Walking rhythms and walkability in intermediate cities, Osorno, Chile

Abstract

Intermediate cities, characterized by their shorter distances, could be projected as favorable spaces for adopting active means of mobility such as walking. However, the trend seems to be moving in another direction. The most recent mobility surveys show a decrease in people going for walks and an increase in car use in several intermediate Chilean cities. This phenomenon raises questions about the experiences of those who walk in intermediate cities to understand why these cities could be evaluated as walkable, as walking is no longer a daily mobility option for most people. This article addresses this question based on ethnographic research conducted between 2021 and 2022 in the city of Osorno, in the Los Lagos region, where pedestrian experiences of twenty inhabitants were analyzed. A relevant finding is the frequent disruptions in the rhythms and sense of continuity that participants experience in their trips and their impact on the daily walk. Based on this observation, the proposal is made to incorporate the notion of rhythm into the debate on the walkability of intermediate cities as a valuable element that allows focusing on the experiences that people have while walking and to make progress in the understanding of what makes a city walkable, and what makes its inhabitants want to walk it. In this way, this article contributes to knowledge of pedestrian experiences in non-metropolitan contexts, often ignored in urban walking studies, enriching our understanding of everyday mobility in intermediate cities.