IN-PERSON Barcelona Livable Cities. Section A

Abstract

The practice of walking has always been important in studies focusing on the relationship between the urban and everyday life, however, its evaluation as a methodological approach in academic research dates to the last 20 years. Different walking methods, developed with the aim of capturing the urban experience through the analysis of the human-space relationship, have gained various expansions by entering the field of interest of urban studies that concern the disciplines of sociology, geography, planning and architecture. This paper reviews the literature on mobile methodologies in the world literature, with a focus on how and why they emerged as innovative qualitative approaches, emphasizing the importance of these approaches in terms of examining human-space relationship to enhance urban policy development. Drawing on the methodology and results of the narrated walking method used in the Cittaslow Metropolis Izmir research project, the paper discusses the development, implementation and representation of data collection and analysis stages in guiding urban policy making. Mapping the human and space relationship in terms of memory, emotion and perception layers, this study offers a methodological tool to construct user narratives and spatial practices on common ground to propose a method that enables social inclusion and participatory approaches in urban policy making.