Author

Dr Alice Dalton

Date

2009

Project Type

PhD

Subject

Sustainable Urban Form and Development

Datasets

OS Meridian 1:50 000; OS MasterMap ITN; OS MasterMap Topography; OS 1:50 000 raster

Sources: Digimap and UK Borders (now UK Data Service Census Support)

Dates/Editions: All available.

Scales: All available.

Related Subjects

Geography; Business studies; GIS

Key Words

Sustainability; GIS

Publishing Institution

Department of Planning and Architecture, University of the West of England, Bristol

Summary

The aim of the research is to investigate the sustainability of office locations for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). The Digimap data is used for network analysis and accessibility mapping at the local level in order to produce indices of sustainability for areas in South West England. The outputs of the analysis feed into a visualisation tool, presented using Digimap OS raster mapping. This research intends to explore the sustainability of business location decision-making, highlighting choices made in the past and possibilities for the future.

Aims & Objectives

Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) account for 63.7% of employment, 99.7% of employers and 53.8% of the economic turnover in the south west region (Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 2008). Their involvement in long-term sustainable economic development is therefore significant. Empirical research into the needs and decision-making of SMEs is limited, with existing literature and guidance relating mainly to larger businesses and large office premises. This research seeks to understand office location decision-making by small businesses at the local scale in the Bristol city-region and to analyse the sustainability of their office locations. This will provide insight into the economic, environmental and social sustainability of current economic growth and will evaluate the current spatial planning policy framework, in order to help identify what is required for sustainable economic development in the future.

Methodology

An online questionnaire has been completed by 215 SME office users in the Bristol city-region. The most important factors when choosing a location are cost, floorspace and broadband availability. Analysis of the comments made by respondents, however, reveals a strong behavioural rationale behind location choices and a more complex approach to decision-making than that of larger businesses. Only a few businesses have adopted the alternative business model of the ‘virtual office’, where location is less relevant. Spatial analysis has been carried out in a geographic information system (GIS) to understand the accessibility of office locations to public transport networks and nodes, and to services and facilities needed by businesses. Results suggest that existing premises may not be in sustainable locations according to current guidance. Mapping the ‘softer’ factors of decision-making, such as ‘quality of life’ criteria is complex, and current methods for assessing sustainability may not be appropriate for this. The findings of this research have implications for future spatial planning policy, current assessment methods, encouraging the growth of small businesses and preparing for sustainable growth in the future.

Results/Outcome

Dalton A (2009) ‘Mapping the sustainability of small business locations’, at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) (with the Institute of British Geographers) annual international conference 2009 ‘Geography, Knowledge and Society’, University of Manchester, 26-28 August 2009.

Dalton A (2009) ‘Mapping the sustainability of small business locations’, Proceedings of the Geographical Information Science Research UK (GISRUK) annual conference, Durham University, 1-3 April 2009.

A publication of this research can be downloaded here.

References & Acknowledgements

Funding body: University of the West of England (Bristol), funded under the Great Western Research initiative set up by the South West of England Regional Development Agency.

Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) (2008) 'Small and Medium Enterprise Statistics 2007 for the UK and Regions. Enterprise Directorate' [online]. Available: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/sme. Accessed 1 October 2008. Published 30 July 2008.

Image by A. Dalton. 'West of England study area and associated urban areas. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right (2009)'