ABSTRACT
The preceding chapter examines the restructuring and redistribution of retail establishments in urban America and the subsequent impacts on minority access to chain stores and quality merchandise. The hypothesis proposes that the suburbanization of jobs and the resiliency of racial residential segregation have led to a spatial mismatch whereby inner–city residents, primarily racial/ethnic minorities, face difficulties in reaching the growing employment opportunities in suburban centers. There are four major types of journey–to–work flows characterize contemporary US urban commuting patterns. The suburb–to–suburb flow, suburb–to–city flow, city–to–city flow, and reverse commuting. The studies on differential housing and employment highlight the importance of place-specific analysis in documenting a spatial mismatch of minorities and jobs, but they do not utilize any direct measure of locational access to employment such as commuting length. Blacks and other minorities face transportation inequalities that reflect their lower socioeconomic status. The Wayne County maps are clear in showing the correspondence between Areas of Minority Concentration and restricted mobility.
