Overcoming Spatial Mismatch: The Opportunities and Limits of Transit Mode in Addressing the Black–White Unemployment Gap

Abstract

Spatial inequality is a central characteristic of U.S. metropolitan areas. Overcoming related employment disadvantages requires a broad set of responses: relocation, economic development, or an increase in mobility. Given the difficulty of widespread relocation or urban rebuilding programs, increasing mobility through transportation options may be a core solution in the short term. This article explains the racial gap in unemployment under spatial mismatch in the largest metropolitan areas by examining racial gaps in automobile access and public transit use. Research questions focus on which transit options are important to negotiate spatial mismatch and whether there are racial differences in the transit effect. Presented are descriptive and multivariate analyses using 2000 data from the U.S. Census, the Economic Census, and the Zip Code Business Pattern files. Findings show that comparatively, automobile access dominates the public transit effect on Black and White male unemployment in the 100 largest MSAs. First–difference analyses show that Black/White gaps in automobile access correlate with greater racial unemployment disparities, while racial gaps in public transit access seem to be associated with lower racial disparities in unemployment.