Pluralising the walking interview: researching (im)mobilities with Muslim women

Within writing on walking practices, walking has often been presented
as pleasurable, relaxing, and even liberatory. Research using walking
interviews has recognised that different kinds of bodies can be
excluded from mobile methods, impacting upon place-based
knowledge production. However, the social and cultural politics of the
walking interview remains underplayed, an omission that is acutely
apparent in a context of urban diversity. This article investigates the
ways in which walking practices intersect with social difference,
particularly in relation to faith, ethnicity and gender. It argues for the
need to pluralise mobile methods in order to more subtly address
social distinctions, and further offers empirical observations on the
embodied experiences and socio-spatial practices of Muslim women
in the city of Birmingham, U.K.