While Center City holds the largest concentration of jobs
in the metro area, 20th century land use and development patterns have
disconnected many lower-income workers from access to employment opportunities.
Center City District released a new report called Getting
to Work: Transit, Density & Opportunity. It highlights how jobs and transit
are intertwined in the Philadelphia market with a focus on how making better
transit connections can help give lower income residents more opportunities.
In the report, Center City District makes the case that
more downtown and local neighborhood jobs would significantly reduce the time
and financial burden of reverse commuting to the suburbs and improve the job
prospects of those living in the city.
"For those low income, inner-city residents who are
piecing together multiple transit rides to reverse commute to the suburbs, a
job in Center City could reduce their commuting time by at least half,"
the report said.
For many Philadelphians, living without a car is a
lifestyle choice made possible by neighborhoods with multiple transportation
options that connect to nearby employment. However, a high rate of residents
are commuting to the suburbs, which is costly and time consuming. A total of 39
percent of Philadelphia residents reverse-commute to surrounding counties where
the most job growth has occurred over the last 25 years and those areas are
highly dependent on cars.
For many others, living without a car is not a choice but
a significant burden, as well as a barrier to accessing suburban employment
opportunities. Fifty percent of households in Philadelphia who earn below the
median income of $37,460 do not have access to a car, according to the report.
Still, the areas of Philadelphia with the highest levels
of poverty also have some of the best transit access to Center City. More than
43 percent of Philadelphia’s population living below the poverty line are
within half of a mile of a subway stop.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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