Understanding Workforce Housing

Background

Promoting social equity in transportation is a key concern in building inclusive cities. Commuting is closely linked to socio-demographic characteristics such as income and job type, while imposing costs on workers’ quality of life in time, money, and energy. These costs, often described as ‘commuting burden,’ are unevenly distributed and can exacerbate inequality by limiting access to employment and other daily activities.

The spatial mismatch hypothesis further highlights how the separation between affordable housing and employment centres contributes to these disparities. Despite extensive research on commuting and inequality, less attention has been given to moderate-income groups, whose role in metropolitan labour markets is growing. This project addressed that gap by examining commuting burdens among full-time renters in Metro Vancouver, focusing on how they vary across income, industry, and commuting mode, and by identifying spatial patterns of employment centres to understand how housing and job location interact to shape workforce accessibility.

Methodology

First, this project conducted a high-level quantitative analysis of commuting data to examine disproportionate commuting burdens among Metro Vancouver workers across different industries.

Second, this project produced a series of static and interactive maps at the census tract level to identify key employment centres and commuting patterns.

Third, it analyzed employment hotspots to identify worker characteristics associated with disproportionate commuting burdens.

Results

This project has resulted in a capstone study on commuting burden regarding demographic characteristics in Metro Vancouver. It found that disproportionate commuting burdens in Metro Vancouver are concentrated among full-time renters with commute times of 45 minutes or more, particularly within moderate-income groups and among workers who rely on public transit or drive alone. Spatial analysis identified key employment centres where jobs are concentrated in education, health care, manufacturing, and retail sectors. The results also showed variation in commuting modes across income groups and highlight a spatial mismatch between affordable housing and employment locations, supporting the need for workforce housing strategies and better alignment between housing supply and job centres.