The Geography of Need: Spatial Distribution of Barriers to Employment in Metropolitan Detroit

Although several studies examine the barriers to employment that limit the employability of welfare recipients, they have not analyzed how these barriers might be different for res-idents of central cities than for residents in surrounding suburban areas. We consider how the prevalence of barriers to employment varies by race and place in metropolitan Detroit. We find that the prevalence of mental health, substance abuse, and domestic violence bar-riers is higher in suburban areas, and that structural barriers are higher in the central city. The time-limited, work-oriented welfare policies mandated by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) have brought greater attention to the factors that affect work activity among welfare recipients.1 Recent studies have examined the barriers to employment experienced by many welfare recipients as they participate in welfare-to-work programs and work search activity (Goldberg, 2002; Zedlewski & Alderson, 2001). Some human capital barriers to employment, such as having few job skills, little work experience, or low levels of education, have long been recognized a