Study title

Citizens' Panel on Traffic Planning in Turku: Resident Survey 2021

Dataset ID Number

FSD3571

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3571

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Grönlund, Kimmo (Åbo Akademi University. Social Science Research Institute)
• Herne, Kaisa (Tampere University)
• Jäske, Maija (Åbo Akademi University. Social Science Research Institute)

Abstract

The Turku/Åbo deliberates research project examined the opinions of people residing in Turku regarding traffic arrangements in the city centre. The data consist of three surveys conducted as part of the project.

For the first survey, an invitation to participate was sent to a random sample of 15-79-year-old residents of Turku. The respondents were first asked whether they thought it was easy to move around the city centre with different modes of transportation, how important they thought various goals (e.g. cutting greenhouse gas emissions, easy access) were when planning traffic arrangements in the city centre, and whether more or less attention should be paid to different groups (e.g. pedestrians, the disabled, elderly) when developing the traffic arrangements in the centre. Next, opinions were charted on various statements regarding the traffic arrangements in the city centre, for example, whether the respondents thought a tram was needed in Turku, tickets for public transportation should be cheaper, and private cars should be restricted in the centre. The respondents were also asked whether they thought the traffic arrangements should be planned to primarily benefit the current residents of Turku or the future generations.

The first survey also included questions on how satisfied the respondents were with democracy in Finland and in the city of Turku as well as to what extent they agreed with various statements regarding democracy, politics, and voting, and the decision-making and services of the city of Turku. The respondents were asked how concerned they were about climate change, whether they thought various actions would help mitigate the effects of climate change, and how probable they thought various contributing actions would be in their own life in the next few years (e.g. using public transportation more often, buying an electric car). Political and social participation as well as trust in other people and institutions were also surveyed. Finally, the respondents were presented with eight news headlines relating to climate change and traffic, and they were asked whether they would be interested in reading the whole article based on the headlines.

The respondents of the first survey were offered the opportunity to participate in an online citizen panel deliberation (a mini-public), before which they would receive background information on the traffic arrangements of the Turku city centre and alternative scenarios for a developed transport system. The second survey was sent to those who expressed their willingness to participate in this second phase. The questions in the second survey mainly focused on the respondents' knowledge of Finnish politics, democracy, climate change, and transportation in Turku.

The third survey was sent to the respondents who participated in the mini-public. Slightly different questions were included in the survey based on whether local councillors had been present in the deliberation in which the respondent had participated. Most questions in the third survey were repeated from the first survey. Additionally, the respondents were asked about their experiences and opinions regarding the mini-public.

Background variables included the respondent's gender age, area of residence in Turku, and level of education.

Keywords

climate change; decision making; democracy; participation; political behaviour; political participation; public transport; sustainability; transport planning; trust; urban transport

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Community, urban and rural life (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Political behaviour and attitudes (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• Åbo Akademi University. Social Science Research Institute
• Tutkimustie

Funders

• Turku Urban Research Programme

Time Period Covered

2021

Collection Dates

2020-03-30 – 2020-05-15

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland, Turku

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Residents of Turku aged 15-79

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Simple random

The first survey was sent to a random sample of 12,000 residents of Turku aged 15-79 drawn by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. 2,461 people responded to the first survey. All respondents had the opportunity to volunteer for the citizen panel deliberation by completing and returning the survey by 14 April 2020 either online or by post. 172 respondents who had volunteered were chosen for the panel so that the sample was as diverse as possible based on age, gender, and area of residence.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

To prevent identification of respondents, the age variable categorised by the researcher, the variable denoting the respondent's postal code, and open-ended variables of the type 'other, please specify' were removed from the data at FSD.

The variable names indicate which respondent group responded to the variable and which of the three surveys the variable belongs to. Variables ending with t1 refer to the first survey where the respondent group consisted of a random sample of 15-79-year-old residents of Turku. Variables ending with t2 refer to the second survey where the respondent group consisted of the respondents who had volunteered for the mini-public. Variables ending with t3 refer to the third survey where the respondent group consisted of the respondents who had participated in the mini-public/citizen panel deliberation.

Weighting

The data contain a weight variable which weights the data to be representative of the population based on gender, age, area of residence, mother tongue, and level of education.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Grönlund, Kimmo (Åbo Akademi University) & Herne, Kaisa (Tampere University) & Jäske, Maija (Åbo Akademi University): Citizens' Panel on Traffic Planning in Turku: Resident Survey 2021 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2022-10-17). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3571

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Publications

Grönlund, K., Herne, K., Jäske, M., Liimatainen, H., Rapeli, L., Värttö, M., Schauman, J., Siren, R., & Weckman, A. (2020). Implementing a democratic innovation: Online deliberation on a future transport system. (Tutkimusraportteja; No. 4/2020). Turun kaupunki. https://www.turku.fi/sites/default/files/atoms/files/tutkimusraportteja_4-2020.pdf

Grönlund, K., Herne, K., Jäske, M., & Värttö, M. (2022). Can politicians and citizens deliberate together? Evidence from a local deliberative mini-public. Scandinavian Political Studies, 45(4), 410-342.

Grönlund, K., Herne, K., Jäske, M., & Värttö, M. (2022). Handbok om medborgarpaneler i kommunerna. Finlands kommunförbund. https://www.kommunforbundet.fi/publikationer/2022/2170-handbok-om-medborgarpaneler-i-kommunerna

Värttö, M., Jäske, M., Herne, K., & Grönlund, K. (2021). Kaksisuuntainen katu: Poliitikot osallistujina puntaroivassa kansalaiskeskustelussa. Politiikka, 63(1), 28-53.

Grönlund, K., Herne, K., Jäske, M., & Värttö, M. (2022). Opas kansalaispaneelin järjestämiseen kunnissa. Suomen Kuntaliitto.