Walk this way: the rhythmic mobilities of university students in Greater Manchester, UK

Abstract

Mobility in the context of higher education is often privileged to large(r)- scale international movements, neglecting the everyday mobilities practiced by students. This is important, as banal mobilities constitute important affective experiences for students. In responding to calls for a micro-bodily mobilities approach to student geographies in the UK, we draw on semi-structured interviews conducted with university students aged 18–25 studying in Greater Manchester. Through discussing the complex, multilayered everyday walking mobilities of students, we illuminate how embodied, emotional and affective walking mobility practices shape students’ experiences and identities. Findings show that, for students in our study, moorings are often as important as mobilities to identity formation, and place attachment. Bringing to the fore the embodied, emotional and affective nature of student micro-mobilities is necessary, since various forms of movement and stillness are important to student wellbeing, enabling students to have space and time to think, reflect, and form attachments and belonging with people and spaces. This paper has implications for higher education and urban designers. We contend that it is crucial to draw attention to students’ experiences of walking and sitting in the city, which significantly contribute to constructing sense of place and belonging to the university city.