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Therapeutic mobilities: walking and 'steps' to wellbeing and health

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>07/2013
<mark>Journal</mark>Health and Place
Volume22
Number of pages9
Pages (from-to)98-106
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

There is now an extensive literature on therapeutic landscapes, those settings and places that can contribute to wellbeing and good health. Less attention has been paid to the therapeutic qualities of the act of moving from one place to another. The recent emergence of a significant mobilities ’turn’ in social science is welcome, but this has as yet had relatively little to say about the consequences of mobility for health and wellbeing. This paper maps the relations between one form of mobility – walking – and wellbeing and health. Such relations may be theorised as ‘therapeutic mobilities’, a concept that sits comfortably alongside that of therapeutic landscapes. I explore three elements of such relations: activity; connection; and context. Although only one form of mobility is considered, the notion of therapeutic mobilities can be extended to other forms of travel.