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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Online Access: | https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/74263 https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/3989 https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 |
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ftssoar:oai:gesis.izsoz.de:document/74263 2023-05-15T16:49:04+02:00 Long-Distance Travel and the Urban Environment: Results from a Qualitative Study in Reykjavik Raudsepp, Johanna Árnadóttir, Áróra Czepkiewicz, Michał Heinonen, Jukka 2021-08-05T08:00:07Z https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/74263 https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/3989 https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 unknown PRT 2183-7635 https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/74263 https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/3989 https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 Creative Commons - Namensnennung 4.0 Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 CC-BY Urban Planning 6 2 257-270 Cities, Long-Distance Travel, and Climate Impacts Städtebau Raumplanung Landschaftsgestaltung Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie Landscaping and area planning Social sciences sociology anthropology Reykjavik compensation hypothesis long-distance travel urban environment Raumplanung und Regionalforschung Freizeitforschung Freizeitsoziologie Area Development Planning Regional Research Leisure Research Tourismus Fernreise Motivation Luftverkehr ökologische Folgen Klimawandel Freizeitverkehr Stadtbevölkerung Island tourism air traffic ecological consequences climate change recreational traffic urban population Iceland Zeitschriftenartikel journal article 2021 ftssoar https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 2022-12-13T22:06:43Z 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 SSOAR - Social Science Open Access Repository Urban Planning 6 2 257 270 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
SSOAR - Social Science Open Access Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftssoar |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Städtebau Raumplanung Landschaftsgestaltung Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie Landscaping and area planning Social sciences sociology anthropology Reykjavik compensation hypothesis long-distance travel urban environment Raumplanung und Regionalforschung Freizeitforschung Freizeitsoziologie Area Development Planning Regional Research Leisure Research Tourismus Fernreise Motivation Luftverkehr ökologische Folgen Klimawandel Freizeitverkehr Stadtbevölkerung Island tourism air traffic ecological consequences climate change recreational traffic urban population Iceland |
spellingShingle |
Städtebau Raumplanung Landschaftsgestaltung Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie Landscaping and area planning Social sciences sociology anthropology Reykjavik compensation hypothesis long-distance travel urban environment Raumplanung und Regionalforschung Freizeitforschung Freizeitsoziologie Area Development Planning Regional Research Leisure Research Tourismus Fernreise Motivation Luftverkehr ökologische Folgen Klimawandel Freizeitverkehr Stadtbevölkerung Island tourism air traffic ecological consequences climate change recreational traffic urban population Iceland Raudsepp, Johanna Árnadóttir, Áróra Czepkiewicz, Michał Heinonen, Jukka Long-Distance Travel and the Urban Environment: Results from a Qualitative Study in Reykjavik |
topic_facet |
Städtebau Raumplanung Landschaftsgestaltung Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie Landscaping and area planning Social sciences sociology anthropology Reykjavik compensation hypothesis long-distance travel urban environment Raumplanung und Regionalforschung Freizeitforschung Freizeitsoziologie Area Development Planning Regional Research Leisure Research Tourismus Fernreise Motivation Luftverkehr ökologische Folgen Klimawandel Freizeitverkehr Stadtbevölkerung Island tourism air traffic ecological consequences climate change recreational traffic urban population Iceland |
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 |
Raudsepp, Johanna Árnadóttir, Áróra Czepkiewicz, Michał Heinonen, Jukka |
author_facet |
Raudsepp, Johanna Árnadóttir, Áróra Czepkiewicz, Michał Heinonen, Jukka |
author_sort |
Raudsepp, Johanna |
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 |
PRT |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/74263 https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/3989 https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Urban Planning 6 2 257-270 Cities, Long-Distance Travel, and Climate Impacts |
op_relation |
2183-7635 https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/74263 https://www.cogitatiopress.com/urbanplanning/article/view/3989 https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 |
op_rights |
Creative Commons - Namensnennung 4.0 Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i2.3989 |
container_title |
Urban Planning |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
257 |
op_container_end_page |
270 |
_version_ |
1766039125943648256 |