[Source: Betty Beard, Arizona Republic] — The Phoenix area saw more “job sprawl” — that is more jobs opening up in its suburbs — than any other U.S. metro area over the past decade, says a new report released today from the Brookings Institution. The percentage of jobs located more than 10 miles from downtown Phoenix grew by 8.5 percent between 1998 and 2006. That was a higher percentage of migrating jobs than seen in any of the other 97 metro areas studied. At the same time, the percentage of Valley-wide jobs within 3 miles of downtown Phoenix fell by 7 percent.
Although the migration is good for suburban residents and for the coffers of outlying cities, the Brookings Institution says job sprawl has some disadvantages. “It can boost energy consumption, add to the costs of building infrastructure for businesses that locate far from the urban core, increase commuting times, reduce innovation by lessening opportunities for firms to interact and exchange ideas, and isolate low-income and minority workers in the urban core from employment opportunities in outlying areas,” the report said.
In 95 of the 98 metro areas studied, jobs migrated out. Today, only 21 percent of employees work within 3 miles of urban cores, and 45 percent work more than 10 miles away. But Phoenix was relatively centralized compared with most, because 25.8 percent of all jobs were within 3 miles of downtown Phoenix. [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
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