A Behavioural Map of Commuting Distances in the London Region

The degree of separation of areal points reflects more than pure physical distance, because other barriers to movement exist and because the strength of transport links varies. This study sets out and implements a methodology for constructing ‘behavioural maps’. Commuting patterns in the London region for 1981 are analysed by using a spatial-interaction model. Rather than distances being input as data into the analysis, however, the model is inverted to extract the implied distances embedded in the commuting flows. These are analysed by use of multidimensional scaling techniques, and the behavioural maps are compared with actual locations. Behavioural distances are found to outperform physical distances in the analysis of migration flows in the region.