Taking the bus to the park? - a study of accessibility to green areas in Gothenburg through different modes of transport

Abstract

Green areas in urban environments can have recreational, environmental and health benefits but for them to be utilized, high accessibility for inhabitants is necessary. In an expanding city like Gothenburg, maintaining geographic accessibility to green areas can be challenging. This study performs an accessibility analysis to assess whether Gothenburg has sufficient accessibility to green areas, and whether any spatial inequality occurs. It also aims to compare the accessibility by public transport to other modes of transport: walking, biking and driving car.

Earlier research of accessibility analysis to green areas have rarely included network analysis of public transport. For green areas in Gothenburg, no network analysis of any transport mode has previously been performed.

This study found that the accessibility is sufficient for most of the population of Gothenburg. Although the accessibility is not evenly distributed, no spatial inequality with regards to income was found. Compared to other transport modes public transport seems to be preferable primarily in relatively long-distance travels.

Popular Abstract

How do we get to our parks?

Most city dwellers of Gothenburg have high accessibility to parks and natural areas, according to a new study. The time it takes to travel to the closest one is well within the goals set by Gothenburg municipality, for most of the population. In the study you can see which areas of the city has the highest accessibility and which has the lowest.

The scientific study has analyzed the accessibility to green areas and compared travelling by public transport to travelling by car, bike and by walking. In a policy document from 2014 the municipality of Gothenburg states that parks should be accessible within 15 minutes by walking, and according to this study, this is the case for 93 % of the population. The report also states that natural experiences should be accessible within 30 minutes travel time by public transport, which is the case for 98 %.

The results shows that the central areas of Gothenburg has generally high accessibility, along with most districts of the city, but the district of Hisings Backa and some areas in the outskirts of the city do have too long travel time. The results also show, that the travel time to a park or natural area is generally shortest when using a bike, but when travelling long distances driving a car is preferable. Public transport is slower than both car driving and biking.

Why is such a study needed?
Parks and natural areas in cities are important for many reasons. First, they have several health benefits such as reducing obesity. Secondly, the recreational values are important. Thirdly, they have environmental benefits, e.g. giving less polluted air, providing high biodiversity, captures carbon and cools cities during heat waves.

This study might serve as a foundation for future city planning. How can the accessibility to green areas be improved? And how can the city promote choices of transport that is beneficial for the personal health as well as the health of our environment? This study is a step on the way of answering these questions.

• author: Svanerud, Viktor
• supervisor: Finn Hedefalk
• organization: Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
• course: GISM01 20171
• year: 2017
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Earth and Environmental Sciences
• keywords: GIS, geography, geographic accessibility, public transport, green areas, location quotient
• publication/series: Master Thesis in Geographical Information Science
• report number: 76
• language: English
• id: 8928524
• date added to LUP: 2017-11-15 00:03:37
• date last changed: 2017-11-15 00:03:37