views.
Pleasant	See Table 4 below.
Relaxing	See Table 4 below.
Slow line	Refers to the kinaesthetic feature of the route, when used for slow mobility (i.e., walking and/or cycling).
Unpleasant	See Table 4 below.
Vegetation	Participants’ references to vegetation, covering all scales (i.e., flower, tree, wood) and levels of verbal complexity (i.e., from naming a species to “greenery”).
Visual	Participants’ direct references to visual perception, through accounts on what they “see”.
Water	Refers to the presence of water in the contexts (e.g., river, riverfront, riverbanks).
Weather	Participants’ references to weather conditions (e.g., sun, warmth, fog).

.

For responses demonstrating affective quality, coding was based on the verbal scaling system developed by Russell and Pratt, according to their model on descriptors of affective quality [56,60].

Table 4. Codes describing positive and negative affective qualities of participants’ experience.

Codes Describing Positive Affective Quality	Adjectives	Codes Describing Negative Affective Quality	Adjectives
Interesting	Intense	Dull	Inactive
	Arousing		Drowsy
	Active		Idle
	Alive		Lazy
	Forceful		Slow
Exciting	Exhilarating	Gloomy	Dreary
	Sensational		Dull
	Stimulating		Unstimulating
	Exciting		Monotonous
	Interesting		Boring
Pleasant	Pleasant	Unpleasant	Dissatisfying
	Nice		Displeasing
	Pleasing		Repulsive
	Pretty		Unpleasant
	Beautiful		Uncomfortable
Relaxing	Tranquil	Distressing	Frenzied
	Serene		Tense
	Peaceful		Hectic
	Restful		Panicky
	Calm		Rushed

illustrates an adaptation of Russell’s and Pratt’s model through a categorisation of adjectives describing an affective response with regard to either physical features of the setting or the experience of walking or cycling. These adjectives cover the spectrum of positive and negative affect (with respect to interest and pleasure) and are categorised under four positive and four negative qualities: interesting, exciting, pleasant, distressing, dull, gloomy, unpleasant, and relaxing. Previous studies have used this system to “abstract affective appraisals and their linked components (physical features) from the open-ended questions” [80] (p. 18). For example, a data extract in which one participant describes the context as “Nature, breathing the fresh air, open views, freedom” (question 8) was collated under the codes olfactory, visual, panorama, and interesting. In the same way, the data extract “Tranquil, beautiful, it frees your mind from thoughts” was collated under codes pleasant and relaxing, following the categorisation of adjectives demonstrating affective quality in Table 4. All codes were reviewed and refined iteratively through repeated readings of the respective data extracts to ensure consistency [67].

Following the initial coding phase, codes were compared and grouped based on conceptual similarities and recurring patterns. Related codes were clustered to generate sub-themes capturing specific aspects of participants’ experiences, which were subsequently organised into broader themes representing higher-level patterns within the dataset. The resulting thematic structure was iteratively reviewed and refined to ensure coherence within themes and clear differentiation between them [79,81]. The overall analysis identified three overarching themes (sensory, embodied, and affective experience), reflecting different dimensions of participants’ experiences during slow travel. This paper focuses specifically on the affective dimension, as affects are fundamental in leisure mobilities, referring “to non-cognitive sensations that are generated by the interactions and movements of human and nonhuman actors in specific spaces and places and that are felt through the body” [38] (p. 7). The thematic analysis presented here therefore examines participants’ affective references to their mode and speed of movement, with particular attention to the co-occurrence of specific physical features of the environment and positive affective experiences.

Under the thematic lens of affective experience, the data were interpreted and organised into two sub-themes: emotional well-being and environmental restorativeness. The first sub-theme captures participants’ accounts reflecting positive affective states of emotional well-being during movement, expressed in either eudaimonic or hedonic terms and associated with both the mode of movement and the surrounding environmental settings. The second sub-theme focuses on physical features that relate to positive affective responses, examining their potential restorative effects as a function of participants’ movement practices.

Table 5. Thematic analysis: sub-themes and associated codes.

Theme	Sub-Themes	Codes
Affective experience	Emotional well-being (eudaimonic and hedonic)	Exciting Body Olfactory Pace Pleasant Visual Weather
	Environmental restorativeness	Auditory Olfactory Relaxing Vegetation Water

presents the final structure of the affective experience theme and its two associated sub-themes, as derived from the combination of specific codes. The data analysis indicated that thematic saturation had largely been achieved, as later responses primarily reinforced existing themes rather than generating new ones. Potential disconfirming cases were also considered; however, no substantial contradictory patterns emerged that challenged the identified themes.

4. Findings and Discussion

This section presents the findings related to the theme of affective experience, illustrating the sub-themes that emerged from participants’ responses. Illustrative quotations are included for their thematic relevance and richness, providing representative examples of the patterns identified in the analysis. The discussion integrates spatial observations from Level 1—Environment with participants’ experiential accounts from Level 2—Person. This approach allows affective responses to be interpreted in relation to physical features of the environment identified through the spatial analysis of the study settings. Given the qualitative and exploratory nature of the study, the findings should be interpreted as thematic patterns emerging from participants’ accounts rather than as evidence of causal or correlational relationships between environmental characteristics and emotional well-being.

4.1. Emotional Well-Being

As described above, emotional well-being entails both eudaimonic and hedonic dimensions: the former refers to positive affective states related to one’s sense of autonomy, freedom, control, and mastery in managing and navigating the environment, while the latter refers to the degree of pleasure and interest experienced by a person, thus relative to positive affective states of pleasure, arousal, excitement, and relaxation. In both cases, the act of movement may be considered as a passage “through a series of places, in which intended or non-intended interaction with the material and social environment evokes physical and/or emotional responses” [15] (p. 102).

Accounts on eudaimonic well-being mostly concerned participants’ references to their experience of movement as one of autonomy and environmental mastery; they are thus closely related to embodied aspects of rhythm and pace [82]. At the same time, eudaimonic well-being may also be achieved through participants’ social interactions. Ettema et al. [15] claim that walking contributes to eudaimonic well-being by offering a sense of autonomy and mastery, especially to children and the elderly, while contributing to the latter’s social relationships and sense of place and community. This was remarkably reflected in one walker’s description of the context: “Well-being, beneficial. It is pleasant to see people who walk, with whom you can exchange thoughts and socialise.” Aside from this account, two walkers provided descriptions of the context that convey environmental mastery and arousal, as a result of their corporeal movement: “Pleasant. It is good to set your body in movement”; “Nature, breathing the fresh air, open views, freedom.” The reference to “freedom” might be associated with the fact that the same walker expressed the need to speed up his/her pace (response to question 5B) in order “to do more physical exercise”. The combination of these statements indicates that participants sometimes associated corporeal movement with feelings described in terms of freedom and arousal, experienced as an embodied, positive, affective state. Besides such considerations, however, walkers’ overall affective responses were mostly centred around the description of pleasant and relaxing experiences, thus indicating walking’s connection with hedonic and restorative aspects of well-being, which will be illustrated shortly.

As far as cycling is concerned, responses justifying some cyclists’ reported need to speed up their pace may further illuminate the discussion on affective aspects of eudaimonic well-being. Among the ten cyclists who wished to speed up (response to question 5), three of them were cycling for physical exercise purposes and reported the following motivations for accelerating: “I like adrenaline”; “I like speed”; “For training, because I like speed.” Furthermore, by referring to both adrenaline and freedom, other cyclists described the context as one that stimulates their arousal and eudaimonic sense of well-being: “Freedom, serenity, adrenaline”; “Natural, relaxing, freedom”; “Freedom, happiness”; “Freedom, relaxation, effort”; “Natural, beautiful, freedom.” The above statements illustrate that participants often described their experiences using expressions that correspond to a combination of eudaimonic (freedom, adrenaline, effort) and hedonic (pleasure, happiness, relaxation) dimensions of well-being. Put differently, hedonic states of pleasure may be derived from the eudaimonic aspects of environmental and corporeal mastery. In addition, cyclists’ statements above imply that eudaimonic well-being might be composed of combined judgements about both the cycling activity and the environmental context in which it is performed. Looking at accounts relating to the body, some cyclists’ (n = 3) wording illustrates an embodied aspect of eudaimonic well-being through corporeal arousal: “strenuous” activity, “exercise”, and “effort”. In this sense, the activity of cycling may encapsulate both corporeal and conceptual rhythmicities that echo physical attributes of the environment, such as linearity, rhythmic sequences, curves, and slopes [83]. The multifaceted nature of cycling “against the wind” reported by one cyclist illustrates a case in which weather conditions actively engage the body in movement and can be linked with affective states of embodiment. When mastery and control are achieved, they may foster a combination of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, as in the words of another cyclist: “Beautiful, I’m proud of my cycling activity.” Contrary to the above accounts on freedom, adrenaline, and arousal, one cyclist stated: “I like going slow,” echoing Vannini’s concept of “slow-as-affect” [32]. The same cyclist reported a panoramic visual experience of the setting, and his/her responses were devoid of references to arousal or excitement. It might be thus argued that, even within the same mode of movement, experiential qualities and accounts on emotional well-being differ among individual cyclists’ purposes and speed of movement. Overall, walkers and cyclists seemed to experience a kind of environmental mastery that is in tune with the environment: through their corporeal movements, they employed kinaesthetic improvisational rhythmicities and appeared to be “attuned to changing gradients, surfaces and textures” [84] (p. 157) of the ground they move on.

As far as hedonic well-being is concerned, several participants provided accounts that referred to affective states of pleasure and relaxation stemming from the environmental scene in combination with their activity of movement. For instance, three walkers described the context of their experience by referring to physical features, sensory aspects, the weather, and affects relating to pleasure: “Silent, warm, without many trees, liberating”; “Silence, wind, warm sun”; “Beautiful, really green. I like being under the sun and immersed in nature.” Such accounts stand at the intersection of sensory, embodied, and affective aspects of an experience that is nuanced by hedonic well-being. Similarly, one cyclist reported: “Sun, gratitude, serenity.” This account shows once more a link between hedonic well-being and a wider array of environmental conditions, such as the weather, and resonates with Bell’s affirmation that “our full kinaesthetic, sensuous enjoyment is also further stimulated as we […] dip in and out of sun and shade, and turn and twist our bodies in the process” [85] (p. 92). In more general terms, cyclists demonstrating latent meanings of hedonic well-being evaluated their environmental experience during movement as “pleasant” (n = 2), the setting as “beautiful” (n = 6) and “stimulating” (n = 1), thus concurrently referring to pleasure, arousal, and excitement. While one cyclist reported a positive affective state of “happiness”, another cyclist provided the following account: “Beautiful, it makes you forget everything.”

In line with previous research on the topic [14,15,86], walkers and cyclists demonstrated positive affects in terms of both eudaimonic and hedonic well-being, pleasure, and interest (Figure 6). This observation may be related to the fact that walking and cycling are active forms of movement that engage the body through physical activity, rhythmicity, and sensory stimulation [15]. These patterns may resemble aspects discussed in the literature on flow experiences. As described earlier, flow relates to both eudaimonic and hedonic well-being: on one hand, through the achievement of mastery, control, and autonomy; and on the other, through the evaluation of the activity as inherently rewarding, pleasant, and enjoyable. Nevertheless, it is important to consider that participants were not explicitly asked about flow; hence such interpretations should be considered tentative.

4.2. Environmental Restorativeness

Through the thematic analysis, an important pattern was recognised in participants’ responses: one that combines references to sensory stimuli and the relaxing dimension of environmental experience, alongside mentions of specific physical features, such as water and vegetation. This pattern echoes the concept of environmental restorativeness, which merits a separate discussion from other aspects of emotional well-being, since it directly points to the person–environment relationship. The underlying pattern for this sub-theme is based on the observation that, in relation to their mode and speed of movement, several participants manifested clear connections between physical features of the environment and their affective experience during movement.

The most recurring codes in participants’ responses across both samples regard the presence of water and vegetation. This aligns with previous research on environmental preference, which identifies water and vegetation as elements that elicit affective responses [47,53,64,87]. As expected, participants’ reported experiences were shaped by the fact that the settings in which the intercept surveys took place are in proximity to water and largely characterised by vegetation. In fact, all walkers (n = 19) stated their preference for elements of vegetation or water: for example, four out of five walkers intercepted at the Piacenza setting indicated the Parco del Trebbia as their preferred setting (Figure 7). The same applies to most cyclists (n = 23): for instance, three cyclists intercepted at the Castelnuovo Bocca d’Adda setting referred to the confluence of the two rivers in the Bocca dell’Adda (Figure 8). With regard to vegetation encountered in the Castelnuovo Bocca d’Adda setting, two walkers and one cyclist provided accounts regarding their preferences or motivations for stopping (question 4). Their accounts hold qualitative importance in indicating a specific physical feature: “The street with the row of trees at the exit of Castelnuovo Bocca d’Adda”; “Under the shade of the trees”; “Under the row of trees.” These excerpts illustrate that vegetation was associated with positive affective responses not only through its mere presence but also through its various configurations. In this sense, rows of trees act as affordances for restorative activities. In the case of the Castelnuovo Bocca d’Adda setting (Figure 9), the intercept point was located on a part of the route where benches are located under a row of trees which shape a roof above the route [86]: the scene thus constitutes an affordance for stopping and resting. As Biassoni et al. explain, what “we ‘see’ in a lush tree [is] a place to shelter from the heat of the sun’s rays” [64] (p. 8). While most walkers referred to vegetation as their element of preference, many cyclists demonstrated preference for parts of the route “along”, “next”, or “close” to the Po/Mincio River, without, however, excluding references to vegetation. In their combination, water and vegetation can be associated with immersion within the environment, as previously reported by one walker: “Beautiful, really green. I like being under the sun and immersed in nature.” In participants’ accounts, the Po River and its valley appeared to provide a sense of restorative extent, in the sense that they cover a large tract of land and offer material continuity to the route—and immaterial continuity to the sense of restorativeness [61]. Such affordances constitute the essence of restorative environments and transcend scales: the concept of exploration through the “meanders” of the river (in the words of one cyclist) might be paralleled to “the gentle curves of hills dotted with vegetation and adorned with a watercourse” that are evaluated as “a place where we can be, pleasantly and comfortably” [64] (pp. 8–9).

The findings indicate that the primary affective component of environmental restorativeness lies in the pleasure associated with the relaxing aspects of participants’ experiences. Participants frequently used words such as “relaxing” (n = 14), “tranquil” (n = 6), “calm” (n = 6), “calming” (n = 1), and “serenity” (n = 3) together with references to vegetation. Two walkers who evaluated the environment as relaxing referred to auditory and olfactory aspects as a source of relaxation: one referred to “silence”, the absence of sound; and the other mentioned “fresh air, relaxing”. Similarly, four participants further provided qualitative insights on their environmental experience as one relating to restoration: “Tranquil, beautiful, it frees your mind from thoughts”; “Green, natural landscape that is very close to the city. Breathing fresh air”; “Beautiful, it makes you forget everything”; “Beautiful, pleasant, natural. I feel reborn when I am on the embankment.” These excerpts support the suggestion that “green space, vegetation, and urban tree cover provide several benefits for emotional well-being as they are linked to reduced stress, reduced mental fatigue, attention recovery, […] and greater happiness” [53] (p. 6). Thus, an environment characterised by vegetation can be often interpreted as restorative and subsequently yields restorative experiences [64].

The findings suggest that experiences of slowness may be of restorative character and are intertwined with embodied rhythm and pace. Environmental restorativeness in the context of slowness can thus afford a wide array of experiential opportunities and affective experiences, as: “the sensation of being away, either physically or psychologically by enabling the mind to wander; extending the scope of what is normally experienced; engendering a sense of fascination or psychological engagement; and compatibility with one’s expectations and inclinations” [88] (p. 41). Considering that almost all walkers (18 out of 19) and the majority of cyclists (19 out of 31) that were intercepted for this study were already familiar with the settings in question (responses to question 3), it might be argued that prior familiarity with an environment does not exclude an experience of environmental restorativeness. In fact, the sensation of being away does not necessarily presuppose an encounter with a new, unfamiliar, or extraordinary (beyond the ordinary) place, but rather reflects a psychological, affective state [61].

4.3. Physical Features of the Environment in Relation to Emotional Well-Being and Environmental Restorativeness

As described above, walkers’ and cyclists’ accounts suggested a strong link between physical features of the environment and positive affective experiences (of interest, arousal, pleasure, excitement, and relaxation) during slow travel.

Table 6. Co-occurrence patterns between physical features of the environment and reported affective experiences in participants’ accounts. The table summarises thematic associations identified in the qualitative analysis and does not imply causal or directional relationships.

	Experiential Qualities	Affects	Environment	Visual Code	Physical Feature
Walkers	Relaxation Pleasure	Freedom	Openness		Embankment Slow line
		Restoration	Water edge		Embankment Slow line
		Restoration Interest	Sequence		Row of trees
		Restoration Immersion Participation Involvement	Vegetation edge Narrowness Threshold		Parco del Trebbia (PC setting)
Cyclists	Relaxation Pleasure Arousal Excitement	Freedom	Openness		Embankment Slow line
		Excitement Anticipation Participation	Linearity		Curves
		Interest Anticipation Immersion	Vegetation edge Water edge (Landmark)		Bocca dell’Adda (CBA setting)

summarises the co-occurrence patterns identified in participants’ responses between references to specific physical features and expressions of positive affective experiences. The co-occurrences presented in Table 6 were identified through the thematic coding process, in which references to physical features and affective qualities appeared within individual participants’ accounts. The table does not represent causal or correlational relationships, but rather illustrates how particular physical features of the environment were mentioned alongside affective descriptions in participants’ responses.

As far as walkers are concerned, their references to eudaimonic well-being did not directly address human-scale physical features of the settings in question, but yielded information on their overall affective experience in terms of their purposes, expectations, and outcomes of walking for leisure. Walkers’ accounts revealed an interconnection between physical features and affective aspects in four domains, primarily related to the restorative potential of the environment. Firstly, walkers’ references to water showed that the latter is not perceived as a kinaesthetic barrier, but as a visual feature, namely an edge that was associated with positive affective states of relaxation. As Ingold suggests, a physical feature of an environment does not constitute a barrier or boundary in itself: “it can only become a boundary, or the indicator of a boundary, in relation to the activities of the people (or animals) for whom it is recognized or experienced as such” [89] (pp. 238–239). Secondly, the value of restorative environments was fundamentally emphasised in walkers’ references to the row of trees of the Castelnuovo Bocca d’Adda setting (see Figure 9). In this case, the row of trees visually constituted an attribute of sequence, which walkers associated with a sense of interest towards the environmental scene; on a sensory level, shade produced by the trees acted as an affordance for stopping, resting, and protecting one’s body from the warmth of the sun. Thirdly, and in analogy with the above, walkers demonstrated a preference for environmental scenes in which vegetation constitutes an edge flanking the route: vegetation was frequently associated with a sense of immersion, involvement, and participation in the environment and co-occurred with walkers’ reported affects of pleasure. Lastly, walkers’ references to the openness of the visual field were associated with an affective sense of freedom. In the case of this study, the visual attribute of openness (as shown in Figure 7) was strongly linked with the spatial dimension of the embankment, that is, a dual kinaesthetic and visual feature which simultaneously allows movement along a route and unobstructed visual perception through its elevation.

As with walkers, cyclists’ accounts on eudaimonic well-being illustrated co-occurrence with specific physical features of the settings. Similarly to walkers, cyclists linked the openness of the visual field with a sense of freedom and overall pleasure. Most cyclists demonstrated preference for parts of the route that run parallel to the water edge and the embankment itself, suggesting a restorative potential in cycling in proximity to water. In the settings studied, the fact that the embankment follows the shape of the river corresponded with embodied and affective qualities in the experience of cyclists. The transition from linearity and openness to curves that deflect the visual field and kinaesthetically engage the body was evaluated by cyclists as an important source of environmental preference. Considering that cyclists’ reported affective states did not only have to do with relaxation and pleasure, but also with arousal, interest, and excitement, it might be argued that the transition between linearity and curves encourages a sense of anticipation, exploration, involvement, and participation within the environment [90].

Overall, the interpretation of the findings suggests that walkers’ and cyclists’ experiences were often described in positive affective terms in co-occurrence with the following physical features:

• Vegetation edges;
• Water edges, adjacent to the route;
• Openness, through open, unobstructed views or elevation (e.g., embankment);
• Narrowness and threshold as a product of vegetation;
• Visual alternation between openness and narrowness;
• Sequence as a product of vegetation (e.g., row of trees);
• Visual and kinaesthetic alternation between linearity and curves;
• Urban furniture, to accommodate pauses (e.g., bench).

The presence of such physical features was frequently mentioned in conjunction with affects of relaxation, pleasure, arousal, interest, and excitement, and suggested a relationship with walkers’ and cyclists’ eudaimonic and hedonic well-being, potentially leading to restorative experiences within the environment.

4.4. Experiential Qualities of Slow Travel: Motivational Possibilities

Although participants at the intercept survey were not explicitly prompted to address their motivations for undertaking a slow travel activity, it might be hypothesised that the autotelic dimension of slow travel could play a role in shaping how individuals perceive different (including slow) mobility practices [14,18,51]. Participants’ accounts referring to affective states such as pleasure, enjoyment, and excitement suggest that undertaking a slow travel activity might be related to specific purposes and motivations that are nuanced by affective and diversive qualities rather than purely instrumental ones. While the interpretations presented in this section draw on theoretical concepts from environmental psychology and mobility studies, they remain grounded in participants’ accounts and should therefore be understood as exploratory insights rather than definitive explanations.

As mentioned earlier, instrumental purposes are typically linked to everyday or commuting mobilities, such as “getting from A to B, as in the journey to or from work; finding a suitable place to have lunch, set up a street stall, or get out of the rain” [91] (p. 7). Instrumental purposes outweigh affective factors and are associated with convenience, comfort, and absence of distraction from the specific objectives that the individual aims to achieve [14,19,91]. By contrast, affective and diversive purposes are marked by the search for experience “for its own sake” [91]. Such purposes are distinguished from the execution of particular tasks and reflect an autotelic, intrinsic motivation in performing slow mobility, and slow travel in particular, in the sense that slowness is chosen because it is “inherently interesting/enjoyable/desirable—an end in itself” [19] (p. 504). Scholars underline that autotelic motivations may contain either or both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being components: regarding movement, they might be driven by affects such as curiosity, adventure-seeking, exercise, status, or independence, among others [19]. In addition, the experience of a state of flow has been described as an intrinsically enjoyable condition associated with emotional well-being during movement, suggesting that the possibility of achieving such a state may constitute an autotelic motivation for engaging in slow mobility [49].

The findings of this study indicate that participants frequently described their slow travel experiences using affective terms, suggesting that such experiential qualities may play an important role in leisure mobility practices. Cyclists, and to a smaller degree walkers, with their accounts on the affective aspects of their experience, illustrated that their activity of movement entailed “a positive utility of its own that is not necessarily related to the instrumental factor of reaching a destination” [17] (p. 418), but rather to the “satisfaction of travelling” [92]. Scholars indeed highlight that forms of active mobility can often be regarded as autotelic [14,17,49]: especially walking might constitute a “more or less enjoyable activity in itself” [15] (p. 103). While the presence of bicycle racks and protective barriers may be considered as physical features that can satisfy a cyclist’s instrumental purposes [11,93], this study suggests that physical features that afford an (autotelic) experience of slow travel are quite different: for example, a clear path in the woods reveals the direction of movement to the walking traveller [38]. In this sense, the physical features associated with an affective experience of slow travel are likely to be related to emotional well-being, whereby the environment is perceived and experienced in terms of its affordances for interest, pleasure, excitement, but also calm, restoration and order [14,19,91].

In addition, the findings of this study align with previous research suggesting that “journeys by bicycle are evaluated to be the most interesting and exciting”, while “journeys on foot are perceived to be the most relaxing journeys” [17] (p. 428). Nevertheless, while satisfaction and enjoyment may indicate behavioural intent, they are unlikely to be sufficient on their own to transform future travel behaviour, as motivations for choosing a particular mode of movement are typically shaped by a combination of instrumental and affective factors [14,19].

In sum, the association of slow travel with emotional well-being and environmental restorativeness may reflect an autotelic motivation for undertaking slow travel activities, characterised by the environment’s potential to evoke positive affective states and restorative experiences. These experiences appear to emerge not only through immersion in natural environments, but equally through the employment of active mobility modes that engage the body and the senses, and that reinforce a feeling of slowness. The findings of this study illustrate that positive slow travel experiences were often described in relation to this combination of slowness and restorative environmental settings, a pattern that may be relevant to broader discussions on attitudes toward mobility practices.

5. Conclusions and Future Directions

The study presented in this paper sought to provide empirical insights into the experiential qualities of slow travel, contributing to ongoing discussions on the value and benefits of slowness, which have so far remained largely conceptual. This pursuit entailed a threefold objective: to lay the first steps for the development of a method that investigates the relationship between slow travel, emotional well-being, and environmental restorativeness; to provide exploratory empirical insights into the potential of slowness (specifically in terms of slow travel) as a sustainable practice to restore the person–environment relationship; and to call on planners, designers, and policymakers to engage in conceiving slow travel infrastructure that will be centred around the experiential benefits of slowness (as voiced by participants in this study). The purposes for conducting slow movement for leisure are both instrumental and affective: this study aimed to show that an exclusively technical, infrastructural approach to designing slow travel infrastructure does not correspond to walkers’ and cyclists’ (emotional and physical) needs. Put differently, walkers and cyclists may need benches to rest on, information signs to navigate the environment, an even ground surfaces to move on—but they also need to be affectively moved by the environment. For them, slow travel represents a kind of participatory activity through which they attach affective meanings to their experience of the environment, through attaining states of emotional well-being and restoration. In this regard, walking and cycling can successfully be promoted as sustainable forms of movement for leisure “only to the extent that [such practices are] fully appreciated in policy and planning not merely from instrumental perspectives, but also as sensuous and affective [mobilities]” [94] (p. 13). The association of slowness with restorative experiences, through walkers’ and cyclists’ references to the restorative dimension of the environment, resonates with the concept of One Health. Through involvement, immersion, and participation, individuals may develop a greater appreciation of the environment and its ecological dimension, a perspective that may be relevant to broader discussions on environmental awareness and sustainable mobility practices.

This paper sought to provide exploratory empirical insights into the experiential qualities of slow travel in the studied settings. Echoing previous research, the findings suggest that slow travel “experiences on the move represent much more than instances for spatial displacement […]: they are [travel] experiences in their own right, and—as such—they need to be carefully designed and managed” [36] (p. 11). Drawing from Benjamin’s distinction between Erlebnissen (an accumulation of fragmented, episodic experiences) and Erfahrungen (a deep, transformative experience that leaves a sign, affects and shapes the person’s identity) [95], this paper suggests that slow travel offers a way to counter the fractures in the person–environment relationship brought about by the accelerating and alienating pace of post-modern life. In an era in which sustainable mobility practices are becoming a primary objective in urban policy, this paper sought to underline that it is impossible to promote slow travel as a form of sustainable mobility without a thorough understanding of the complex experiential aspects of the person–environment relationship during movement. It is crucial for future research, but also for the urban planning and design world, to understand that practices of slowness for leisure purposes are, above all, multisensory and affective experiences that can be infused with restorative effects for the person–environment relationship. In other words, planning discussions on slow travel infrastructure can only benefit from considering the experiential and affective dimensions of slow travel, as reported by participants in this study.

Limitations and Future Research

The methodology adopted in this study combined multiple forms of data, including spatial observations of the environment and qualitative data collected through intercept surveys. This approach allowed the analysis to draw on different sources of information “rather than relying on a single data source”, and to organise information into “themes that cut across all the data sources” [67] (p. 175). Adopting a qualitatively driven, multilevel mixed methods approach was considered appropriate for addressing the complex and interdisciplinary nature of the person–environment relationship. At the same time, the exploratory nature of the study entails several limitations that should be acknowledged.

First, the findings are context-specific and should not be interpreted as generalisable to all slow travel environments. Data were collected in three non-urban settings in the Po Valley in Northern Italy, and the relatively small sample recruited through intercept surveys limits the possibility of generalisation. The qualitative design of the study also does not allow for causal inference regarding the relationship between physical features of the environment and emotional well-being. Instead, the findings should be understood as exploratory insights into participants’ experiences of slow travel within the specific contexts examined. For the same reason, the findings should not be interpreted as providing direct recommendations for the planning and design of slow travel infrastructure, but rather as offering points for consideration for future research and discussion.

Secondly, despite its strength in capturing in situ experiences, the intercept survey method may be subject to selection bias, as the sample presented in this study comprises only those participants who agreed to stop and respond. In addition, refusal rates and observable characteristics of non-participants were not systematically recorded. Future research could benefit from systematically documenting non-response patterns and observable participant characteristics in order to assess potential selection effects and enhance the robustness of the findings. While the number of responses suggested that thematic saturation was largely achieved, expanding the sample size and including a broader range of participants could further enrich the understanding of experiential dimensions of slow travel. Conversely, future research adopting an in-depth qualitative approach (such as interpretative phenomenological analysis) could focus on a smaller number of participants in order to explore more deeply how physical features of the environment shape restorative experiences during walking and cycling.

Thirdly, several contextual and individual variables were not examined in relation to the findings. Although the questionnaire recorded factors such as participants’ age, cycling experience, and self-reported physical activity, these variables were not analysed in relation to participants’ responses. Similarly, environmental conditions such as weather and time of day were documented but not systematically incorporated into the analysis. Future research could investigate how such contextual and individual characteristics shape environmental experiences during walking and cycling.

Fourthly, data collection took place in autumn, with intercept surveys conducted over a limited timeframe. The findings should therefore be interpreted as season-specific. Extending data collection across multiple seasons and over a longer period could allow future studies to examine how seasonal variation influences experiential and affective responses to the environment during slow travel.

Finally, while participants frequently described their experiences using affective terms related to emotional well-being and environmental restorativeness, the study did not measure behavioural intentions, collect longitudinal data, or track actual changes in travel behaviour. Consequently, the findings should not be interpreted as evidence of behavioural change, and further research is needed to investigate how experiential qualities of slow travel relate to mobility motivations and attitudes over time.