Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


osu1217472782.pdf (6.91 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Getting To Work: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Metropolitan Area Working Poor Employment Access

Boschmann, Eric
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1217472782

Abstract Details

2008, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Geography.
This dissertation explores the patterns and processes of employment access among the working poor in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. While job accessibility and spatial mismatch has been extensively researched, much of the empirical analysis focuses upon employment barriers among minority populations living in high-poverty inner-city neighborhoods. The ever-changing social and economic structure of U.S. cities warrants the need for more research that looks at employment barriers among the working poor, regardless of race, who increasingly reside outside the central city.This research utilized a two phase mixed method approach. In Phase 1, the patterns of employment access and factors of geographic context are explored through a standard set of spatial analytical techniques, including pattern analysis, accessibility modeling, geocomputation, cluster analysis, spatial regression, and geovisualization, using geographic information systems (GIS) and statistical software. The analysis is based upon spatially aggregated secondary data from the U.S. Census that provides geographically detailed information about workers at place-of-residence, place-of-employment, and the journey-to-work flow. Phase 2 examines the underlying socio-spatial processes that lead to limited employment access among the working poor and how they negotiate the residence-commuting-employment nexus. Primary data was collected through in-depth interviews and participant sketch mapping with 30 individuals. Informants discussed specific aspects of their everyday lives including, residential and employment histories, location decision-making, employment search strategies, and commuting experiences. Several key findings emerged from this research. Poverty and working poor housing and employment patterns are decentralized in the metropolitan area, and patterns of high/low job proximity are highly localized. The relationship of geographic context factors is spatially complex but lacks definitive and suggestive influences. Warehousing and distribution centers offer many higher-paying low-skilled jobs in the Columbus area, and temporary employment agencies play a key role in job search strategies. While the pattern analysis determines that the region has good job access for the working poor population, the local knowledge of individuals reveal how the higher-paying jobs are inaccessible by public transportation. The characteristics of the Columbus metropolitan area are typical of many mid-sized urban regions across the U.S.: the decentralization of urban functions, a polycentric form, population growth and development of low-density suburban areas, post-industrial service sector economic growth, and inadequate and inequitable CBD-oriented radial public transportation systems. Therefore, the findings here provide useful insight for employment access research in similar urban areas. This work extends the conceptualization of spatial mismatch by examining the dislocations of work and residence for working poor persons residing throughout the metropolitan area. As a piece of mixed method research, this work illuminates the utility of both primary and secondary sources, whereby the static and dynamic nature of data can greatly enrich understanding of human urban geographic phenomena. It is argued that conflicting outcomes from separate research phases highlights the multiplicity of realities and represent dual truths that should equally be considered valid and informative to broader knowledge. The broader implication of this work recommends locally specific public policies and urban planning to create more socially sustainable and equitable cities.
Mei-Po Kwan (Committee Chair)
Ed Malecki (Committee Member)
Larry Brown (Committee Member)
191 p.
Geography

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Boschmann, E. (2008). Getting To Work: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Metropolitan Area Working Poor Employment Access [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1217472782

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Boschmann, Eric. Getting To Work: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Metropolitan Area Working Poor Employment Access. 2008. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1217472782.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Boschmann, Eric. "Getting To Work: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Metropolitan Area Working Poor Employment Access." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1217472782

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1217472782
610
© 2008, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.