Access to Employment for Adults in Poverty in the Buffalo-Niagara Region

This study extends the spatial mismatch literature by examining access to employment for the low-income population in Erie and Niagara Counties in western New York State. The analysis uses geographical information systems (GIS) to map residence and employment locations and calculate measures of employment and transport access. Throughout the two-county region, two-thirds of adults in poverty live within close proximity to a reasonable number of low-wage jobs. The ratio of the number of jobs accessible within a 30-minute commute by automobile versus public transit varies only slightly across neighbourhoods with high poverty rates. The close proximity of the suburbs to the central city and the network of grid and radial streets connecting the two places make suburban job access reasonable. Thus, despite higher numbers of low-wage jobs in the suburbs, job access in the city is superior to job access in the suburbs due to higher densities of employment opportunities and the existence of developed transport networks. While poverty is highly centralised in the cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls, the analysis suggests that, based on the spatial distribution of low-wage employment and concentrations of poverty, central-city locations have significant advantages in terms of proximity to jobs. However, Black/African American adults in poverty have poorer access to automobiles than Whites, and, as a result, they may be able to search for jobs only within a smaller area. This study recommends enhancements to public transit in places with large concentrations of low-wage jobs and increased access to reliable automobiles in places with small concentrations of low-wage jobs. Above all, unemployment rates in low-income neighbourhoods suggest a need to enhance programmes to improve job readiness, placement and support services.