Commuting Constraints of Black Female Workers in Atlanta: An Examination of the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis in Married-Couple, Dual-Earner Households

Using 5% Public-Use Microdata Samples (PUMS) for 1990, this paper examines the extent of racial variation in females' commuting times in the Atlanta metropolitan area in the context of the spatial mismatch hypothesis. Much past research has portrayed, based on old industrial cities, racial variation of males' commuting times, but the study of racial variation in female commuting time, especially based on the post-industrial city, remains underexamined. This is one of the very few studies of racial variations in females commuting times based on a post-industrial city. To ensure compatible comparison between Blacks and Whites, the analysis controls all the matched characteristics of these two groups such as: marital status, household types, parental status, occupation status, location of residence and workplaces, and mode of transportation. This study confirms the results of many past studies, that regardless of the comparable socioeconomic status of Blacks and Whites, Black females continue to face significant spatial barriers, especially in the service economy, when commuting within central cities, time that is therefore unavailable for other purposes. Unlike other studies, this research finds, regardless of occupational status, shorter reverse commuting by central city Black females (except for the professional workers). The situation with Blacks living and working in the suburbs differs slightly, with some evidence of an explicit spatial mismatch reflected by their longer commuting times.