INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, WORK PATTERNS AND INTRA-METROPOLITAN LOCATION- A CASE-STUDY

Continued advances in information and communications technology are fu ndamentally changing the structure of the workplace and the organisati on of work. Temporary work and self-employment are increasing, while j ob tenure is declining. This paper examines how these changes may affe ct both commuting patterns and metropolitan form. The growing number o f workers who do not have a long-term attachment to a specific employe r are termed 'contingent workers'. Using 1990 Public Use Micro Sample data for the Los Angeles region, the paper compares the commuting and location patterns of contingent and non-contingent workers. Results ar e quite mixed: residential location patterns do not differ significant ly across worker categories, but commute length varies by category, wi th the self-employed having the shortest commutes.