The Impact of Remote Working on Job and Housing Location in the Bay Area - Central Valley Region: An Analysis of the Relationship Between Traffic, Telecommuting, and Migration During and After COVID-19

Details

• Creators:
  Wang, Bonnie ; Rodnyansky, Seva ; Randazzo, Marley ; Boarnet, Marlon G. ; Comandon, Andre
• Corporate Creators:
  Occidental College ; METRANS Transportation Center (Calif.) ; University of Southern California
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; Pacific Southwest Region 9 UTC, University of Southern California ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  City Planning Commuters COVID-19 Datasets Demographics Housing Migration Telecommuting Traffic Travel Behavior Travel Surveys Urban Transportation Work Trips

  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  PSR-22-08 TO 064
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States ; California
• Edition:
  Final report (August 1, 2023 - July 31, 2024)
• Corporate Publisher:
  Pacific Southwest Region 9 UTC, University of Southern California
• Abstract:
  The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed commuting patterns and residential choices, with remote working becoming a widespread norm. This study examines the impact of increased remote work on job and housing locations in the Bay Area and Central Valley regions. Our research aims to understand how work-from-home (WFH) affects traffic volumes, migration, and workplace dynamics. Our analysis addressed which industries experienced the most significant traffic volume changes during COVID-19, the lasting impact of work-from-home on traffic at workplaces, and the likelihood of remote workers moving farther from job centers. We used four datasets: Street Light for traffic data, LEHD LODES Workplace Area Characteristics (WAC) for job-related data, the American Community Survey (ACS) for demographic information, and USPS Change of Address (COA) for migration patterns. The study includes 487 zip code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) in the Bay Area and Central Valley region. Our methodology includes destination (workplace) analysis, origin (residential) analysis, origin-destination (O-D) flow analysis, and regression analysis. Our findings indicated notable decreases in traffic volume across all regions, with the Bay Area experiencing the largest drop. We found that increased WFH rates are associated with decreased traffic recovery at job centers, while migration patterns suggest a shift to more remote living arrangements. However, workplace industry characteristics are more influential on traffic volumes than worker demographics and remote working status. These insights could provide implications for urban planning, housing policies, and transportation strategies in the post-pandemic era.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  65A0674 TO 064 ; 69A3551747109
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8bfd1c8a0fbe0870e26ae8c20d1540f6d9629688dd1b478cf2b5a01db0df8c0aa73baa3ddd454df2d8d056f78832737f61bcbf4aaba5cfba87f33821149f4a62
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/92670/dot_92670_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.74 MB ]