Beyond geometries of activity spaces: A holistic study of daily travel patterns, individual characteristics, and perceived wellbeing in Helsinki metropolitan area

• Published in: Journal of Transport and Land Use
• Main Authors: Hasanzadeh, Kamyar, Czepkiewicz, Michał, Heinonen, Jukka, Kyttä, Marketta, Ala-Mantila, Sanna, Ottelin, Juudit
• Other Authors: Umhverfis- og byggingarverkfræðideild (HÍ), Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering (UI), Verkfræði- og náttúruvísindasvið (HÍ), School of Engineering and Natural Sciences (UI), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Center for Transportation Studies 2019
• Subjects: Activity spaces; Mobility; Typology; PPGIS; Wellbeing; Ferðavenjur; Þéttbýli; Vellíðan; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/2031; https://doi.org/10.5198/jtlu.2019.1148

Publisher's version (útgefin grein) Activity space (AS) is a measure of spatial behavior used to summarize the mobility behavior of individuals. Current studies often highlight the fact that AS is highly complex and multidimensional in character. Therefore, the need for more holistic approaches providing more comprehensive descriptions of mobility patterns is evident. This article assesses the activity spaces of young adults aged 25–40 living in the Helsinki metropolitan area using a dataset collected with an online map survey. Using a wide range of measurements covering different aspects of AS, we identified seven components that define activity spaces, namely size, intensity of activities, volume of trips, exteriority, polycentricity, elongation, and destination specialization. We then used the components together with travel mode use to identify a typology of daily mobility patterns. The results show that individuals with different types of AS differ significantly in their socio-demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, employment, household characteristics, and residential neighborhood. Furthermore, the study reveals interesting associations between AS characteristics and different aspects of wellbeing. Overall, the results highlight the importance of multidimensional and comprehensive approaches to understanding daily mobility of urban residents. This research is primarily funded by the Academy of Finland as part of PLANhealth project (13297753). The funding for this research is also partially provided by University of Iceland Research Fund. Peer Reviewed