A new geodemographic classification of commuting flows for England and Wales

This paper aims to contribute to the area of geodemographic research through the development of a new and novel flow-based classification of commuting for England and Wales. In doing so, it applies an approach to the analysis of commuting in which origin-destination flow-data, collected as part of the 2011 census of England and Wales, are segmented into groups based on shared similarities across multiple demographic and socioeconomic attributes. K-means clustering was applied to 49 flow-based commuter variables for 513,892 interactions that captured 18.4 million of the 26.5 million workers recorded as part of the 2011 census of England and Wales. The final classification resulted in an upper-tier of nine ‘Supergroups’ which were subsequently partitioned to derive a lower-tier of 40 ‘Groups’. A nomenclature was developed and associated pen-portraits derived to provide basic signposting to the dominant characteristics of each cluster. Analysis of a selection of patterns underlying the nine-fold Supergroup configuration revealed a highly variegated structure of commuting in England and Wales. The classification has potentially wide-ranging descriptive and analytical applications within research and policy domains and the approach would be equally transferable to other countries and contexts where origin-destination data is disaggregated based on commuter characteristics

A Generalized Model of Activity Space

This article introduces the concept of a generalized activity space to bridge area-based and activity-based representations of geographic context. We argue that microscale space–time paths fail to account for contextual determinants of behavior, because they emphasize “contacts” over “contexts,” a problem that could be solved, in part, by using a broader “generalized” representation of geographic context. This article develops the idea of a generalized activity space and empirically tests the viability of the concept. Support for the viability of the idea is identified through analysis of 34,500 trips by 7,550 individuals in Atlanta. We find that demographic characteristics and residential location jointly shape a person’s geographic context. Through a series of hypothesis tests, we find evidence that these location–demographic groupings are generalizable; that is, people with similar socioeconomic backgrounds and residential locations exhibit similar generalized activity spaces. Residential location, by itself, however, is not an effective descriptor of the configuration of a person’s context. We argue that generalized activity spaces have potential to inform study of how the environment influences behavior by allowing a more robust consideration of interplay between socioeconomic characteristics and the use of space

A new typology of climate change risk for European cities and regions: principles and applications

This paper aims to contribute to the analysis of climate change risk through the development of a new spatially-explicit typology of climate risk for European cities and regions. In doing so, it offers a direct response to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) call to advance awareness of climate change risks at sub-national levels through the integration of hazard, exposure and vulnerability domains into a composite risk classification that covers the whole of Europe. K-means clustering was applied to 49 variables at NUTS3 level where the final classification resulted in an upper-tier of eight ‘classes’, which were subsequently partitioned to derive a lower-tier of 31 ‘sub-classes’. A three-stage analysis of the eight-fold class configuration was then undertaken focusing on the distribution of climate risk classes, raising significant issues to inform climate change adaptation planning policy, practice and research. The analysis revealed an uneven distribution of climate change risk across the 33 countries covered by the typology, reinforcing the IPCC message that adapting and building resilience to climate change risk is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ exercise. In the second stage, the analysis focused on determining whether there was a difference in the climate change risk facing different settlement types in Europe. The analysis revealed the extent of variation in the climate change risk characteristics of Europe’s urban and rural areas, revealing the potential for peri-urban areas to fall between climate change risk agendas or priorities when compared to urban–rural contexts. The final component of our analysis considered the extent to which climate change risk classes exhibit patterns of spatial clustering. Here we found that climate change risk exhibits evidence of spatial clustering but the extent of the clustering varies between different classes as the relationship between contiguous NUTS3 regions changes. This finding has notable implications for transboundary adaptation planning where discontinuities in political buy-in, competition, resourcing and awareness of risk could serve to undermine the coherence and adequacy of policy responses at a time when greater cooperation and alignment is needed

A new geodemographic classification of commuting flows for England and Wales

This paper aims to contribute to the area of geodemographic research through the development of a new and novel flow-based classification of commuting for England and Wales. In doing so, it applies an approach to the analysis of commuting in which origin-destination flow-data, collected as part of the 2011 census of England and Wales, are segmented into groups based on shared similarities across multiple demographic and socioeconomic attributes. k-Means clustering was applied to 49 flow-based commuter variables for 513,892 interactions that captured 18.4 million of the 26.5 million workers recorded as part of the 2011 census of England and Wales. The final classification resulted in an upper-tier of nine ‘Supergroups’ which were subsequently partitioned to derive a lower-tier of 40 ‘Groups’. A nomenclature was developed and associated pen portraits derived to provide basic signposting to the dominant characteristics of each cluster. Analysis of a selection of patterns underlying the ninefold Supergroup configuration revealed a highly variegated structure of commuting in England and Wales. The classification has potentially wide-ranging descriptive and analytical applications within research and policy domains and the approach would be equally transferable to other countries and contexts where origin-destination data are disaggregated based on commuter characteristics.</p

Travel choices, internet accessibility, and extreme weather: translating trends in space-time flexibility in the digital age

Extreme weather affects not only transport infrastructure, but also travel behaviour. Climate change is causing more frequent and intense severe weather events, and thus is increasing the risks to transport infrastructure, services, and travellers. Travel behaviour trends are also in flux due to shifting working and activity patterns, as space-time flexibility and accessibility choice increases, and standard commuting journeys decline. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are one reason for these changing trends in travel behaviour, and, like climate change, create uncertainty in predicting transport operations and travel choices. However, ICT also has the potential to make mobility and accessibility more sustainable and more responsive to climate change impacts. This thesis sets out to identify the opportunities that improving ICT and increasing space-time flexibility create for commuters and other travellers to maintain accessibility, particularly to work activities, that they may better respond to severe weather, risk, and transport disruption, thereby boosting resilience. The research also concludes that through the integration of travel choices and Internet accessibility and by taking action to address spatial and temporal barriers, policy might better support both resilience and sustainability