Temporal displacement and spatial unbinding of commuting in the Brno Metropolitan Area

Abstract

Commuting is generally considered a routine aspect of daily life. As a result of the growing importance of the tertiary sector in the economy, the increasing flexibility of work arrangements, and other individual factors, there has been a noticeable change in commuting patterns, both in terms of time and place. This study aims to characterise the spatio‐temporal practices employed in commuting. We describe these spatio‐temporal practices using spatio‐temporal rhythms enforced among individuals in the case of the Brno Metropolitan Area. To achieve the results we use questionnaire surveys and semi‐structured interviews. The results indicate that the major morning and afternoon commuting flows are spread out over several hours. The afternoon commute is more distributed in time. The phenomenon of the daily commute is clearly weakened. Part of the population commutes to work only some days of the week. Also, the spatial dimension of commuting is diverse, as many originally non‐working places become centres where people commute, such as a café or a hotel. It turns out that commuters typically chain trips when commuting. In this paper, we demonstrate several specific practices associated with these movements, such as commuting to someone's house to work, commuting to a café or realising long‐distance commuting. The observed commuting characteristics are then referred to by the terms of temporal displacement and spatial unbinding of commuting.