How is the region doing in providing equitable access to jobs and services?
One way to measure this is to look at how many jobs are within a reasonable commuting distance.
PSRC recently investigated this data and found that, overall, Asian and Black or African American households had better access to jobs and services than white, Hispanic or Latinx populations.
But it’s a complicated story. Even when the numbers show good transportation access to opportunities, not everybody benefits equally. Owning a car can be expensive and transit service is limited in some parts of the region.
Higher numbers in the chart above indicate that someone has more job opportunities in those sectors, as well as access to the services of those locations. For instance, if you live within an accessible commute of many medical jobs, you might also have access to a range of healthcare services.
On average, Asian and Black or African American residents have greater access to all job sectors by car.
While these two populations live throughout the region, many reside closer to the major job centers in downtown Seattle and Bellevue than Hispanic or Latinx or white residents. In part, this is the result of racist policies such as restrictive covenants that limited where Asian and Black or African American residents could live, funneling them into the urban core.
Racial disparities and structural racism can limit access to other opportunities, even for people living near jobs and services. For example, although you may live within an accessible commute of many healthcare facilities, if you’re a person of color, you’re less likely to have the educational background to work there or the health insurance to receive treatment.
Having access to jobs isn’t helpful if you can’t afford a car
Owning and maintaining a vehicle can be expensive, and there may be parking costs, too.
Poverty rates are higher for people of color, as noted in our 2021 Demographic Profile. Households struggling with poverty may not be able to afford a vehicle to take advantage of nearby jobs and opportunities.
Asian and Black or African American households are more likely to be carless than other groups.
Transit helps, but not for everyone
Transit trends are fairly similar to driving trends, with Asian and Black or African American residents enjoying higher access to a variety of opportunities overall.
However, while Hispanic or Latinx residents have relatively high average access to jobs by car, they tend to have much lower access to jobs by transit. One reason might be that there are large Hispanic or Latinx populations in less urban parts of the region that have large employers such as ports and manufacturers. Drive times there are faster, but they have fewer transit options.
It’s encouraging to see that transit provides equitable access to our region’s opportunities, but it’s also important to ensure current populations can remain in those areas. Recent work in Displacement Risk Mapping supports efforts like the Regional Housing Strategy and other programs that bolster this goal.
As part of VISION 2050 and the Regional Transportation Plan, we have identified how places like Regional Growth Centers provide improved accessibility for residents through greater transit connectivity and jobs-housing balance. This is particularly important for zero-vehicle households, which are disproportionately low-income residents and people of color.
PSRC is also coordinating with jurisdictions as part of our Regional Economic Strategy and Regional Equity Strategy so more residents can take full advantage of the opportunities in the region.