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Title: Urban Structure, Residential Choice, and Proximity to Work for Low-Income Residents
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2018
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Abstract: Dallas County's lowest-income residentsthose making $15,000 or less annuallycommute roughly 1.5 times farther to work than any other income group. Even when compared to 25 of the most populous U.S. counties, no other county replicates Dallas County's pattern of commuting disadvantage for its lowest-income residents. What actions can Dallas County take to reduce the commuting burden of its lowest-income residents? Through a comparative study of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, commuting patterns, and housing policies in Dallas County and Washington, DC, this paper offers five key takeaways: 1. Cities with job opportunities concentrated in the central business district (CBD) offer shorter commutes for everyone, regardless of their income. 2. However, the evidence indicates that low-wage jobs are more spatially dispersed throughout urban areas than higher-wage jobs. The relative spatial dispersion of low-wage jobs increases commuting distances of low-income workers because outward or circumferential commutes-commutes away from the CBD-are typically longer commutes. The sprawl of low-wage job opportunities explains at least some of the added commuting burden of low-income residents. 3. For Dallas County's low-income workers, increased urban density is the only factor strongly associated with a shorter commute to work. This is likely because urban sub-centers are rich in relevant job opportunities. 4. Rental housing is not inherently far from low-wage job opportunities. Clusters of rental units frequently overlap with clusters of jobs. However, when rental units are ltered out by cost to include only units affordable to low-income residents, the overlap with job opportunities disappears. 5. It follows that facilitating the moves of low-income workers to more expensive urban sub-centers by ensuring that at least some units in dense new developments are affordable can effectively reduce the commuting burden of Dallas County's lowest-income residents. A current proposal in the City of Dallas called Voluntary Inclusionary Zoning (VIZ) will do just this. VIZ allows multifamily developers to build at higher densities, provided that a certain percentage of units are below market-rate. This paper highlights just one way in which VIZ can improve the lives of Dallas County's lowest-income residents.
Url: http://addisonlarson.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/final-paper.pdf
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Authors: Larson, Addison
Publisher: The University of Texas at Dallas
Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS NHGIS
Topics: Housing and Segregation, Land Use/Urban Organization, Methodology and Data Collection
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