Grants and residencies

Research

State of the environment as a determinant of life quality: a local scale approach

Application summary

Life quality is a complex and interdisciplinary topic in social sciences, which consists of societal, economic and environmental factors. Scientific studies of life quality therefore require a multidisciplinary approach dealing with both objective and subjective assessments of societal and economical matters and the environment. In previous studies of life quality, the socioeconomic effects (e.g. GDP) are emphasized whereas the impact of environmental quality has been underestimated. My project aims at understanding the relationship between (objective) estimates of the state of the coastal environment with (subjective) survey data on a local detailed scale. The objective environmental data consists of unique detailed assessments of the state of coastal waters, which has been collected in the Raseborg municipality. The socioeconomic data in the research will be obtained through a survey, where respondents can express their opinions about the state of the environment while I simultaneously receive demographic parameters about these inhabitants. Furthermore, I will use GIS tools to analyze how variation in land use practice affects coastal water quality and contributes to differences in subjective opinions of the state of the environment and life quality in general. Additionally, I will study how the state of environment is associated with real estate economy (the cost of land) in order to understand the economic benefits of mitigating climate change effects.

The local environment plays a significant role for life quality of community members. The results of the thesis demonstrated that local environmental conditions have an effect on people’s life quality. Moreover, the quality local environment can be a buffer to stress impacts (particularly to the pandemic of COVID-19), which is important in light of the negative effects of the climate change crisis that small communities are exposed to. This thesis suggests that local councils should involve residents in decision-making and thereby promote environmental democracy.

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