ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an exploration of embodied affects in the social sciences more broadly, highlighting the potential for those who design spaces of mobility (transport, stations) to borrow established and emerging work within sociology and human geography, and setting the foundations for how a close reading of affect and emotion can shape our understanding of the design/mobility intersection. It provides a preliminary insight into how affects of the commute can be elicited. The chapter presents instances of sensory overload, pleasurable sensations, senses of calm, and the unfamiliar, drawing on mobile interviews and participation observation. It draws upon affective data from observations during the train commute from Glossop to Manchester, on a December morning in 2012. The following journeys took place over one particular morning, but at various times. The chapter explores the affective environment of the train carriage, as well as temporalities and rhythm, in order to highlight the role of design affordances in how the commute is 'felt'.
