Small business owners in Edinburgh were found to have workplaces and residences located closer together compared to all workers. Micro business owners were less likely to commute into the city center for work and had shorter commuting distances overall. While small businesses were disproportionately located in central Edinburgh, home-based businesses were concentrated in suburban areas. The findings suggest small business owners exhibit a pattern of more localized work and living arrangements compared to all workers.

1. Altering workplace and residence locations in cities
through small business owners and entrepreneurs
Darja Reuschke
ERC Starting Grant 639403 WORKANDHOME
www.workandhome.ac.uk

2. Workplace and residential locations
• Commutes and carbon footprint
• Active travel and health
• Activity spaces and ‘localness’
• Social relations and social well-being
2

3. Residential forces in cites
• Excess commuting
• Suburban living driven by middle-class/management occupations
(Moos and Skarbursis, 2007)
• Urban renaissance mainly attributed to professionals
3

4. Changing commutes and residential locations
• Remote working and ICT
• Does part-homeworking contribute to urban sprawl? (Kim et al.,
2012; Ory and Mokhtarian, 2006)
• Self-employment and short commutes in cities (Giuliano, 1998)
• Greater flexibility to live outside of employment centres (Moos and
Skarburskis, 2010)
4

5. Small business owners
5
Location
patterns
in cities
Residences
Work-
places
Home-
working
Commutes

6. Study in the City of Edinburgh (UK)
• 487,500 inhabitants
• Service sector economy
• Survey of small business owners with less than ten employees (‘micro’)
• Random sample of businesses located in Edinburgh
• Comparison with all workers who work in Edinburgh using the Census of
Population
6

7. Location of workplaces of commuters
City Zone All workers
(Census)
Micro business
owners (Survey)
Central
Edinburgh
40% 54%
Outer
Edinburgh
60% 46%
Total 100% 100%
7

8. Residential location of workers
8
City Zone All Workers
(Census)
Micro business
owners (Survey)
Commuters
Home-
based
employees
Commuters
Home-
based
Central
Edinburgh
14% 20% 22% 23%
Outer
Edinburgh
50% 80% 58% 77%
Outside
Edinburgh
36% - 20% -
Total 100% 100% 100% 100%

9. Home-based working
All workers
(Census)
Micro businesses
(Survey)
10% 30%
9

10. Prevalence of commuting distances (cumulative %),
excluding homeworking
Distance All workers
(Census)
Micro business
owners (Survey)
<1km 6.4% 17.9%
1-2km 19.6% 34.7%
2-3km 32.1% 45.3%
3-4km 42.2% 52.0%
4-5km 49.7% 56.8%
5-6km 56.1% 69.5%
6-10km 67.5% 78.9%
10-20km 82.8% 87.4%
20-50km 95.8% 97.9%
50+km 100.0% 100.0% 10

11. Commuting flows between zones
• Lower commuting rates of micro business owner across zones
(central, outer, outside Edinburgh)
– in all directions!
• Business owners’ workplaces and residences are closer to each other
in all locations
11

12. Summary
• Close proximity of business owners’ homes and workplaces in all parts of the
city
• Small business owners are less likely to commute into the city, and they
commute less between inner and outer areas
• Small businesses disproportionately found in central locations
• Home-based businesses in suburban locations
• Concentration in the city centre and deconcentration in suburban areas
12

13. Conclusions and outlook
• Promotion of urban working and living
• Greater ‘compactness’ and less commuting travel but total travel needs to be
further explored
• May facilitate greater ‘localness’ and social well-being
• Mix-use in residential environments may contribute to greater liveability in
suburban areas
13

14. Home-based business policy brief
OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Papers
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/industry-and-services/policy-brief-on-
home-based-businesses_abfe755f-en
14