Job location and the journey-to-work: An empirical analysis

In this paper we present and estimate a single equation model designed to explain the job-location behaviour of individuals living in a multi-centered metropolitan area. We test the model separately for heads of households and non-heads of households, as well as for the total working population, in order to isolate differences in commuting behaviour between primary and secondary wage earners. The relationships are estimated from 1971 Census, cross-section data using least squares multiple regression.The results of the location equation indicate that wage gradient variables are important determinants of job location for heads of households. On the other hand, non-heads are rather insensitive to the wage gradient. Rather, contrary to the decisions of heads, the job-location choices of non-heads are strongly influenced by socio-economic attributes, notably occupation, family size and age. Clearly, job-location decisions of primary wage earners (usually the household heads) are influenced by earnings-maximizing considerations while secondary earners (non-heads in general) put more weight on other socio-economic factors. The results also suggest that there is a hidden cost associated with uneven directional growth in the Toronto CMA. It is suggestive that urban planning strategies should reflect consideration of the greater desire or need for accessibility on the part of secondary wage earners (non-heads) and the need to balance residential and job opportunities at the extending margin of the urban area.     

The combined equilibrium of travel networks and residential location markets

The combined ‘user’ equilibrium of travel networks and residential location markets is shown to exist and to be unique in the expected allocation of households to residential locations and to the routes and links of the network, in the vacancies and rents of residential locations and in the congested travel time and cost of each network link. The formulation combines a multinomial logit model of households' location and route choices derived from utility maximization, a binary logit model of house owners' offer decisions derived from profit maximization and the standard model of network congestion. A travel disutility measure (consistent with utility maximization) replaces the standard ‘generalized cost function’. The proof utilizes a non-linear programming formulation which reproduces the simultaneous equilibrium conditions of the behavioral formulation. The stability of the unique equilibrium position is briefly discussed, a computational algorithm is proposed and hints for generalized formulations are provided.     

Transport improvements,commuting costs,and residential location

This paper develops a theoretical framework for evaluating one of the long-run or secondary effects of a transport improvement. The familiar model of residential location is manipulated to derive an estimating equation relating changes in travel costs to changes in the household's preferred location. When estimated for a particular transport situation the major finding is the importance of the price effect. Although direct cost savings are important, especially in the short-run, in the long-run and especially for innovations with substantially increased speed or reduced operating costs the price effect may completely dwarf the income effect.     

THE ECONOMICS OF COMMUTING AND THE URBAN LABOUR MARKET

ABSTRACT. The spatial distribution of households and firms, or urban spatial structure, is a core element of the study of urban economics and the crucial determinant of commuting patterns. This paper examines developments in the analysis of urban spatial structure and commuting are related to the urban labour market—that is the analysis of labour supply and labour demand in a spatial context. These developments have been overlooked in the traditional approach to urban structure and commuting where most attention has been devoted to the markets for land and housing rather than the market for labour. Yet a little reflection suggests that the labour market might have a great deal to do with the location decisions of households and firms, and hence with commuting patterns. We argue that much criticism of the economic analysis of urban structure and commuting can be addressed by explicit incorporation of the labour market into the conventional model of urban location. This criticism includes findings that the theory cannot explain the tendency for richer households to live farther from the central business district and commute farther to work (Wheaton, 1977) and findings of substantial unexplained or 'wasteful' commuting according to conventional theory (Hamilton, 1982). The paper begins by outlining the basic model of residential location and commuting (Section 2). We then consider extensions that involve the introduction of labour supply decisions and which determine the value of commuting time (Section 3). More recent extensions involve the introduction of decentralized workplaces (Section 4) and, logically, the issues of job search and migration (Section 5). We conclude with a summary of the progress in incorporating labour market behaviour into the analysis of urban structure and commuting and our suggestions for further research in this area.     

Occupation and the journey-to-work: Some further analysis

This paper examines the impact of occupation upon commuting distances in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). Specifically, from the residential and job location patterns of each occupational group a “minimum distance” indicator of the degree of job-residence access of each occupational group is developed with the aid of a linear programming transportation model. The differences in “minimum distance” that must be travelled by the members of each occupational group are explained. The actual distances travelled to work by the members of each occupational group are then investigated and attempts are made to separate the determinants of each occupational group's average journey-to-work distance into two main factors—job residence access and propensity to commute. On the basis of the locational patterns, the analysis suggests that job residence access was generally greater for blue-collar workers than for white-collar workers. Although occupation did have an impact, then, on journey-to-work distance through its influence upon locational patterns of job and residence, little evidence of its effect on the propensity to commute was found. Rather, the results suggest that the main determinant of this factor was sex since female workers exhibited a far lower disposition to commute than did their male counterparts.     

Measuring the costs of height restrictions with a general equilibrium model

This paper investigates the costs of residential height restrictions, using a numerically solvable general equilibrium model which is based on residential location theory and which has several novel features. The time and money costs of travel are treated separately, households demand recreational land as well as structure and, most importantly, actual construction cost data are used in an activity analysis formulation of the supply side of the housing market. There are two major conclusions. First, households' demand for recreational land is significant; ignoring it results in simulated cities considerably smaller and denser than is observed. Secondly, residential height restrictions merit serious consideration since their costs appear to be quite modest.     

A Bid-Price Model for 'Non-Western' Cities: Revised Specification and Empirical Test

A bstract . A significant portion of the literature concerning intra-urban residential location has involved the development of a utility maximization bid-price model which relates income and distance to work. When distance-overcoming costs are monetary, a positive income-distance function is predicted, and studies in several Anglo-American cities have provided some confirmation. If expenses are made to be temporal, the model forecasts a negative relationship because the opportunity cost of commuting is directly variable with income. A study was conducted in Piracicaba (pop. 125,000), Brazil, and neither positive nor negative income-distance functions were encountered for any of the transportation differentiated groups. The findings indicate that the prevalence of walking, bicycling and other commuting modes which consume large amounts of time does not adequately explain the "non-western" residential pattern (negative income-distance to the Central Business District function) which is common in many Latin American cities. The results also suggest that hypotheses which consider spatial relationships between residences and sites other than the place of work may prove to be more fruitful (1).     

The periurban city: why to live between the suburbs and the countryside

The last 30 years have witnessed the emergence of a new pattern of urban development in France, called the periurban belt. It is defined as a belt outside the city occupied both by households and farmers. We develop a residential model in which households commuting to an employment center may choose to live with farmers in this mixed belt because they value the rural amenities created by farming activities. Both types of agents compete on the land market and the equilibrium conditions allow us to obtain an analytical solution and to provide some insights about the robustness of the periurban form against decreases in commuting costs. Finally, the model is calibrated on French data.     

Commuting distances in a household location choice model with amenities

Observed commuting distances generally exceed those predicted by standard models of household location choice. This paper develops a model with locational amenities and two job centers. It is shown that differences in household preferences for amenities can lead to various types of residential location patterns, some of which result in higher average commuting distances in the city.     

Urban household behavior in a model of completely centralized employment

The following results are obtained from an urban residential model of completely centralized employment, first expounded by Richard Muth: Housing price falls at a decreasing numerical rate with distance from the CBD; the CBD-employed household's housing consumption and location (distance from the CBD) are positively related to preferences for housing, but negatively related to housing price (level and rate of decline with distance) and transportation costs (level, rate of increase with distance, and rate of increase with value-of-time). Some of these results are new and others are generalizations, corrections, or clarifications of Muth's original results.     

Location in a congested city

This paper analyzes optimal location decisions in a city where both residential and employment locations are endogenously determined. A model is constructed which includes both traffic congestion among commuters and colocational externalities among firms. The model establishes that if location tax of the kind discussed by Koopmans and Beckman is imposed on both residential and employee locations, the private decisions of households and firms will produce an optimal pattern of location.     

住房与交通综合可支付性指数的设计与应用——以北京为例

城市空间结构的理论及实证研究表明,城市土地利用与交通系统之间存在着密切的互动关系.在空间上,居民所负担的住房成本和交通成本通常呈现此消彼长的关系.因此,单纯考虑"住房成本占收入的比重"不能全面衡量居住区位选择所引致的成本.为了更全面和精细地评价居民对于住房成本和交通成本的综合支付能力及其空间分布特征,设计了住房与交通综...     

Housing equity,residential mobility and commuting

Highly productive economies require a flexible labor force with workers that move in accordance with the changing demand for goods and services. In times with falling housing prices, the mobility of home owning workers may be hampered by a lock-in effect of low or even negative housing equity. This paper explores the effect of housing equity on both the residential mobility and the commuting pattern of homeowners. We merge administrative registers for the Danish population and properties and get highly reliable micro data for our analysis. We find that low and negative housing equity substantially reduces residential mobility among homeowners. The negative effect of locked-in low equity families on labor market mobility may be mitigated by commuting. However, our results show that family heads in low or negative equity homes are not found to commute more than households with higher housing equity, but also that a considerable fraction of home owning family heads commute. The analysis of the joint decision of homeowners to commute or move shows that the option of moving, as an alternative to not moving and not commuting, is chosen by five to six percent of homeowners with low housing equity, while the option of not moving but commuting is chosen by 60%.     

Residential change and economic choice behavior

Theory of economic choice behavior is applied to construct a dynamic model of residential change at the neighborhood scale. The utility of a neighborhood depends on the investor's decisions, and two different specifications are considered. In the first, these decisions result from a strategy fixed a priori. The model can then be easily studied. The second is concerned with the simplified case of a single neighborhood and supposes that the housing price and quality are dependent on maintenance expenditures viewed as a function of the number of individuals living in the neighborhood. It is then shown how different processes of residential change can be generated by purely economic factors.     

A simultaneous model of workplace and residential location incorporating job search

The paper develops a model of spatial job search to provide a theory of workplace location with respect to a predetermined place of residence which, the paper argues, is needed to complement the theory of residential location from a predetermined workplace. By concentrating on the role of the skill level of the job seeker, the model distinguishes predictions of the workplace location based on search from those based on commuting considerations. Household survey data from Greater London is analyzed to support the propositions of the search model in the determination of the relationship between the workplace and the household location.     

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), tenure choice,and residential land use

This paper extends the standard, urban, residential land-use model to analyze the effects of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance. On the demand side, households are differentiated by income and tenure; on the supply side, the cost of housing is related to the asset prices of land and structure and the cost of capital. Hypothesizing that capital cost is a function of household tenure and income, tenure is chosen to minimize this cost. The effect of FHA, then, is to expand the housing consumption of moderate-middle income households, by reducing their capital cost, while displacing those whose cost is not reduced.     

Implications of alternate policies on welfare of slum dwellers: Evidence from Pune,India

In this paper we examine how slum dwellers value location-based amenities. In most developing country cities, residents living in slums have poor-quality dwellings and limited access to basic public services and amenities. Using data from Pune, India, we estimate the residential location choices of slum dwellers, which are conditional on housing quality, neighborhood amenities, and community structure. We use these estimates to simulate the impact of alternate interventions on household welfare. We find that households derive benefits from housing quality and neighborhood amenities. While relocating households to the periphery has adverse consequences for household welfare, we show that households could be adequately compensated out of the increased tax revenue accruing from alternative uses of the vacated central land.     

Intrametropolitan migration: A simultaneous model of employment and residential location of white and black households

This study explores the relationship between the home and job location of the household within a metropolitan area. The model is an extension of the Alonso-Muth framework and allows the household to simultaneously choose its residential and employment location, monthly rent, number of rooms and the type of structure of the dwelling unit, so as to maximize its utility subject to the budget constraint.The data base is the Home Interview Survey conducted in 1965 by the (San Francisco) Bay Area Transportation Study Commission. The coefficients in the simultaneous model are estimated by two-stage least squares. The cross-section sample is stratified by tenure into renters and homeowners; by race into black and white households; and further by position in the life-cycle.The results of the location equations reveal that both the home and job location are responsive to each other which implies that the decentralization of jobs will result in the decentralization of residences for black households. The results of the housing equations imply that black and white households have almost identical elasticity of demand for housing. There is very slight evidence of price discrimination against black households. However, there is evidence that black households do face a geographical segregated market for rental housing.The results of this study argue that the decentralization of population is not due solely to rising incomes and will continue as long as industry decentralizes. Furthermore, governmental policies of increasing the income of central city residents, through subsidies to employers to locate in the central city will have a strong effect: inducing those residents to remain in or move into the central city. Thus, a policy that is meant to alleviate the plight of the city center may only result in strengthening the racial and income split between the suburb and the central city inhabitants.     

The social cost of through traffic: Contribution to the suburban-central city exploitation thesis

This paper deals with the conflict between local and through traffic when allocating land for transportation at the expense of residential consumption. The model developed in this paper gives the optimal allocation of land between both uses, via Pontryagin's Maximum Principle, and shows the impact of through traffic on the urban structure, on local transportation costs and on the cost of housing supply. The cost functionals are used to measure the total burden to the inner city and a connection is made to the ongoing discussion of the ‘exploitation’ thesis.     

The new urban landscape: Developers and edge cities

In this paper we model the decisions of an edge city developer who chooses business district capacity and location strategically to maximize profits. The developer competes against a core city with historically given downtown capacity for employment and, implicitly, residential population. Moving nearer the core city enhances production efficiency by increasing the efficiency of the exchange of information between businesses in the core and edge city. On the other hand, it increases typical residential rents and commuting costs (and hence wages demanded by employees) and weakens the developer's local monopsony power. The developer's choice of location and capacity play out in a complex but fascinating fashion, depending on the historical capacity of the downtown.