Doctoral defence in Environmental studies - Áróra Árnadóttir

The defence will be streamed live

Ph.D. student: Áróra Árnadóttir

Dissertation title: Environmentally significant behaviour: Spatial distribution, drivers, and barriers to change

Opponents: Dr. Giulio Mattioli, Research Fellow at the Department of Transport Planning at TU Dortmund University, Germany
Dr. Milena Bϋchs, Associate Professor at the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, UK

Advisor: Dr. Jukka Heinonen, Professor at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iceland

Doctoral committee: 
Dr. Michał Czepkiewicz, Adjunct at the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iceland and Assistant Professor at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland
Dr. Sanna Ala-Mantila, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Urban Systems at the University of Helsinki, Finland

Chair of Ceremony: Dr. Guðmundur Freyr Úlfarsson, Professor and the Head of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iceland

Abstract
The consumption activities of urbanites contribute to an ever-increasing share of greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion. As urban form influences behaviours, the search for the most sustainable type of urban form is a research topic of interest. The compact city is widely regarded as the most environmentally friendly form, due to lower local travel emissions and more efficient housing energy. Yet, research has shown that the connection is a lot more complex. While attitudes play a role in pro-environmental behaviours, the existence of an attitude-behaviour gap complicates the connection. This thesis explores the spatial characteristics, drivers, and barriers to change of environmentally significant behaviours, with a special focus on air travel. It utilizes mixed-methods to dive deeper into motivations, justifications, and previously unidentified drivers. High international and low local travel emissions clustered in city centers, and while pro-environmental attitudes affected pro-environmental behaviours related to produce, clothing, and energy use, they did not affect travel emissions. In addition to the residential location, drivers of local travel emissions included pro-car attitudes and suburban dwelling preferences, while a hectic urban life and lack of green areas drove domestic travel. One of the main drivers of international travel emissions was cosmopolitan attitudes, in addition to scarcity of cultural activity options in the local environment. The barriers to minimizing international travel included lack of knowledge on the climate change impact of flights, not feeling responsible for mitigation, and the dominant social norms that dictate that travel abroad is necessary for well-being.

About the doctoral candidate:

Áróra was born in 1989 in Reykjavík. Currently, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the Iceland University of Arts and a Master of Science in Environment and Natural Resources from the University of Iceland. In July of this year, she took on the role of CEO of the Icelandic Green Building Council, while continuing with research and teaching at the University of Iceland.