In this study the effect of telework on the behaviour of people in time and space is investigated. Because of this subject the study is highly future-oriented: it investigates the effects of a development that is still at the beginning of its major growth curve. Despite the uncertainty related to this, an orientation is relevant, because: (a) important changes in work patterns can be observed; (b) after a rapid development in and adoption of personal computers an extensive growth can be expected of applications in information and communication technology (ICT) in the next decade; (c) the implications of these developments for the time-space behaviour and spatial needs of people could be considerable; owing to the expected life span of the built environment, today's urban planning must account for these future needs; and (d) facing the problem of a rapid growth in traffic, which causes inevitable congestion in urban areas and global environmental problems, it is important to know whether telematics applications, especially telework, can be part of the solution for these problems. The subject has been approached from the theoretical viewpoint that telework affects the flexibility of individual teleworkers in time and space. The timing and choice of locations for activities can be influenced. This enables changes in individual travel behaviour. Finally, the individual changes can affect spatial organisation and mobility and congestion levels. The main goal of this study is to investigate the development of telework and its implications for spatial organisation and transportation, through an analysis of changes in the time-space behaviour of teleworkers. (A)
Samenvatting