JOBS-HOUSING BALANCE REVISITED - TRENDS AND IMPACTS IN THE SAN-FRANCISCO BAY AREA

Regions in California have recently set jobs-housing balance targets, to relieve traffic congestion and improve air quality. Critics of such targets charge that many Factors prevent people from living near thei r workplaces, and that market forces, left unobstructed, work to produ ce balance-that is, people and firms co-locate to reduce imbalances. T h is article examines changes in the ratios of jobs to employed reside nts in 23 large San Francisco Bay Area cities during the 1980s. Imbala nces were found to have declined generally, mainly because dormitory c ommunities in 1980 had attracted businesses by 1990. However, imbalanc es generally worsened in job-surplus cities, particularly in the Silic on Valley. The research also reveals little association between jobs-h ousing balance and self-containment Several Bay Area cities are nearly perfectly balanced, yet Fewer than a third of their workers reside lo cally, and even smaller shares of residents work locally. Restricted h ousing production, especially in fast-growing cities, has in many inst ances raised housing prices, displacing workers and increasing average commute distances. Eliminating barriers to residential mobility and h ousing production would allow more housing and jobs to co-locate in th e future.