Jobs-Housing Balancing and Regional Mobility

TLDR

Suburban job migration over the past decade has pushed many residents to commute farther than ever. The article attributes the widening separation between suburban workplaces and worker residences to zoning, housing costs, and demographic shifts, and proposes policy solutions to reduce mismatches and protect regional mobility. The proposed mechanisms include inclusionary zoning, tax‑base sharing, fair‑sharing housing programs, and incentive‑based initiatives. Case studies of Chicago and San Francisco, along with data from 40+ suburban employment centers, show that high housing costs and shortages displace workers, reduce walking and cycling, and increase freeway congestion.

Abstract

Abstract Despite the steady migration of jobs to the suburbs over the past decade, many suburban residents commute farther than ever. In this article I attribute the widening separation of suburban workplaces and the residences of suburban workers to several factors: fiscal and exclusionary zoning that results in an undersupply of housing; rents and housing costs that price many service workers out of the local residential market; and several demographic trends, including the growth in dual wage-earner households and career shifts. Case studies of metropolitan Chicago and San Francisco confirm the displacing effects of high housing costs and housing shortages. In addition, data from over 40 major suburban employment centers in the United States show that suburban workplaces with severe jobs-housing imbalances tend to have low shares of workers making walking and cycling trips and high levels of congestion on connecting freeways. I argue that inclusionary zoning, tax-base sharing, fair-sharing housing programs, and a number of incentive-base programs could reduce jobs-housing mismatches and go a long way toward safeguarding regional mobility for years to come.