Background Guide:

Neo-nomads and Digital Natives

In cooperation with: Funded by: Horizon 2020 A project by:

Toulouse, France

07 - 09 July 2018

Final European Student Parliament

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Neo-nomads and Digital Natives

Preface

Honourable delegates,

We warmly welcome you to the European Student Parliament. At this year’s conference the

topic will be the future of mobility. Mobility in a globalised world is not only important for

urban planning, but also for communication, economics, finance and many other sectors.

In the following handbook we will give you an overview of one of the five sub-topics which

will be discussed in Toulouse: Neo-nomads and Digital Natives

People are becoming more mobile in physical and digital space. Modern communication

technologies may seem to negate the need for physical mobility, but are we travelling less

frequently? How does our mobility vary across work, free time and holidays? What are the

environmental and ethical consequences of travel? How are our habits changing and what

does that mean for our mobility in the future?

At the European Student Parliament, we want to discuss the opportunities and challenges of

neo-nomads and digital natives in the context of mobility in a concrete way. Questions that

could provide a starting point for your discussions can be found in chapter number six of this

handbook. Your discussions both with your committee and during the expert hearing will be

the foundation for the resolutions that you will write to suggest European and global

guidelines in response to new developments in working habits and mobility needs.

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Table of Contents

Preface ........................................................................................................................................ 1

1 Digitalisation Affects mobility ................................................................................................ 3

2 Transport Habits ...................................................................................................................... 3

2.1 Commuting ....................................................................................................................... 3

2.2 Longer trips ...................................................................................................................... 5

2.3 Impact of Transport on Greenhouse Emissions ............................................................... 7

3 Changing Work Habits ............................................................................................................ 8

3.1 Industrial Jobs .................................................................................................................. 8

3.2 Digital Jobs ....................................................................................................................... 8

3.3 Current Work Habits ........................................................................................................ 9

4 Changing Demographics ....................................................................................................... 10

4.1 Aging Population ............................................................................................................ 10

4.2 Rural and Urban Environments ...................................................................................... 10

5 Implications for Infrastructure .............................................................................................. 10

5.1 Digital Tools for Travellers ............................................................................................ 10

5.2 Digital networks for infrastructure ................................................................................. 11

5.3 Implications for industry and regulation ........................................................................ 11

6 Guiding Questions ................................................................................................................. 11

7 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 12

Figure 1: Means of transport to get to work in European capital cities, Eurostat, 2015a. ......... 4

Figure 2: Share of workers commuting nationally by region, Eurostat, 2016. .......................... 5

Figure 3: Trips made by EU-28 residents by purpose, duration and destination, Eurostat,

2015b. ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Figure 4: Means of transport used by Europeans for trips with overnight stays, Eurostat,

2015c. ......................................................................................................................................... 7

Figure 5: Industrial revolutions and future view, Roser, 2015. .................................................. 8

Figure 6: Employment Trend in the European Union: A Snapshot, European Political Strategy

Centre, 2016. .............................................................................................................................. 9

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1 Digitalisation Affects mobility

In London 20 % of commuters spend more than two hours a day travelling to and from work.

In Utrecht, Manchester and Paris drivers spend more than 70 hours a year in traffic jams

(European Commission 2009). If these commuters didn’t need to travel to work every day at

the same time, both traffic and public transport could operate differently. In response to

digitalisation:

Transport changes: vehicles use sensors to avoid accidents, increase fuel efficiency,

or send updates to passengers. Tickets are sold and used electronically.

Mobility needs change: some jobs can be done from any location over a digital

connection.

2 Transport Habits

2.1 Commuting

In 2015 49 % of people in large European cities used public transport to get to work. In

Vienna, Bern, Paris and Prague more than two thirds of people used public transport as their

main mode of transport to work. In Amsterdam and Copenhagen more than half of people

cycle to work. But in 13 of the EU 28 capital cities more than half of commuters travel by

private car.

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Figure 1: Means of transport to get to work in European capital cities, Eurostat, 2015a.

More than 90 % of the EU workforce lives in the same region as they work. However about

7 % travel to a different region for work while just under 1 % commute across borders.

Commuting between regions is most common in Belgium where one in five people do this.

Belgium is also home to many cross-border commuters as is the Eastern border of France.

Men commute further than women and younger people further than older people (Eurostat

2016).

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Figure 2: Share of workers commuting nationally by region, Eurostat, 2016.

In some jobs tasks can be completed without travelling to the workplace. In this case working

from home can make work more flexible. In Europe three quarters of workers have some

flexibility with their work schedules and 2.6 % of people normally work from home. Working

from home is most common in Luxemburg and the Netherlands. Flexible working

arrangements are more common for educated employees with high-level jobs. Parents of

preschool-aged children are most likely to use flexible working times and to work from home.

Gender differences between parents are small. People with long commuting times are also

more likely to work from home (Eurostat 2014).

2.2 Longer trips

As well as commuting, Europeans make overnight trips for work. But not nearly so many as

they do for leisure and to visit relatives and friends. Almost 90 % of overnight trips are for

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personal purposes and not for work. More than half of tourist trips are short, 1-3 nights long,

within the traveller’s country of residence (Eurostat 2015b).

Figure 3: Trips made by EU-28 residents by purpose, duration and destination, Eurostat, 2015b.

Europeans are more likely to travel by air when they leave their country of residence

(outbound trips). Most trips within their country of residence (domestic trips) are on land with

around three quarters of trips by car, either private or rented (Eurostat 2015c).

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Figure 4: Means of transport used by Europeans for trips with overnight stays, Eurostat, 2015c.

2.3 Impact of Transport on Greenhouse Emissions

Transport is a significant producer of greenhouse gas emissions and it is the only sector in the

EU that now emits more greenhouse gases than it did in 1990. Since road transport is the

biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the transport sector (over 70 % of transport emissions),

its frequent use for both commuting and tourism needs to be considered in transport planning

(European Environment Agency 2017).

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3 Changing Work Habits

3.1 Industrial Jobs

In industry automation is changing the nature of work and may reduce the number of hours of

human activity needed to produce goods. This change is described by the concept Industry

4.0. According to this model the first industrial revolution was the introduction of the steam

engine, the second was electricity and the introduction of the production line, the third was

automation and computer control. The fourth industrial revolution is also driven by computers

and automation, but should allow more flexible processes with less human interaction.

Sensors and the internet of things will gather data and artificial intelligence should enable

decision making without human intervention (Roser 2015).

Figure 5: Industrial revolutions and future view, Roser, 2015.

3.2 Digital Jobs

For some computer-based jobs there is already no real requirement to work in the same

location or for the same company every day. Two phenomena that have emerged for

computer-based work are crowd working and digital nomadism.

Digital nomad is a name used by self-employed workers who work from various locations to

describe themselves. Working in jobs like programming, design or online marketing, these

modern nomads combine their work with tourism. They are very mobile with 32 % visiting 5-

10 countries per year where they tend to stay for between two weeks and three months (Elwes

2017).

Crowd working refers to internet platforms that advertise tasks or projects to workers. Tasks

tend to be small routine jobs that can be completed in a few minutes, involve little creativity

and are paid at a low rate. Projects tend to involve more skill and creativity than individual

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tasks. Some are organised as online competitions where multiple people or teams complete

the project but only the winner is paid (Gerber/ Krzywdzinski 2017).

3.3 Current Work Habits

Current trends show that an increasing number of Europeans are self-employed. There are

also more people in part-time employment and temporary employment. The highest

proportion of part-time workers is in the Netherlands at 46 %. In contrast only 1.9 % of

Bulgarian workers work part time. The proportion of fixed-term contracts varies greatly

between 71 % in Slovenia and 1.4 % in Romania. Currently less than 5 % of Europeans to

have more than one job and this situation has remained stable over the past decade (Eurostat

2017a).

Figure 6: Employment Trend in the European Union: A Snapshot, European Political Strategy Centre, 2016.

Automation and digitalisation may change the way we work significantly, with flow-on

effects on how we live and how we travel. If people can work from home or work fewer

hours, they may not need to commute as frequently. Having more free time might lead to

more tourism, whereas uncertain employment or underemployment might reduce the desire to

travel. Working during travel also influences which modes of travel are attractive, with

transport seen as more attractive if it provides electricity, an internet connection and a

comfortable workspace (European Political Strategy Centre 2016).

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4 Changing Demographics

4.1 Aging Population

Changes to work will change our travel habits, but what about segments of the population that

don’t work? The proportion of older people is increasing in the European population, so their

needs will be increasingly important in future transport planning.

Europeans tend to travel more directly after retirement and less at a more advanced age.

Tourists over 65 make longer trips which are more likely to be within their country of

residence.

Older people with health problems, including physical problems and dementia, have specific

transport needs. On foot they require slightly longer to cross the road, which has implications

for how traffic lights are programmed. Users of walking frames and wheelchairs require

ramps and lifts to replace steps and suitable surfaces for wheels. People with limited vision

need larger signs with greater contrast (Bausch 2016).

4.2 Rural and Urban Environments

Transport is particularly important in rural areas where people need to travel to reach services.

Digital services offer a potential way to provide some services to people without the need to

travel. For this to succeed digital infrastructure must be available in rural areas. Currently

people in rural areas are less likely to access the internet daily (Eurostat 2017b). For services

such as tele-medicine it is critical that internet connections have good upload as well as

download speeds (which is often not the case with current private internet connections). Good

speeds in both directions enable high resolution video calls, which are critical if a remote call

is to replace a visit to a doctor.

5 Implications for Infrastructure

5.1 Digital Tools for Travellers

For users important aspects of digital mobility include:

Digital trip planning that responds to the current situation. Currently we are familiar

with mobile apps that offer routes based on our present location and the current status

of transport networks (e.g. accounting for traffic jams or delays).

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Digital ticketing is also a familiar feature of transport in many regions. This trend is

likely to continue by expanding to more locations. Digital tickets may cease to be

physical objects and become linked to other technology like mobile phones.

Automated solutions for the last mile currently being tested include autonomous

shuttle buses and taxis that bring passengers from the nearest train station or bus stop

to their houses.

5.2 Digital networks for infrastructure

Behind the scenes sensors can provide information to transport providers, for example:

Intelligent transport networks can use sensors to gather information across the

network in real time. Monitoring demand and disruptions can help predict and avoid

delays. The need for repairs can also be monitored by sensors.

Vehicle automation, either full or partial, can increase safety by removing human

error. The greatest improvements can be made for road transport (Deloitte 2015 7-14):

5.3 Implications for industry and regulation

Industry groups are pushing policy makers to regulate aspects of transport including:

Expanding European standard systems for managing rail traffic

Providing clear conditions for automated vehicles

Clarifying rules or removing restrictions on unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) (BDI

2016).

6 Guiding Questions

Modern communication technologies may seem to negate the need for physical mobility, but

are we travelling less frequently?

How does our mobility vary across work, free time and holidays?

How should transport infrastructure change in response to demographic change?

How are our habits changing and what does that mean for our mobility in the future?

What infrastructure is needed to allow people to work from home (and other locations)?

How can transport enable passengers to work during travel?

What transport infrastructure is needed to reduce the number of holiday trips made by car?

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7 Bibliography

Bausch, Anne-Marie (2016): Tourism trends and Ageing. Retrieved 14 March 2018 from:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Tourism_trends_and_ageing.

BDI (2016): What does the digitization of mobility and logistics mean? Retrieved 14 March 2018

from: https://english.bdi.eu/article/news/what-does-the-digitization-of-mobility-and-logistics-mean/.

Deloitte (2015): Transport in the Digital Age. Disruptive Trends for Smart Mobility. Retrieved 14

March 2018 from: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/bps/deloitte-uk-

transport-digital-age.pdf.

Elwes (2017): Our Trend Prediction: What The Digital Nomad Survey Told Us. Retrieved 16 March

2018 from: https://welance.de/journal/digital-nomad-survey-results-infographic/.

European Commission (2009): Transport Facts and Figures. Retrieved 14 March 2018 from:

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/infrastructure/tentec/tentec-portal/site/en/facts_and_figures.html.

European Environment Agency (2017): Transport greenhouse gas emissions. Retrieved 16 March

2018 from: https://www.eea.europa.eu/airs/2017/resource-efficiency-and-low-carbon-

economy/transport-ghg-emissions.

European Political Strategy Centre (2016): The Future of Work. Retrieved 19 March 2018 from:

http://ec.europa.eu/epsc/publications/strategic-notes/future-work_en.

Eurostat (2017a): Employment statistics. Retrieved 19 March 2018 from:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Employment_statistics.

Eurostat (2017b): Individuals accessing the internet on a daily basis, by degree of urbanisation.

Retrieved 19 March 2018 from: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-ex-

plained/images/8/85/Individuals_accessing_the_internet_on_a_daily_basis%2C_by_degree_of_urbani

sation%2C_2016_%28%25_of_all_individuals%29_RYB17.png.

Eurostat (2016): Statistics on commuting patterns at regional level. Retrieved 15 March 2018 from:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-

explained/index.php/Statistics_on_commuting_patterns_at_regional_level#Labour_market_mobility.

Eurostat (2015a): Distribution of the principal means of going to work, capital cities. Retrieved 16

March 2018 from: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-ex-

plained/index.php/File:Distribution_of_the_principal_means_of_going_to_work,_capital_cities,_2015

_(%25)_RYB17.png.

Eurostat (2015b): Trips made by EU-28 residents by purpose, duration and destination. Retrieved 16

March 2018 from: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/File:Trips_made_by_EU-

28_residents_by_purpose,_duration_and_destination,_2015_(million).png.

Eurostat (2015c): Trips made by EU-28 residents by main means of transport. Retrieved 16 March

2018 from: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/File:Trips_made_by_EU-

28_residents_by_main_means_of_transport,_2015.png.

Eurostat (2014): Labour Market Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2018 from:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/news/themes-in-the-spotlight/employment.

Gerber, Christine; Krzywdzinski, Martin (2017): Between digital bohemia and precarity. Work and

performance in the crowd. Retrieved 14 March 2018 from:

https://www.wzb.eu/en/research/digitalization-and-societal-transformation/globalization-work-and-

production/projects/zwischen-digita.

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Roser, Christoph (2015): Industrial revolutions and future view. Retrieved 16 March 2018 from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_4.0#/media/File:Industry_4.0.png.