“Gehl Architects found Global Research to be very professional and dedicated in investigating the survey material. Global Research was flexible and accommodating in terms of deliveries and deadlines, and provided valuable interpretation of the data. The output was well formulated and responded to all our questions, and Global Research were even able to translate replies from Norwegian into English. We are happy to recommend Global Research to others in need of data and survey processing, and look forward to the continued collaboration.”
Background and aims
Oslo’s population is projected to grow by 30% over the next 15 years from its current 600,000 to around 800,000. With this growth comes development opportunities as well as some challenges. As Oslo grows its goals are to increase activity, urban life and safety perceptions and ultimately improve cultural activity and business returns.
To help achieve Oslo’s goals Gehl Architects, in collaboration with the Secretariat for Living Oslo, completed Oslo’s third Public Space Public Life (PSPL) survey from 2012-2014 which they then used to inform a Strategic Plan to guide future development of the city. The first PSPL survey was completed by Jan Gehl in 1987. The 2014 survey took a fresh look at the city centre, documenting city life and the quality of the public space in downtown Oslo through mapping how people move, where they spend money and how they experience various parts of the city center via comprehensive pedestrian counts, observations and face to face on street surveys.
Our role
Global Research supported Gehl Architects to complete the PSPL survey by analysing the face to face street survey data which Gehl then used to inform their Strategic Plan for Oslo.
Design and method
The survey questions were adapted from a similar 1995 Copenhagen survey conducted by Professor Jan Gehl. The survey contained 12 main questions and 65 response options. Questions covered: where people were from; purpose of visit (shopping, drinking eating, work, study, others); where they prefer to shop (shopping centre, Karl Johan, side streets); how much individuals spent; likes and dislikes; safety perceptions; transport choices.
1119 street interviews were completed in the summer months June/July 2013. Respondents were randomly chosen from resident and tourists on Oslo’s streets. Once complete, the surveys were scanned and electronically sent to Global Research for data entry and analysis.
The relatively large data set and large number of question and response options resulted in many analysis possibilities. Five main analysis topics were settled on: who the respondents were, and what they were doing; money spent; shopping preferences; safety perceptions; transportation. Frequency charts and tables presented overall results and crosstabs were used to compare the differences between groups. The first section’s findings, who the respondents were, and what they were doing, were used as variables to compare differences across topics such as: amount spent; safety perceptions; shopping habits; and transportation preferences.
Result
A comprehensive overall summary of results was provided to Gehl Architects within two weeks of the final survey’s completion. Prior to the first report updates were provided based on data samples. Based on the preliminary analysis a final reporting approach was agreed.
The results were very informative. For example, in the money spent topic results showed: average amount spent across all respondents; the percentage spent by those using public transport; the amount spent by individual tourists; the amount spent by tourists overall as a proportion of all money spent in the city; and who spends the most across age groups. Similar detailed analysis was provided for the other main topics.
Outcome
To achieve the strategic plan Gehl Architects created four strategic themes:
Landscape: strengthen the water and land based nature that partly encircles Oslo center and is present within the city (the fjord, rivers, urban parks, street trees and other green elements);
Urban Space: improve the urban spaces to provide more room for life;
Movement: make conditions in the city better for all the different road users, pedestrians, cyclists, public transport and motorists;
City Life: create more activities in the central urban areas at different times of day and year to improve residents and visitor experiences.
Seventy six specific proposals were detailed in the strategy to achieve the four themes. The proposals include complementary ‘software’, for example information to strengthen bike culture, and ‘hardware’, such as developing continuous cycling networks.
Based on a thorough understanding of the city, Oslo now has a comprehensive strategy to improve human experiences, and subsequently its prosperity, which will be implemented by multiple parties over coming years.