Does Higher Exposure to Green Spaces Lead to Higher Life Satisfaction and Less Leisure Travel? A Case Study of Reykjavík, Iceland

Abstract

Urban areas have a significant impact on climate change, with transport and mobility as one major source. Furthermore, the impact of urban areas on transport extends beyond their own geographic areas, via leisure travel. Research has suggested several mechanisms through which urban areas drive leisure travel, such as social norms, compensation for what is lacking in the urban environment or for the hectic daily life, and cosmopolitan attitudes, all of which increase leisure travel for its expected wellbeing benefits. More research is needed, however, about how the daily exposure to the urban environment affects leisure travel activity and how perceived wellbeing is associated with this. Therefore, this study was set to examine data from a 2017 softGIS survey from Reykjavík, Iceland, to study the connections between urban environment, local mobility, leisure travel, and life satisfaction. The study employs activity spaces as a basis for exposure modeling and canonical correlation analysis for statistical analysis. The results reveal that although exposure to green and gray spaces is important to overall life satisfaction, underlying socio-economic background is more relevant. Further, higher exposure to gray spaces was found to be associated with more emissions from long-distance leisure travel when socio-economic background was included, but it lost importance when attitudinal factors were added. Furthermore, indications of high levels of urban mobility leading to more leisure travel away from the city were found. Although overarching policy recommendations cannot be made, the study suggests having a more citizen-oriented approach in urban planning, particularly for mobility, which could yield benefits for both wellbeing and climate mitigation outcomes.