A multi-objective approach to improving regional jobs-housing balance

Congestion is one of the most significant problems facing urban regions. It is well recognized that congestion is largely a by-product of the work commute, suggesting spatial imbalances in the locations of jobs relative to the location of housing. While jobs-housing imbalances persist in most urban areas, research indicates that associated commuting (and congestion) tends to be more than it need be. Addressing these issues, we extend the classic transportation problem to deal with regional jobs-housing imbalances. Application results are presented using journey-to-work data for the Atlanta metropolitan region. Several scenarios are evaluated, demonstrating the inherent flexibility of this modelling approach in addressing the long-term management of congestion. Our results show that policies affecting the distribution of workers are more likely to decrease commuting, as opposed to policies aimed at altering the distribution of jobs. The model may be used as a strategic tool to guide land use decisions aimed at addressing jobs-housing balance, which may ultimately ameliorate the effects of congestion, emissions and related externalities.