The 3rd ISPRS Workshop on Dynamic and Multi-Dimensional GIS & the 10th Annual Conference of CPGIS on Geoinformatics

Chen, Jun

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Persistent identifier:: 856566209

Author:: Chen, Jun

Title:: The 3rd ISPRS Workshop on Dynamic and Multi-Dimensional GIS & the 10th Annual Conference of CPGIS on Geoinformatics

Sub title:: May 23 - 25, 2001, Bangkok, Thailand

Scope:: VI, 434 Seiten

Year of publication:: 2001

Place of publication:: Pathumthani, Thailand

Publisher of the original:: AIT

Identifier (digital):: 856566209

Illustration:: Illustrationen, Diagramme, Karten

Language:: English

Usage licence:: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Publisher of the digital copy:: Technische Informationsbibliothek Hannover

Place of publication of the digital copy:: Hannover

Year of publication of the original:: 2016

Document type:: Monograph

Collection:: Earth sciences

Chapter

Title:: PROXIMITY AND ACCESSIBILITY TO SUITABLE JOBS AMONG WORKERS OF VARIOUS WAGE GROUPS. Fahui WANG

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

ISPRS, Vol.34, Part 2W2, “Dynamic and Multi-Dimensional GIS”, Bangkok, May 23-25, 2001 PROXIMITY AND ACCESSIBILITY TO SUITABLE JOBS AMONG WORKERS OF VARIOUS WAGE GROUPS Fahui WANG Department of Geography, Northern Illinois University DeKalb, IL 60115-2854, U.S.A. Fax: 815-753-6842, E-mail: wang@geog.niu.edu Keywords: job proximity, job accessibility, GIS, suitable jobs. Abstract This research proposes two indexes, job proximity and accessibility, to measure resident workers’ locational advantage with respect to their suitable job markets. Job proximity is designed to capture the spatial separation between residents and jobs. Job accessibility measures one’s ability to overcome such separation that may be affected by transportation means, road network, congestion, and intensity of competition for jobs among workers. The research suggests that in Cleveland in 1990 the mean wage rate of $30,000 is a critical turning point: below this level, the higher the mean wage rate in a residential area, the farther the area is away from the jobs; above the level, the trend is reversed. In other words, below a wage threshold, workers tend to trade better and more spacious housing (usually farther away from jobs) for more commuting; but above the threshold, workers retreat for saving in commuting (pertaining to their high opportunity cost of commuting). Although low-wage workers enjoy better job proximity, many of them (particularly some inner-city residents) have the worst job accessibility because of their limited mobility. Job proximity declines with distance from the CBD and conforms to the monocentric model, so does job accessibility but to a less degree. Since workers with various wages respond differently to job access, the distribution of mean wage rates in the metropolitan area is hardly monocentric. INTRODUCTION Many urban policy researchers recognize the profound impacts of lack of employment opportunities in some areas in a city ranging from social disorders (Wilson, 1996) to criminal behavior (Freeman, 1996; Wang and Minor, 2000), but disagree on its causes. Some attribute to, at least partially, the spatial separation between residence and employment such as employment decentralization and residential segregation (Kain, 1968; Ihlanfeldt and Sjoquist, 1990; Immergluck, 1998). Others suggest that it is caused by socioeconomic factors including vehicle ownership (Taylor and Ong, 1995) and racial discrimination (Ellwood, 1986). Whether it is a spatial or nonspatial problem leads to different policy remedies. This research uses two indexes, job proximity and job accessibility, to distinguish clearly spatial factors from other factors. Job proximity is designed to capture the spatial separation between residents and jobs. Job accessibility measures one’s ability to overcome such a separation that may be affected by transportation means, routes, congestion, and intensity of competition for jobs among workers. The research compares the two measures among resident workers of various wage groups in attempt to reveal who have the true advantage with respect to job access. Although the purpose of this paper is not to explain commute patterns or residential search behavior, findings from the research shed light on such issues. The development of job proximity index follows Wang (2000) with one important improvement. Wang (2000) does not consider the segmented labor markets, and assumes all jobs are equally feasible for resident workers regardless occupations or wage rates. This research considers only those jobs within the same wage group of resident workers as their suitable jobs. The job accessibility index is based on Shen (1998) with one remedy—accounting for the congestion effect in areas with higher-density jobs or residents. Shen (1998) limits his analysis of job accessibility to low-wage workers in the inner city. This research evaluates job proximity and accessibility among workers of all wage groups at all locations in a metropolitan area. By doing so, the research is interested in the comparison among workers of various wage groups and their possible different responses to job access in terms of residential choice and commute behavior. While many socioeconomic characteristics may play a role affecting workers’ job access (Shen, 2000; Wang, 2001), the research focuses on the wage rates. There are several 290 reasons for this strategy. First, the classic urban economic theory considers income (wage as a surrogate) as the most important factor in determining the residential location. In order to test the theory, this research analyzes how workers in various wage groups desire and respond to job access. Second, wage serves as an indicator to segment the job markets and identify suitable jobs for workers (Immergluck, 1998; Shen, 1998). Such information (jobs by wage rates) is available the Census for Transportation Planning Package (CTPP) data used for this research. Third, wage is perhaps the most important determinant for vehicle ownership and thus affects job accessibility. After a brief discussion of data sources and the study area, the paper explains the measures of job proximity and accessibility in separate sections. Then findings are summarized using the two measures across all locations in the study area. The paper is concluded with a summary and discussion of policy implications. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY AREA This research uses the 1990 Census for Transportation Planning Package (CTPP) Urban Element provided by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (1996). The Urban Element of CTPP is aggregated at the level of Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) in Cleveland, Ohio. The CTPP is composed of three parts. Part 1 is similar to traditional census data by area of residence, and has information such as number of resident workers and breakdowns to various wage groups, mean wage rate, mean commute time, and household vehicle availability. Part 2 is by area of work (unique among all census products), and has number of jobs and breakdowns to wage groups. Part 3 provides very detailed journey-to-work information, such as number of commuters from a TAZ to another TAZ by a specific mode (e.g., drive-alone, car-pool, public bus) and average commute time between them. The spatial GIS data of the study area (often referred to as coverage) are from the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (2000) web site, including: (1) the TAZ coverage, (2) the coverage of urbanized areas, and (3) the road network coverage. The study area is Cleveland of Ohio, a site selected by the author for a research project funded by the National Institute of Justice. The 1990 CTPP data in the Cleveland region are compiled by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) and include five counties: Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina (see Figure 1). As the research focuses on the nonagricultural jobs, the job market

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