Duke-Williams, Oliver; (2023) Understanding pre- and post-pandemic patterns of journeys to work, using the 2021/22 Censuses. Presented at: Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual International Conference 2023, London, UK.

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Abstract

The 2021 Censuses in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland, and the 2022 Census in Scotland contain, as with all recent censuses, questions about individuals' employment and their journeys to work. Held at an extraordinary time, the results document patterns during a pandemic and as a social document are fascinating. However, when trying to interpret the results, and as context for future changes in working patterns they pose a number of problems. They are unrepresentative of the period immediately prior to the pandemic, and may be unrepresentative of the period a few years later. Problems for analysis are exacerbated by the change in census date in Scotland from 2021 to 2022. There is no simple route to creating a consistent 'UK census' for a fixed point in time. The headline results show a massive shift towards working at home. If read out of context, this might be the single biggest decennial social change documented by the census. Context of course is vital: part of this shift was enforced by government restrictions, and by corporate policy. The census may have given us a perspective on the extent to which homeworking practices can be adopted, but it is not clear how much of this change will persist. This paper explores journey to work patterns as enumerated in the results of the 2021/22 censuses, using aggregate observations from 2021, and drawing on equivalent patterns in 2011 flow data, and using 2021 flow data should it be (as hoped) available.

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