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The concept of sustainability has grown to include concerns about social equity, as well as economic and environmental issues. Under this framework, this study investigated commuting through a jobs–housing balance and excess commuting approach. Excess commuting has been widely researched for more than 30 years. However, a set of data from the Bureau of the Census offers new opportunities, as the set is highly spatially disaggregated and available annually for the years 2002 to 2011. Taking Leon County, Florida, as a case study, this research analyzed local jobs–housing balance measures to determine whether commuters with different incomes experienced divergent outcomes during the recent U.S. recession (2006 to 2011). Regional job clusters were identified, and levels of commuting into these areas were compared with broader averages. Last, a relative commuting burden metric was introduced to contextualize monetarily what these commuting patterns mean for different income groups. The results showed that commuting distances have increased over time and have increased the most for low-income workers.
Schleith et al. (Wed,) studied this question.