Occupation and the Journey to Work*

This paper investigates the accuracy of theory and research suggesting that higher-status workers are more likely than other workers to maximize travel distance because of disagree-able features of the area around worksites. Our evidence suggests that higher-status white, male workers have relatively long commuting. distances in old metropolitan areas while this is less true of new metropolitan areas. Journey to work patterns thus seem to explain some of the differences in residential structure between new and old metropolitan areas. Using crude workplace and residence location data of the 1970 U.S. Census, we explore. the relationship between home and workplace for various occupational groups across 62 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs). We show how the relationship of status and the journey to work varies across the metropolitan areas, particularly when areas are distinguished by their age, and we show how features of the urban morphology affect these relationships. The analysis will control for race and sex of workers in investigating the relationship of status to the journey to work