Investigating the changes in journey to work patterns for South East Queensland - a GIS based approach

Using journey to work (JTW) data derived from the 1996 and 2006 censuses, this paper explores changes in commuting dynamics in the South East Queensland (SEQ) region. Our focus is concerned with the geographic patterning of commuting distance and flow (i.e. the number of people travelling from region i to region j) across the SEQ region and to identify any changes in such patterning over the decade to 2006. To achieve this advanced GIS methods were employed to firstly calculate the average commuting distance and the degree of self-containment (i.e. people living and working within the same area) for the local areas, and secondly to map the distribution of commuting flows. Through a quantitative analysis of SEQ JTW patterns over time, we link the results to the current planning debates regarding urban spatial policies aimed at reducing commuting distances. Specific attention is given to: (1) whether job-housing balanced development has an effect on reducing commuting distance between 1996 and 2006; and (2) identifying the most salient changes in commuting flows over the decade. Results indicated that the spatial patterns of commuting had a limited change over the 10 years period; and the change in commuting distance did not present a strong relationship to the change in jobs-housing ratio across the region