A blue Monday? Try walking on a yellow path

This paper presents a preliminary study we have conducted to understand to which extent colors can influence the way we choose urban walking paths beyond the need to move reasonably quick towards our destinations. Building on a mobile application we discuss ColorPath, an application allowing walkers to choose their daily walking routes as a combination of different urban elements to pass through (pleasurable landscapes, historical buildings and monuments, parks and gardens), each corresponding to a specific primary color. After an evaluation campaign with some few avid walkers, we shortly present here our initial findings, showing that emotions and the pleasure enjoyed while walking along particular routes may play a role which is not secondary with respect to the need for speed and accuracy. As our study is still at an initial stage, we took the decision to communicate our first intriguing results through a short paper.