A Spatial Dissimilarity-based Index of the Jobs-Housing Balance: Conceptual Framework and Empirical Tests

Current measures of the jobs-housing balance such as jobs-housing ratios and theoretical minimum commutes are conceptually limiting. They fail to capture either multi-dimensional opportunities for possible spatial interaction or differential accessibilities to employment within a realistic commuting framework. A more comprehensive view of spatiality in the jobs-housing balance may be achieved by considering measures of spatial separation, such as those used to study segregation patterns. The purpose of this research is to show how segregation measures may be used to analyse residential-workplace separation. A new index is designed that incorporates spatial interaction concepts from location-based accessibility models. Mathematical properties of the new index are demonstrated along with an analysis that measures the jobs-housing balance. Development of this conceptual and analytical framework bridges previously unblended literatures in segregation indices and the jobs-housing balance.