Environmental Studies Program
Date of this Version
5-2023
Citation
Environmental Studies Undergraduate Student Thesis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023
Abstract
As climate change grows in relevance in society, attention has often been turned to large universities to look at what solutions can help minimize the impacts contributing to the devastation. Sustainable transportation is an alternative that can help combat these issues. This study specifically focuses on what sustainable transportation looks like at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), and what barriers and motivations are present in the undergraduate students’ eyes. This was investigated through an open-ended qualitative survey administered to the undergraduate population of the UNL. This study asks how students make their mode decisions in relation to sustainable transportation methods, as well as what students think would encourage the campus population to use more sustainable methods to, from, and around campus. Results from the study indicate that factors influencing students’ sustainable transportation use are distance, weather, timing, and safety. Student ideas for how to encourage more sustainable transpiration use on campus fall into the themes of greater information/education, better infrastructure, and the introduction of incentives. These findings also acknowledge how while students are aware of their environmental impacts, they are not strongly inclined to take action on their own. This emphasizes the need for change at higher levels.
Included in
Environmental Education Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Sustainability Commons
Comments
Copyright 2023, Brynn Fuelberth