Life Cycle and Environmental Factors in Selecting Residential and Job Locations

Abstract

Home and workplace location choices are closely related. The determinants of these choices operate differently based on an individual's life cycle, particularly with regard to the presence or absence of children. Individuals with children often place value on greenspace and recreational opportunities, while those without children often prefer smaller residential lots and locations with access to services. Existing studies have found that if residential location desires are satisfied, people are less likely to emphasize the importance of job location irrespective of their life stage. Taking a different approach, this study examines home-workplace decisions from a commuting standpoint. Commute durations and personal characteristics are used to analyse individual behavior. The contributions of this work include the finding that environmental characteristics and amenities may explain the connection between commuting behavior and residential location choices. Existing studies have not connected environmental characteristics and commuting behavior. This study also uses various GIS modeling techniques to explore the effects of previously unanalysed variables on residential location decisions.