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Extensions to the Concept of Excess Commuting

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  • Mark W Horner

    (Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, 0155A Derby Hall, 154 North Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210-1361, USA; fax: 1614 688 6213)

Abstract

When people commute to work longer or farther than the actual spatial arrangement of homes and workplaces suggest they could be commuting, people are engaging in excess commuting. In the aggregate, excess commuting is the nonoptimal or surplus work travel occurring in cities because people do not minimize their journeys to work. In this paper an alternative view of excess commuting based on a theoretical maximum commute is presented. The calculation of a theoretical maximum commute allows for an analysis of the range between the theoretical minimum and maximum commutes, which marks an improvement over current approaches to the measure of excess commuting. Conceptually, this range is taken to be the commuting capacity of a city. To what extent commuting capacity is consumed in terms of current levels of commuting forms a primary question of the analysis. A model is formulated and applied to 1990 Census data for a sample of US cities. Numerical and visual results suggest variation in the amount of excess commuting and consumed commuting potential for the sample of cities. The results also suggest a relationship between the jobs – housing balance of a city (as captured by its theoretical minimum commute) and its observed commute. Additionally, the maximization calculation is shown to provide insight into the degree of decentralized urban form. A conclusion is provided which relates the findings of this research to larger issues of urban sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark W Horner, 2002. "Extensions to the Concept of Excess Commuting," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 34(3), pages 543-566, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:34:y:2002:i:3:p:543-566
    DOI: 10.1068/a34126
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Loo, Becky P.Y. & Chow, Alice S.Y., 2011. "Jobs-housing balance in an era of population decentralization: An analytical framework and a case study," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 552-562.
    2. Mariateresa Ciommi & Francesco M. Chelli & Luca Salvati, 2019. "Integrating parametric and non-parametric multivariate analysis of urban growth and commuting patterns in a European metropolitan area," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(2), pages 957-979, March.
    3. Wang, Donggen & Chai, Yanwei, 2009. "The jobs–housing relationship and commuting in Beijing, China: the legacy of Danwei," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 30-38.
    4. Chow, Alice S.Y., 2016. "Spatial-modal scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions from commuting in Hong Kong," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 205-213.
    5. Hu, Yujie & Wang, Fahui, 2015. "Decomposing excess commuting: a Monte Carlo simulation approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 43-52.
    6. O’Kelly, Morton E. & Niedzielski, Michael A., 2008. "Efficient spatial interaction: attainable reductions in metropolitan average trip length," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 313-323.
    7. Saberi, Meead & Wu, Hongzhi & Amoh-Gyimah, Richard & Smith, Jonathan & Arunachalam, Dharmalingam, 2017. "Measuring housing and transportation affordability: A case study of Melbourne, Australia," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 134-146.
    8. Lara Engelfriet & Eric Koomen, 2018. "The impact of urban form on commuting in large Chinese cities," Transportation, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 1269-1295, September.
    9. Ta, Na & Zhao, Ying & Chai, Yanwei, 2016. "Built environment, peak hours and route choice efficiency: An investigation of commuting efficiency using GPS data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 161-170.
    10. Zhou, Jiangping & Murphy, Enda, 2019. "Day-to-day variation in excess commuting: An exploratory study of Brisbane, Australia," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 223-232.
    11. Jiangping, Zhou & Chun, Zhang & Xiaojian, Chen & Wei, Huang & Peng, Yu, 2014. "Has the legacy of Danwei persisted in transformations? the jobs-housing balance and commuting efficiency in Xi’an," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 64-76.
    12. Kanaroglou, Pavlos S. & Higgins, Christopher D. & Chowdhury, Tufayel A., 2015. "Excess commuting: a critical review and comparative analysis of concepts, indices, and policy implications," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 13-23.
    13. Miller, Harvey J. & Witlox, Frank & Tribby, Calvin P., 2013. "Developing context-sensitive livability indicators for transportation planning: a measurement framework," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 51-64.
    14. Shen, Yue & Kwan, Mei-Po & Chai, Yanwei, 2013. "Investigating commuting flexibility with GPS data and 3D geovisualization: a case study of Beijing, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 1-11.
    15. Thomas, T. & Tutert, S.I.A., 2013. "An empirical model for trip distribution of commuters in The Netherlands: transferability in time and space reconsidered," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 158-165.
    16. Cheng, Lin & Chen, Chen & Xiu, Chunliang, 2017. "Excess kindergarten travel in Changchun, Northeast China: A measure of residence-kindergarten spatial mismatch," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 208-216.
    17. Saadi, Ismaïl & Boussauw, Kobe & Teller, Jacques & Cools, Mario, 2016. "Trends in regional jobs-housing proximity based on the minimum commute: The case of Belgium," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 171-183.
    18. Qin, Ping & Wang, Lanlan, 2019. "Job opportunities, institutions, and the jobs-housing spatial relationship: Case study of Beijing," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 331-339.
    19. Zhou, Jiangping & Murphy, Enda & Long, Ying, 2014. "Commuting efficiency in the Beijing metropolitan area: an exploration combining smartcard and travel survey data," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 175-183.
    20. Shuaishuai Han & Bindong Sun, 2019. "Impact of Population Density on PM 2.5 Concentrations: A Case Study in Shanghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, April.
    21. Schleith, Daniel & Widener, Michael & Kim, Changjoo, 2016. "An examination of the jobs-housing balance of different categories of workers across 26 metropolitan regions," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 145-160.

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