Civil Engineering October 2021 | Vol 29 No 9

16 October 2021 Civil Engineering some idea of possible outcomes for South Africa should the percentage of the labour market that works from home increase to more substantial levels. Literature review references are provided to substantiate possible implications. CONCLUSIONS The Covid-19 pandemic has broken through cultural and technological bar- riers that prevented working from home in the past, setting in motion a shift in where work takes place, at least for some people. It has been the catalyst that has pushed us towards rethinking city resil- ience and sustainability. South Africa witnessed an initial uptake in working from home at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by a decline to around 6.9% of the working population up to March 2021. During the same time, road traffic volumes recovered to almost pre Covid-19 levels. The road traffic data trends from Gauteng, Cape Town and eThekwini therefore point to a large proportion of the working popula- tion returning to previous travel habits due to their place of work being some- where other than home and the nature of South Africa’s economic activities. The way land is being used since the Covid-19 outbreak has also been changing, seen against, for example, the repurposing of office space and increases in e-commerce, resulting in increased requirements for warehousing space and the changing need for retail space etc. Indeed, notwithstanding the pandemic, working from home will in all likelihood continue in South Africa. The scale will increase as our economy diversifies, and this will have profound implications for transport planning, mobility, transport infrastructure provision and urban form. How exactly this will unfold remains to be seen. REFERENCES City of Cape Town. 2021. Traffic data March 2020 to August 2021. Data provided by email. Date: 13 August 2021. Department of Statistics South Africa. 2020. Quarterly Labour Force Survey: Quarter 3: 2020. www.statssa.gov.za . Department of Statistics South Africa. 2021. Quarterly Labour Force Survey: Quarter 1: 2021. www.statssa.gov.za . Miller, T. 1986. Telecommuting Benefits Business with DP’s Help. Computer World, Vol 20, No.7, Feb 17. Mokhtarian, P.L. 1992. Telecommuting in the United States: Letting Our Fingers Do the Commuting. January-February 1992, pp 2–9. Findstack. 2021. The Ultimate List Of Remote Work Statistics for 2021. Available: https:// findstack.com/remote-work-statistics . Forbes. 2021. 5 Statistics Employers Need To Know About The Remote Workforce. Available: https://www.forbes.com/sites/ ashiraprossack1/2021/02/10/5-statistics- employers-need-to-know-about-the- remote-workforce/?sh=d7ecc43655df . Huws, U., Korte, W.B. & Robinson, S. 2000. Telework: Towards the Elusive Office. John Wiley Series in Information Systems, pp 292. Nilles, J.M. 1988. Traffic Reduction by Telecommuting: A Status Review and Selected Bibliography. Transportation Research, Part A, Vol. 22A, No. 4, July 1988, pp 301–317. Sampath, S., Saxena, S. & Mokhtarian, P.L. 1991. The Effectiveness of Telecommuting as a Transportation Control Measure. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis. Sissine, F. 1990. Telecommuting: A National Option for Conserving Oil, Congressional Research Service, November 9. South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL). 2021. City of eThekwini freeway network: traffic volumes weekly average, January 2019 to December 2020. Data provided by email. Date: 22 August 2021. US General Accounting Office (GAO). 1989. Traffic Congestion: Trends, Measures, and Effects. Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate. GAO/PEMD- 90-1, November. US National Safety Council. 2021. Accident Facts. Available: https://www.nsc.org/ . Theme Implications and recommendations Health care The US General Accounting Office’s (1989) research on car drivers has shown a significant relationship between exposure to traffic congestion and a variety of adverse physiological reactions. Working from home will therefore have health benefits in relation to transport. However, there has been emerging evidence that working from home may have negative side effects on people being isolated and working alone, with psychological side effects including possible depression. Rural development According to Huws et al. (2000), rural area development may improve, but the lack of suitable skills in remote areas and the lack of appropriate support services (many of which require a critical mass of customers) may hamper development, unless there is active intervention by national or local government. Should the working from home scenario increase, factors that influence people’s decision of where home is may be affected more by the availability of ‘working from home infrastructure’ such as a quick and reliable internet connection, access to parks or recreational space and close proximity to schools, healthcare facilities and urban centres, be that via road or public transport. The development of working from home infrastructure may provide economic growth opportunities in both urban and rural areas. Growth and redevelopment of towns in close proximity to cities could slow down urban sprawl and influence the way cities are planned in future. Urban sprawl There is concern that working from home will contribute to some degree of urban sprawl. Whether working from home part or full time, an important factor to relocate is the availability of transportation infrastructure. Although digital connectivity issues could be overcome, living on the periphery of cities could still be relatively unattractive when travel becomes necessary or access to public services is needed (Nilles, 1988). Urban layout Urban layout has an important influence on the way in which different precincts or neighbourhoods are connected. If neighbourhoods of the future are planned so that the majority of citizens’ needs (that is, health, education, food, housing, public services, etc.) can be accessed in a short 15-minute trip, thereby reducing CO 2 emissions, air pollution and noise levels, we will move towards cities that are more equitable and a more resilient built environment.