Exploring remembering through embodied geographies, walking, and culturally relevant third places

Social reminiscence, or sharing memories in conversation with others, may improve memory recall. When paired with walking, social reminiscence becomes an exercise in collective, place-based memory reconstruction. We explore how culturally relevant third places, and experiences tied to place become embodied, contributing to collective memory-making and remembering among older adults with and without memory loss, and particularly for those living in gentrifying neighborhoods. Drawing from participatory geography methods, the Sharing History through Active Reminiscence and Photo Imagery (SHARP) study in Portland and Seattle engages older Black adults in reminiscence while walking pre-planned routes that pass culturally meaningful locations, revealing how place, walking, and social reminiscence may contribute to remembering. Walking sessions were transcribed and categorized to identify sections constituting distinct memories. During and after the walking intervention, data were collected from 35 focus groups, coded thematically for reflections on memory, remembering, and place. Results suggest that collective remembering and emotion recall occur through social reminiscing while triadic walking. The three proposed pathways eliciting in-place memory and emotion responses through walking are: (1) sensory triggers, specifically visual images (2) recalling social actors associated with places (e.g., clergy, business people), and (3) experiencing feelings of place attachment. Findings also indicate that culturally relevant third places are potential spatial cues for recalling embodied memories of place when physical places no longer exist, given that gentrification can disrupt cognitive maps of place, rendering places harder to recall. Place-based walking methods may support positive cognitive outcomes (e.g., memory-making) facilitated through embodied spatial processes.