The Economic Future of the Central Activity Zone (CAZ) Phase 1: Office use trends and the CAZ ecosystem Report to the Greater London Authority (GLA)
11. Fewer commuters to the CAZ creates a challenge, relative to its global rivals There is a longer-term opportunity to drive more CAZ footfall through a greater residential population Compared with London, New York and Paris have a much denser population within their central areas, and shorter travel distances overall, meaning that approximately 3x more people live within a short walk or cycle of their centre. A permanent shift to home working therefore risks impact more substantially on CAZ footfall than in central areas in these global cities, both because of the first order impacts from working at home, and the second order impacts from a reduced number of people willing to make a journey into the CAZ from their home location after work. Looking towards the long term, future increases in the CAZ’s residential population, in line with or even exceeding Mayoral and government plans, would partly mitigate this, and continue the pre-COVID-19 trends. London’s cycle route network is currently concentrated on the CAZ. The travel distances involved suggest that the CAZ is well-placed to benefit from a growth in travel in active modes such as cycles and e-scooters, if licensed, especially given the CAZ’s key dependency on middle-distance trips from inner London. In order to encourage greater footfall in the CAZ, it is imperative that the CAZ is a more attractive location so that office workers and others will want to visit. Longer term, there is a case for significantly increasing CAZ residential populations in line with the Publication London Plan (2020b) and the December 2020 government statement on housing need.
January 2021
Unsplash: Clay LeConey
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