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Purpose. To determine the relationship between (1) urban structure characteristics, (2) children's environmental experiences and active behavioral patterns, and (3) perceived health and body mass index (BMI). Design. Cross-sectional... more
Purpose. To determine the relationship between (1) urban structure characteristics, (2) children's environmental experiences and active behavioral patterns, and (3) perceived health and body mass index (BMI). Design. Cross-sectional study. Setting. City of Turku, western coast of Finland, 175,000 inhabitants. Average residential density of the studied settings was 17 housing units per hectare, proportion of green structure 43%, and proportion of population under 15 years old 17%. Subjects. One thousand eight hundred thirty seven fifth (10–12 years old) and seventh (13–15 years old) graders from 54 schools in Turku. Measures. Self-reported behavioral patterns (activity of school travel mode, territorial range, mobility licenses, and distance to meaningful places) and environmental experiences (localized meaningful places, likability index, environmental fears) were gathered on the basis of locality with an Internet-based softGIS method. Self-reported BMI, perceived health, and da...
Research Interests: Geography, Health Behavior, Fear, Adolescent, Medicine, and 15 moreActivities of Daily Living, Finland, Child Behavior, Humans, Child, Female, Male, Attitude, Body Mass Index, Curriculum and Pedagogy, Environment Design, Cross Sectional Studies, Geographic Information Systems, GIS, and Behavioral Patterns
Recent years have seen a massive development of geospatial sensing systems informing the use of space. However, rarely do these sensing systems inform transformation towards urban sustainability. Drawing on four global urban case... more
Recent years have seen a massive development of geospatial sensing systems informing the use of space. However, rarely do these sensing systems inform transformation towards urban sustainability. Drawing on four global urban case examples, we conceptualize how passive and active sensing systems should be harnessed to secure an inclusive, sustainable and resilient urban transformation. We derive principles for stakeholders highlighting the need for an iterative dialogue along a sensing loop, new modes of governance enabling direct feeding of sensed information, an account for data biases in the sensing processes and a commitment to high ethical standards, including open access data sharing.
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ABSTRACT Centre for Urban and Regional Studies publications. B, ISSN 1455-7797; 93
Page 1. Yhdyskuntasuunnittelu [2009] vol.47:2 6 Lasten liikkumista ja terveyttä edistävä urbaani...ympäristö Marketta Kyttä, Anna Broberg ja Maarit Kahila ... Kyttä, Bro-berg, Kahila Page 2. Kyttä, Broberg, Kahila – Lasten liikkumista ja... more
Page 1. Yhdyskuntasuunnittelu [2009] vol.47:2 6 Lasten liikkumista ja terveyttä edistävä urbaani...ympäristö Marketta Kyttä, Anna Broberg ja Maarit Kahila ... Kyttä, Bro-berg, Kahila Page 2. Kyttä, Broberg, Kahila – Lasten liikkumista ja terveyttä edistävä urbaani... 7 ...
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ABSTRACT Today, various methods are applied to analyze the data collected through participatory mapping, including public participation GIS (PPGIS), participatory GIS (PGIS), and collecting volunteered geographic information (VGI).... more
ABSTRACT Today, various methods are applied to analyze the data collected through participatory mapping, including public participation GIS (PPGIS), participatory GIS (PGIS), and collecting volunteered geographic information (VGI). However, these methods lack an organized framework to describe and guide their systematic applications. Majority of the published articles on participatory mapping apply a specific subset of analyses that fails to situate the methods within a broader, more holistic context of research and practice. Based on the expert workshops and a literature review, we synthesized the existing analysis methods applied to the data collected through participatory mapping approaches. In this article, we present a framework of methods categorized into three phases: Explore, Explain, and Predict/Model. Identified analysis methods have been highlighted with empirical examples. The article particularly focuses on the increasing applications of online PPGIS and web-based mapping surveys for data collection. We aim to guide both novice and experienced practitioners in the field of participatory mapping. In addition to providing a holistic framework for understanding data analysis possibilities, we also discuss potential directions for future developments in analysis of participatory mapping data.
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Several European countries have taken steps to safeguard children's mobility. The environment in which children move about has changed noticeably during the last few decades. Greater mobility and dispersion of the community structure... more
Several European countries have taken steps to safeguard children's mobility. The environment in which children move about has changed noticeably during the last few decades. Greater mobility and dispersion of the community structure have increased automobile traffic. Growth in automobile traffic is one of the most significant reasons for limiting children's freedom of mobility. Parents' concern for their children's safety has increased transporting of children to school and hobbies. As a result, children get less daily exercise, their stamina is lower, and they are more often overweight. Another consequence of transporting children is more automobile traffic, which increases the feeling of insecurity in the vicinity of schools, day care centers and places where hobbies are pursued. The goal of this work is to provide an easy-to-understand report on children's mobility needs, problems and Finnra's consideration of the children's viewpoint in its operation...
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The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged a deeper exploration about how people deal with crisis. This paper presents one of the first pre- and during-pandemic assessments of urban green infrastructure (UGI) use across the same individuals... more
The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged a deeper exploration about how people deal with crisis. This paper presents one of the first pre- and during-pandemic assessments of urban green infrastructure (UGI) use across the same individuals with the aim of better understanding how people's use of different types of urban green and blue spaces changed during the pandemic. A baseline Public Participation GIS survey (N = 1,583 respondents) conducted in August 2018 was followed up in May 2020 (N = 418 identical respondents) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Helsinki, Finland. We found that residents were more likely to visit UGI closer to their home during the pandemic compared with before the pandemic. Patterns of use of UGI were associated with the quality of residential green areas, for example, people sought out forests nearby one's domicile and tended to avoid parks and recreation areas in order to escape the pressures of lockdown, socially distance and avoid overcrowding. However,...
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Rapid growth of the older population worldwide, coupled with their overreliance on automobile and its negative consequences for the environment and for their wellbeing, has encouraged research on travel behavior of this age group. This... more
Rapid growth of the older population worldwide, coupled with their overreliance on automobile and its negative consequences for the environment and for their wellbeing, has encouraged research on travel behavior of this age group. This study contributes to the literature by providing an integrated analysis of the effects of sociodemographic, built environmental, psycho-social, trip, and activity space attributes on shopping trip mode choice of older adults in Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Data was collected using an online map-based survey. Two person-based activity space models were developed, in addition to the commonly used 500-m buffer, to measure activity space and built environmental attributes. Integrated Choice and Latent Variable (ICLV) models were utilized to explore modal choice. Although the use of activity space models did not significantly increase the fit of ICLV models, it provided different information. Walkability index showed a positive significant effect on walking...
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The concept of residential housing preferences has been studied across multiple disciplines, with extensive literature supporting both stated and revealed preference methods. This study argues that both preference types, stated and... more
The concept of residential housing preferences has been studied across multiple disciplines, with extensive literature supporting both stated and revealed preference methods. This study argues that both preference types, stated and revealed, should be assessed concurrently to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of residential housing choices. To provide evidence, this research used findings from a public participation GIS survey that identified the stated housing preferences associated with three categories of urban residents, which were called urban “tribes”. We implemented an analytical framework using fuzzy modelling to relate stated preferences with revealed preferences for the same individuals using empirical data describing the urban structure in Tampere, Finland. Following an analysis of the relationships between residents’ revealed preferences and urban structural variables, we examined the consistency of stated housing preferences with revealed preferences. The resul...
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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
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...
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The concept of residential housing preferences has been studied across multiple disciplines, with extensive literature supporting both stated and revealed preference methods. This study argues that both preference types, stated and... more
The concept of residential housing preferences has been studied across multiple disciplines, with extensive literature supporting both stated and revealed preference methods. This study argues that both preference types, stated and revealed, should be assessed concurrently to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of residential housing choices. To provide evidence, this research used findings from a public participation GIS survey that identified the stated housing preferences associated with three categories of urban residents, which were called urban “tribes”. We implemented an analytical framework using fuzzy modelling to relate stated preferences with revealed preferences for the same individuals using empirical data describing the urban structure in Tampere, Finland. Following an analysis of the relationships between residents’ revealed preferences and urban structural variables, we examined the consistency of stated housing preferences with revealed preferences. The resul...
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Physical activity is a fundamental factor in healthy ageing, and the built environment has been linked to individual health outcomes. Understanding the linkages between older adult’s walking and the built environment are key to designing... more
Physical activity is a fundamental factor in healthy ageing, and the built environment has been linked to individual health outcomes. Understanding the linkages between older adult’s walking and the built environment are key to designing supportive environments for active ageing. However, the variety of different spatial scales of human mobility has been largely overlooked in the environmental health research. This study used an online participatory mapping method and a novel modelling of individual activity spaces to study the associations between both the environmental and the individual features and older adults’ walking in the environments where older adult’s actually move around. Study participants (n = 844) aged 55+ who live in Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland reported their everyday errand points on a map and indicated which transport mode they used and how frequently they accessed the places. Respondents walking trips were drawn from the data and the direct and indirect e...
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Abstract The inverse relationship between urban density and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by driving is well established. However, at the same time the few existing studies have observed higher levels of long-distance travel and... more
Abstract The inverse relationship between urban density and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by driving is well established. However, at the same time the few existing studies have observed higher levels of long-distance travel and particularly air travel in the same densely built parts of urban regions. This may lead to GHG emissions reduction in local travel offset by the concomitant increase in long-distance travel. With this study we aim to identify the main factors involved in differences in local, national and long-distance travel patterns and the resulting GHG emissions, with a special focus on the role of the different urban zones in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area (HMA) in Finland. We used a softGIS survey to collect data on the personal travel of young adults living in HMA. SoftGIS methodology provides the opportunity to obtain detailed spatial data on participants' residential locations, travel destinations, and destination characteristics such as travel modes, frequencies and trip purposes. Special attention was paid to national and international trips, for which data were collected over 12 months, a period long enough to capture actual travel patterns. GHG emissions were assessed with a wide scope life cycle assessment (LCA) approach, including vehicles and infrastructure, and the results were elaborated with a two-part regression model on participation in travel and amount of GHG emissions. The study found that the residential location was associated with travel emissions on all scales, and independently from major socioeconomic characteristics. Residents of centrally located and densely built urban zones have on average lower emissions from local travel but higher emissions from international travel than residents of car-oriented suburban zones, and the association holds true after controlling for income, education level and household type. Differences in emissions from local travel between most central and most suburban zones were almost completely offset by differences in emissions from international travel. International long-distance trips were a dominant source of travel-related GHG emissions in all urban zones, particularly due to plane flights.
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The built environment health promotion has attracted notable attention across a wide spectrum of health-related research over the past decade. However, the results about the contextual effects on health and PA are highly heterogeneous.... more
The built environment health promotion has attracted notable attention across a wide spectrum of health-related research over the past decade. However, the results about the contextual effects on health and PA are highly heterogeneous. The discrepancies between the results can potentially be partly explained by the diverse use of different spatial units of analysis in assessing individuals' exposure to various environment characteristics. This study investigated whether different residential and activity space units of analysis yield distinct results regarding the association between the built environment and health. In addition, this study examines the challenges and opportunities of the different spatial units of analysis for environmental health-related research. Two common residential units of analysis and two novel activity space models were used to examine older adults' wellbeing in relation to the built environment features in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. ...
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Over the past 40 years, the sense of place concept has been well-established across a range of applications and settings; however, most theoretical developments have "privileged the slow." Evidence suggests that place... more
Over the past 40 years, the sense of place concept has been well-established across a range of applications and settings; however, most theoretical developments have "privileged the slow." Evidence suggests that place attachments and place meanings are slow to evolve, sometimes not matching material or social reality (lag effects), and also tending to inhibit change. Here, we present some key blind spots in sense of place scholarship and then suggest how a reconsideration of sense of place as "fast" and "slow" could fill them. By this, we mean how direct and immediate perception-action processes presented in affordance theory (resulting in immediately perceived place meanings) can complement slower forms of social construction presented in sense of place scholarship. Key blind spots are that sense of place scholarship: (1) rarely accounts for sensory or immediately perceived meanings; (2) pays little attention to how place meanings are the joint product...
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Abstract With the growing interest in studying characteristics of geographical context and its influence upon people, the concept of home range has been a focus of scholarly research. Home ranges are studied extensively across multiple... more
Abstract With the growing interest in studying characteristics of geographical context and its influence upon people, the concept of home range has been a focus of scholarly research. Home ranges are studied extensively across multiple disciplines, with literature supporting different operationalization techniques. This article argues that many of the existing approaches are not dynamic and versatile enough and do not provide reliable solutions for estimating individual home ranges. We additionally argue that many of current studies lack robust evaluation approaches. Recent evidences suggest that the usual approaches, which often exclusively rely on a single validation criterion, are not reliable and may be influenced by inferential errors. This study aims to tackle the exiting limitations in definition and operationalization of individual-based home range models and provide a more robust solution for their evaluation and comparison. Using data collected through public participation GIS we develop an applied, dynamic, and parametric model of individual home ranges. Subsequently, we propose multiple criteria comprising five validation hypotheses to evaluate model's effectiveness. We argue that application of this approach in evaluating spatial delimitation models can ameliorate the risk of biased validation resulting from inferential errors. The evaluation results indicate a substantial improvement in coverage of visited points compared to previously used static methods. Consequently, this paper draws a number of conclusions that can serve as guidelines for future research. This paper highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed method and explains how it can be improved and employed in future studies investigating contextual effects on residents.
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Concern for a diminished human experience of nature and subsequent decreased human well-being is addressed via a consideration of green infrastructure's potential to facilitate unplanned or incidental nature experience. Incidental... more
Concern for a diminished human experience of nature and subsequent decreased human well-being is addressed via a consideration of green infrastructure's potential to facilitate unplanned or incidental nature experience. Incidental nature experience is conceptualized and illustrated in order to consider this seldom addressed aspect of human interaction with nature in green infrastructure planning. Special attention has been paid to the ability of incidental nature experience to redirect attention from a primary activity toward an unplanned focus (in this case, nature phenomena). The value of such experience for human well-being is considered. The role of green infrastructure to provide the opportunity for incidental nature experience may serve as a nudge or guide toward meaningful interaction. These ideas are explored using examples of green infrastructure design in two Nordic municipalities: Kristianstad, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark. The outcome of the case study analysis co...
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Previous studies on tactile experiences have investigated a wide range of material surfaces across various skin sites of the human body in self-touch or other touch modes. Here, we investigate whether the sensory and emotional aspects of... more
Previous studies on tactile experiences have investigated a wide range of material surfaces across various skin sites of the human body in self-touch or other touch modes. Here, we investigate whether the sensory and emotional aspects of touch are related when evaluating wooden surfaces using fingertips in the absence of other sensory modalities. Twenty participants evaluated eight different pine and oak wood surfaces, using sensory and emotional touch descriptors, through the lateral motion of active fingertip exploration. The data showed that natural and smooth wood surfaces were perceived more positively in emotional touch than coated surfaces. We highlight the importance of preserving the naturalness of the surface texture in the process of wood-surface treatment so as to improve positive touch experiences, as well as avoid negative ones. We argue that the results may offer possibilities in the design of wood-based interior products with a view to improving consumer touch experi...
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ABSTRACT The Internet provides a new source of information and a new discussion platform for public participation in planning processes. As geographic information systems (GIS) are an essential part of planning practice, equal access to... more
ABSTRACT The Internet provides a new source of information and a new discussion platform for public participation in planning processes. As geographic information systems (GIS) are an essential part of planning practice, equal access to public participation GIS (PPGIS) is crucial for successful stakeholder collaboration. Unfortunately, people with restricted access to computers, limited Internet skills, and poor map literacy could face potential exclusion. Although the older adults’ age groups show the strongest growth among Internet users, their general Internet skills remain limited compared to those of younger age groups. Furthermore, little previous research has been conducted on older adults’ usage of PPGIS, as current studies focus mainly on older adults’ use of the Internet in general or (passive) web maps in particular; PPGIS usability studies generally target a wider audience. In this qualitative and descriptive study, we examine older adults’ experience with a PPGIS survey and implement the findings into a final research survey design. The findings support previous results from other Internet or web map usability studies with older adults while, in addition, displaying similarities to the outcomes of general PPGIS usability studies, especially regarding cognitive abilities. Studying older adults draws attention to a vulnerable but growing Internet user group. As other age groups face similar challenges, we suggest that using older adults as a ‘test group’ for PPGIS usability could help improve the experience for the wider public.
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Features of the physical environment have an impact on the human behaviour. Thus, planners and policymakers around the world should aim at providing environments that are perceived as being of good quality, in which the residents enjoy... more
Features of the physical environment have an impact on the human behaviour. Thus, planners and policymakers around the world should aim at providing environments that are perceived as being of good quality, in which the residents enjoy spending time and moving around in. It is widely acknowledged that urban environmental quality associates with well-being, but there is currently very little research examining which features of urban environments people of different ages perceive as appealing in their living environments. Individuals experience different age-related developmental environments throughout their life course. Thus, the usage and perceptions of different spaces can also differ between various age groups. Public Participation GIS datasets collected in 2009 and 2011 in Helsinki Metropolitan Area were used to study places perceived as being positive by adults (n=3119) and children (n=672). Participants marked points on a map that were overlaid with GIS data to study whether the physical environment of positive places of different age groups differed. The results demonstrated that the physical environment differs significantly in the positive places of different age groups. The places of adult age groups were characterized by green, blue and commercial spaces, whereas sports, residential and commercial spaces characterize children's and adolescents' places. Older adults' places were found to be closest to home, while adolescents' places were the most distant. Providing appealing environments for all age groups in one setting remains problematic but should nevertheless be strived for, especially in the urban context where a constant competition over different usages of space occurs.
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Abstract This study presents a Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) method for spatially identifying and assessing multiple elements of environmental justice in urban blue space. We used this method in the Helsinki... more
Abstract This study presents a Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) method for spatially identifying and assessing multiple elements of environmental justice in urban blue space. We used this method in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland, to examine: (1) the diversity and spatial distribution of clusters based on the activities undertaken in urban blue space; (2) the diversity of users in each cluster, representing a composite measure of income, age and family income, and; (3) the extent of perceived problems and unpleasant experiences (PPUE) in each cluster. Proportionately more high activity and high user diversity areas were found in Helsinki than Espoo and Vantaa municipalities. Contrasting combinations of activity and user diversity (high-low, low-high) show very different spatial distributions, dominant activities and PPUE. The method enables landscape and urban planning strategies to be tailored to different types of activities and users, and to be responsive to the PPUE found in urban blue spaces. We encourage future landscape and urban planning research to further develop and apply this PPGIS method for assessing multiple elements of environmental justice.