This report explores the method of Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) and its applicability in transport planning using insights from Sälenfjällen, Sweden, as a case.
The study should be seen as an exploratory PPGIS study focusing on visitors’ perceptions and preferences. The study was conducted during winter 2020 in weeks 9-13 and sampling was done on site following a strategy to reduce selection bias. Data was collected using a map-based questionnaire which was designed using Maptionnaire tool. The questionnaire included regular survey questions about the visitor’s preferences for transportation, as well as a set of questions where respondents could map places in Sälenfjällen they perceived needed transport improvement.
A total of 162 answers were included for analysis. The results indicate ‘own car’ as the modal choice of transportation to/from as well as within Sälenfjällen. The results also indicate a positive overall satisfaction with the destination where 90% of the respondents were willing to visit again.
A total of 398 markers were placed on the maps in three sub-sections; 139 indicate places visitors preferred for lodging, 220 places preferred to visit, and 39 places to be improved. Challenges we experienced with the PPGIS study included low response rate and low motivation for the visitors to engage in mapping exercise.
To conclude, our results show that PPGIS seem to have potential in providing useful insights to inform transport planning processes, however challenge remain on how to properly sample respondents and to motivated engagement in the mapping exercise.