A Spatial Analysis of Housing and Transportation Affordability in Los Angeles County

Increases in fuel prices, combined with the deep downturn in the economy, have raised concerns about the burdens of transportation costs on low-income families. The project proposes to investigate this issue, focusing specifically on neighborhood variation in the percentage of household incomes spent on housing and transportation. The project hypothesizes that the phrase "drive 'til you qualify" (for a mortgage) has some truth; poor and moderate- income households living in suburban areas--particularly inner-ring suburbs--will pay less for housing, but more for transportation than households living in wealthy suburban neighborhoods or in central-city neighborhoods well served by public transit. The project will test this hypothesis using individual data on vehicle miles traveled, vehicle type and fuel efficiency, and housing costs. Specifically, the proposed project will combine property-level housing data, vehicle-specific fuel use information, and block-group demographic data for households in Los Angeles County. The project will first examine spatial variation in housing-transport costs relative to income. The project then will analyze how neighborhood affordability has evolved since 2000, a period in which gas prices rose significantly. Finally, the project will assess whether there is a relationship between neighborhood income levels and changes in vehicle miles traveled and the fuel economy of neighborhood vehicles.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $30014.00
• Contract Numbers:

  7870

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Department of Transportation

  Office of the Secretary
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Performing Organizations:

  University of California, Los Angeles

  Los Angeles, CA  United States 
• Principal Investigators:

  Blumenberg, Evelyn

• Start Date: 20120801
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• Source Data: RiP Project 33505

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Demographics; Fuel consumption; Housing; Low income groups; Transportation; Vehicle miles of travel
• Geographic Terms: Los Angeles County (California)
• Subject Areas: Society; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01471028
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: University of California Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: 7870
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Jan 31 2013 1:01AM