Travel to work area

A travel to work area (TTWA) is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a larger town, city or conurbation for the purposes of employment.

Significance

As a measure based on urban areas and their commuter hinterland they are a form of metropolitan area, though as methods of calculation differ they cannot directly be compared with other specific measurements such as metropolitan statistical areas in the United States.

TTWAs have no legal status. However, they give planners and geographers an alternate view of urban life as their boundaries are tied not to arbitrary administrative limits but socio-economic ties. Having an idea of where people commute from for work is particularly useful for public transport planning.

Definition

Travel to work areas are defined^[when?] by the Office for National Statistics using census data for commuting between wards, based on the different locations of individuals' home and work addresses.

A travel to work area is a collection of wards for which "of the resident economically active population, at least 75% actually work in the area, and also, that of everyone working in the area, at least 75% actually live in the area". According to this measure, there were 243 TTWAs within the United Kingdom in 2007.^[1]

2007

The 243 TTWAs were:^[2]

2011

The TTWAs were recalculated from 2011 census data. There are now 228 areas as follows:^[3]

Aberdeen
Aberystwyth
Alness and Invergordon
Andover
Arbroath and Montrose
Ashford
Aviemore and Grantown-on-Spey
Ayr
Ballymena
Banbury
Bangor and Holyhead
Barnsley
Barnstaple
Barrow-in-Furness
Basingstoke
Bath
Bedford
Belfast
Berwick
Bideford
Birkenhead
Birmingham
Blackburn
Blackpool
Blandford Forum and Gillingham
Blyth and Ashington
Boston
Bournemouth
Bradford
Brecon
Bridgend
Bridgwater
Bridlington
Bridport
Brighton
Bristol
Broadford and Kyle of Lochalsh
Bude
Burnley
Burton upon Trent
Bury St Edmunds
Buxton
Cambridge
Campbeltown
Canterbury
Cardiff
Cardigan
Carlisle
Chelmsford
Cheltenham
Chester
Chesterfield
Chichester and Bognor Regis
Cinderford and Ross-on-Wye
Clacton
Colchester
Coleraine
Colwyn Bay
Cookstown and Magherafelt
Corby
Coventry
Craigavon
Crawley
Crewe
Cromer and Sheringham
Dalbeattie and Castle Douglas
Darlington
Derby
Derry
Doncaster
Dorchester and Weymouth
Dudley
Dumbarton and Helensburgh
Dumfries
Dundee
Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy
Dungannon
Dunoon and Rothesay
Durham and Bishop Auckland
Eastbourne
Edinburgh
Elgin
Enniskillen
Evesham
Exeter
Falkirk and Stirling
Falmouth
Folkestone and Dover
Fort William
Fraserburgh
Galashiels and Peebles
Girvan
Glasgow
Gloucester
Golspie and Brora
Grantham
Great Yarmouth
Greenock
Grimsby
Guildford and Aldershot
Halifax
Harrogate
Hartlepool
Hastings
Haverfordwest and Milford Haven
Hawick and Kelso
Hereford
Hexham
High Wycombe and Aylesbury
Huddersfield
Hull
Huntingdon
Inverness
Ipswich
Isle of Wight
Kendal
Kettering and Wellingborough
Kilmarnock and Irvine
King's Lynn
Kingsbridge and Dartmouth
Lancaster and Morecambe
Launceston
Leamington Spa
Leeds
Leicester
Lincoln
Liskeard
Liverpool
Livingston
Llandrindod Wells and Builth Wells
Llanelli
Lochgilphead
London
Lowestoft
Ludlow
Luton
Malton
Manchester
Mansfield
Margate and Ramsgate
Medway
Merthyr Tydfil
Middlesbrough and Stockton
Milton Keynes
Minehead
Motherwell and Airdrie
Mull and Islay
Newbury
Newcastle
Newport
Newry and Banbridge
Newton Stewart
Newtown and Welshpool
Northallerton
Northampton
Norwich
Nottingham
Oban
Omagh and Strabane
Orkney Islands
Oswestry
Oxford
Pembroke and Tenby
Penrith
Penzance
Perth
Peterborough
Peterhead
Pitlochry and Aberfeldy
Plymouth
Poole
Portree
Portsmouth
Preston
Pwllheli and Porthmadog
Reading
Redruth and Truro
Rhyl
Salisbury
Scarborough
Scunthorpe
Sheffield
Shetland Islands
Shrewsbury
Sidmouth
Skegness and Louth
Skipton
Slough and Heathrow Airport
Southampton
Southend
Spalding
St Andrews and Cupar
St Austell and Newquay
Stafford
Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City
Stoke-on-Trent
Stranraer
Street and Wells
Sunderland
Swansea
Swindon
Taunton
Telford
Thetford and Mildenhall
Thurso
Torquay and Paignton
Trowbridge
Tunbridge Wells
Turriff and Banff
Tywyn and Dolgellau
Ullapool
Wadebridge
Wakefield and Castleford
Warrington and Wigan
Western Isles
Weston-super-Mare
Whitby
Whitehaven
Wick
Wisbech
Wolverhampton and Walsall
Worcester and Kidderminster
Workington
Worksop and Retford
Worthing
Wrexham
Yeovil
York

The State of the Cities

Travel to work areas were selected to approximate city regions as one of the main units of comparison used by the 2006 State of the English Cities report and database, commissioned and maintained by the Communities and Local Government department of the UK Government.^[4]

This has greatly increased the amount of information available about travel to work areas, although the State of the Cities only publishes data for the 56 travel to work areas based around primary urban areas in England. Travel to work areas in Scotland and Wales and those covering only rural areas are not included.^[5]

To increase the range of statistics available the State of the Cities also publishes data for travel to work areas approximated to local authority boundaries. These areas can differ considerably from the more accurate ward-based areas.^[6]

References

^ Beginners' guide to UK geography - Travel to Work Areas (TTWAs) Office for National Statistics
^ "Travel To Work Areas as at 2007". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
^ "Travel to Work Areas (December 2011) Full Clipped Boundaries in United Kingdom". geoportal.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
^ Robinson, Phillipa "And city regions......", State of the Cities Database, Presentation to North East Regional Information Partnership
^ - State of the Cities - Making sense of cities - Travel to work areas (TTWAs) Department for Communities and Local Government
^ Robinson, Phillipa "Presenting Statistics on UK Geographies", State of the Cities Database, Presentation to North East Regional Information Partnership

External links

[1] Beginners' guide to UK geography - Travel to Work Areas (TTWAs) Office for National Statistics

[2] "Travel To Work Areas as at 2007". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 2008-10-12.

[3] "Travel to Work Areas (December 2011) Full Clipped Boundaries in United Kingdom". geoportal.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-30.

[4] Robinson, Phillipa "And city regions......", State of the Cities Database, Presentation to North East Regional Information Partnership

[5] - State of the Cities - Making sense of cities - Travel to work areas (TTWAs) Department for Communities and Local Government

[6] Robinson, Phillipa "Presenting Statistics on UK Geographies", State of the Cities Database, Presentation to North East Regional Information Partnership

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