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Anything, Anywhere, Anytime? Developing Indicators to Assess the Spatial and Temporal Fragmentation of Activities

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  • Bayarma Alexander

    (Urban Land Use and Transportation Center (ULTRANS), Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, One Shields Avenue Davis, CA 95616, USA)

  • Christa Hubers

    (Centre for Transport and Society, Department of Planning and Architecture, University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK)

  • Tim Schwanen

    (Transport Studies Unit, School of Geography and the Environment, Oxford University Centre for the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, England)

  • Martin Dijst

    (Department of Human Geography and Planning, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, PO Box 80115, Utrecht 3508 TC, The Netherlands)

  • Dick Ettema

Abstract

Developments in transportation and information and communication technologies (ICTs) have facilitated the process labeled activity fragmentation . In this process, the weakened associations between activity, time, and place that ICTs made possible facilitate the disintegration of activities into smaller subtasks, which can then be performed at different times and at different locations. However, until now discussion of the fragmentation of activity hypothesis has been limited to the theoretical domain and largely absent from the empirical domain. In the study reported here we connect both domains by (1) developing a set of measures of activity fragmentation and (2) applying them to study the fragmentation of the activity of paid work using combined activity, travel, and communication diary data collected in the Netherlands in 2007 in order to assess the performance of these indicators. The results show that the indicators differentiate between the multiple facets of activity fragmentation (such as the number, dispersion, and configuration of fragments). The preliminary analyses also suggest that, although the temporal fragmentation of activities appears to be or to have become more common, spatial activity fragmentation is rather limited.

Suggested Citation

  • Bayarma Alexander & Christa Hubers & Tim Schwanen & Martin Dijst & Dick Ettema, 2011. "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime? Developing Indicators to Assess the Spatial and Temporal Fragmentation of Activities," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 38(4), pages 678-705, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirb:v:38:y:2011:i:4:p:678-705
    DOI: 10.1068/b35132
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lenz, Barbara & Nobis, Claudia, 2007. "The changing allocation of activities in space and time by the use of ICT--"Fragmentation" as a new concept and empirical results," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 190-204, February.
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