Long-Distance Travel and the Urban Environment: Results from a Qualitative Study in Reykjavik
A compact urban form has shown many benefits in efficiency. Yet multiple studies have found that residents of urban, dense, and centrally located areas travel more frequently than those living in suburbs, small towns, or the countryside. As air travel is already causing more emissions than ground tr...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4f778e48b49a402881d0aacb5a10abb4 2023-05-15T16:48:47+02:00 Long-Distance Travel and the Urban Environment: Results from a Qualitative Study in Reykjavik Johanna Raudsepp Áróra Árnadóttir Michał Czepkiewicz Jukka Heinonen 2021-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 https://doaj.org/article/4f778e48b49a402881d0aacb5a10abb4 EN eng Cogitatio https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/3989 https://doaj.org/toc/2183-7635 2183-7635 doi:10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 https://doaj.org/article/4f778e48b49a402881d0aacb5a10abb4 Urban Planning, Vol 6, Iss 2 (2021) climate change compensation hypothesis iceland long-distance travel reykjavik tourism travel motivation urban environment City planning HT165.5-169.9 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 2022-12-31T06:07:47Z A compact urban form has shown many benefits in efficiency. Yet multiple studies have found that residents of urban, dense, and centrally located areas travel more frequently than those living in suburbs, small towns, or the countryside. As air travel is already causing more emissions than ground transport in many affluent urban locations and is predicted to increase, this pattern could undermine efforts in climate change mitigation. Explanations of these patterns and motivations for long-distance travel connected to the built environment have been examined quantitatively before, but with inconclusive answers. We studied this topic qualitatively in Reykjavik, Iceland, offering an in-depth perspective through semi-structured interviews. Results showed various links between the urban environment and long-distance travel. Some indications of compensatory travel behavior emerged, particularly connected to a lack of quality green areas, hectic urban life, and commuting stress. Compensatory trips were typically domestic. Furthermore, residential preferences seemed connected to leisure travel preferences—living in green neighborhoods was connected to more domestic travel to nature. The results show there are more factors for ‘escape’ trips than urban density and lack of green spaces. Examples of car-free lifestyles hindering domestic leisure travel were also found. Our study shows how a qualitative approach offers nuanced insight into the travel motivations of urbanites. Considering our results and travel motivation literature, the compensation hypothesis appears to be an overly narrow theoretical framing. Our study supports the conclusion that planning policies should aim at reducing car-dependence. Further research is needed for specific policy recommendations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Urban Planning 6 2 257 270 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
climate change compensation hypothesis iceland long-distance travel reykjavik tourism travel motivation urban environment City planning HT165.5-169.9 |
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climate change compensation hypothesis iceland long-distance travel reykjavik tourism travel motivation urban environment City planning HT165.5-169.9 Johanna Raudsepp Áróra Árnadóttir Michał Czepkiewicz Jukka Heinonen Long-Distance Travel and the Urban Environment: Results from a Qualitative Study in Reykjavik |
topic_facet |
climate change compensation hypothesis iceland long-distance travel reykjavik tourism travel motivation urban environment City planning HT165.5-169.9 |
description |
A compact urban form has shown many benefits in efficiency. Yet multiple studies have found that residents of urban, dense, and centrally located areas travel more frequently than those living in suburbs, small towns, or the countryside. As air travel is already causing more emissions than ground transport in many affluent urban locations and is predicted to increase, this pattern could undermine efforts in climate change mitigation. Explanations of these patterns and motivations for long-distance travel connected to the built environment have been examined quantitatively before, but with inconclusive answers. We studied this topic qualitatively in Reykjavik, Iceland, offering an in-depth perspective through semi-structured interviews. Results showed various links between the urban environment and long-distance travel. Some indications of compensatory travel behavior emerged, particularly connected to a lack of quality green areas, hectic urban life, and commuting stress. Compensatory trips were typically domestic. Furthermore, residential preferences seemed connected to leisure travel preferences—living in green neighborhoods was connected to more domestic travel to nature. The results show there are more factors for ‘escape’ trips than urban density and lack of green spaces. Examples of car-free lifestyles hindering domestic leisure travel were also found. Our study shows how a qualitative approach offers nuanced insight into the travel motivations of urbanites. Considering our results and travel motivation literature, the compensation hypothesis appears to be an overly narrow theoretical framing. Our study supports the conclusion that planning policies should aim at reducing car-dependence. Further research is needed for specific policy recommendations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Johanna Raudsepp Áróra Árnadóttir Michał Czepkiewicz Jukka Heinonen |
author_facet |
Johanna Raudsepp Áróra Árnadóttir Michał Czepkiewicz Jukka Heinonen |
author_sort |
Johanna Raudsepp |
title |
Long-Distance Travel and the Urban Environment: Results from a Qualitative Study in Reykjavik |
title_short |
Long-Distance Travel and the Urban Environment: Results from a Qualitative Study in Reykjavik |
title_full |
Long-Distance Travel and the Urban Environment: Results from a Qualitative Study in Reykjavik |
title_fullStr |
Long-Distance Travel and the Urban Environment: Results from a Qualitative Study in Reykjavik |
title_full_unstemmed |
Long-Distance Travel and the Urban Environment: Results from a Qualitative Study in Reykjavik |
title_sort |
long-distance travel and the urban environment: results from a qualitative study in reykjavik |
publisher |
Cogitatio |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 https://doaj.org/article/4f778e48b49a402881d0aacb5a10abb4 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Urban Planning, Vol 6, Iss 2 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/3989 https://doaj.org/toc/2183-7635 2183-7635 doi:10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 https://doaj.org/article/4f778e48b49a402881d0aacb5a10abb4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 |
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Urban Planning |
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6 |
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2 |
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257 |
op_container_end_page |
270 |
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1766038877778214912 |