Creative Class

A newly released Brookings report “revisits” an earlier 2001 study of “job sprawl” across 98 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas. The study finds that private sector jobs continued to decentralize in the late 1990s and 2000s.

• About a fifth (21 percent) of workers work within three miles of downtown, while nearly half (45 percent) work more than 10 miles outside the center.
• The larger the metro area, the more likely people are to work more than 10 miles away from downtown.
• 95 of 98 metro areas saw a decrease in the share of jobs located within three miles of downtown.
• The outer-suburbs of these metros saw job growth of 17 percent compared to less than one percent growth in the urban core.
• Job location varies considerably by industry. More than 30 percent of jobs in utilities, finance, and insurance, and educational services industries are located withing three miles of the urban core, while  at least half of the jobs in manufacturing, construction, and retail are located more than 10 miles outside it.
• Overall, 17 of 18 industries studied saw employment decentralization, led by transportation and warehousing, finance and insurance, utilities, and real estate and rental and leasing.

I’m not so sure this stretched out spatial pattern bodes well for long-run U.S. economic prosperity or environmental sustainability. Your thoughts?