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Migration and Commuting in Urban and Rural Scotland
1. Introduction
1.1 Purpose of report
This report presents statistics from Scotland's population census 2001 for urban and rural Scotland. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in understanding the similarities and differences between people living in urban and rural areas so that policies can be targeted to best meet their needs. This report therefore adds to our understanding of the lives of people in urban and rural Scotland and to the growing evidence base.
The focus of the report is on migration and commuting in urban and rural Scotland. Statistics on these have not previously been available and yet an understanding of these factors is essential if policies on economic development are to be well designed. For migration, it is useful to explore who is moving into and out of areas and whether people are moving from rural areas to urban areas or vice versa. Such information gives us an insight into whether some areas are losing or gaining more population than others. For commuting, it is interesting to explore who is commuting, how far they are commuting and whether they are commuting from rural to urban areas or vice versa. Such information gives us an insight into the linkages between urban and rural areas.
Whilst the focus of the report is on commuting and migration, key themes from census 2001 are also presented for urban and rural Scotland. This means that the report brings together, for the first time, results from Census 2001 on urban and rural Scotland.
Although the report does not comment in detail on the reasons behind migration and commuting patterns, it explores migration and commuting statistics according to characteristics of the population, such as age, family type, economic activity, occupation and country of birth.
1.2 Structure of report
All statistics presented in the report are derived from Scotland's population Census 2001. The report is structured as follows:
Chapter 2 presents statistics from Census 2001 on characteristics of people and households in urban and rural Scotland that are likely to be related to migration and commuting patterns.
Chapter 3 presents statistics on migration for urban and rural Scotland. Census 2001 asked people to say where they had lived one year before the Census and answers to this question are used to explore who is moving into and out of urban and rural Scotland.
Chapter 4 presents statistics on commuting in urban and rural Scotland. Information collected from the Census 2001 on workplace destination and home address is used to identify commuting patterns.
Appendix A presents statistics on the key themes from the census 2001 by urban rural classification. The key themes are: cultural, housing, health and care, employment and education.
Appendix B and Appendix C present further detail on migration and commuting statistics.
1.3 Definitions of urban and rural Scotland
The urban rural classification used in Scotland is based on the Scottish Executive's core definition of rural areas as settlements with a population of less than 3,000. The urban rural classification uses settlement size to classify areas into urban, small town and rural. Information on drive times is then added to be able to distinguish between accessible and remote areas. There are six categories within this classification and these are shown in table 1.1.
Table 1.1: Urban Rural Classification
Category | Definition |
Large urban areas | Settlements with a population of over 125,000 |
Other urban areas | Settlements with a population of between 10,000 and 125,000 |
Accessible small towns | Settlements with a population of between 3,000 and 10,000 within a 30 minute drive time from a settlement of 10,000 or more |
Remote small towns | Settlements with a population of between 3,000 and 10,000 more than a 30-minute drive time from a settlement of 10,000 or more |
Accessible rural | Settlements with a population of less than 3,000 within a 30-minute drive time from a settlement of 10,000 or more |
Remote rural | Settlements with a population of less than 3,000 more than a30-minute drive time from a settlement of 10,000 or more |
The classification was first developed to be used alongside the Scottish Household Survey (SHS) and was originally known as the SHS urban rural classification. The classification has recently been updated for the latest population changes and is now known as the Scottish Executive urban rural classification 2003-2004.
The classification used in this report is based on the classification of areas at the time of the Census 2001 using the SHS urban and rural classification for 2001. Figure 1.1 shows the map of the SHS urban rural classification. Accessible rural areas are shown in a light blue colour and remote rural areas are shown in a light yellow colour.
Figure 1.1: SHS Urban Rural Classification
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