Daily commuting, social inequality, and residential segregation en four Latin American metropolitan areas

Abstract

For the first time in history, the 2000 round of censuses in Brazil, Mexico and Chile asked citizens a question about the location of their places of work or study. Analysis of census data produced new results on how daily commutes in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Santiago and Mexico City vary across socioeconomic groups. In Santiago and Mexico City, where the census question better captures daily commutes, there is an interesting paradox regarding individuals economic status and their geographic location because the likelihood that one's workplace is located in a different municipality from their residence increases as their socioeconomic status rises. However, the poorest municipalities tend to have higher indices of daily commuting This is due to the concentration of employment in the Central Business Districts and wealthy areas, which are usually located far from the poorest municipalities, especially in highly segregated cities. This finding challenges the hypothesis that the Latin American cities of the future will be polycentric.

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