People's movement patterns in Gävle surprise researchers

Data from activity wristbands and a new app enabled researchers to study the experiences and movement patterns of people in Gävle.
“We see signs that the results may be surprising,” says Karl Samuelsson, researcher in sustainability science at University of Gävle.

To establish how the urban environment affects people's health, the researchers have collected data about the movement patterns and experiences of residents in Gävle municipality who have used activity wristbands and a new app, MyGävle, since September 2021. The research project is now entering the phase when results will be produced.

“For 15 months, we have collected over 5000 subjective experiences from about 200 participants, which is hugely valuable for research and urban planning. Bringing together ecological, social, and individual health in this way is unique," says Matteo Giusti, one of the researchers.

Unique research on Gävle

The aim is to investigate how environments in Gävle can reconcile human health with social sustainability and ecosystem health.

Ecosystem viability and health considers ecosystem services, biodiversity, and spatial structure. For example, a small nature area can have high nature values, but if it is isolated, it will receive a lower score, while areas that are well connected with each other receive a higher score.

“This can be used, for example, to understand which natural environment we should conserve or enhance in order to increase ecosystem services and biodiversity,' says Nancy Joy Lim, researcher in the team

For example, social sustainability can be studied by looking at whether the registered experiences are evenly distributed across the city or whether a pattern of segregation can be observed.

Activity wristbands and the MyGävle app show how individuals have moved in the urban landscape and whether the experiences have been positive or negative. Some have also worn a heart rate monitor to record physiological health.

“The length of the survey allows us to identify differences across all months of the year and to determine whether there are differences between those who live in the city and in the countryside,” Karl Samuelsson says.

Big difference between urban and rural areas

Already, researchers can identify differences between urban and rural areas. People living in the city seem to have nature experiences closer to home than those living in the countryside. In addition, they seem to visit places for nature experiences more often.

“This looks really interesting. It seems as if those who live in the city mark nature experiences further away from home than other types of experiences, while those who live in the countryside mark them closer than other types of experiences. However, those living in the city still have nature experiences closer to home than those living in the countryside.

Karl says that the next step will be a study on possible links between ecosystem health and different types of nature experiences.

Text: Douglas Öhrbom

----------------------------------------------