Urban Polycentrism and Car Use

1. Urban Polycentrism and Car Use Anne Aguiléra LVMT aguilera@inrets.fr

2. Key questions • Does the development of employment subcenters lead to better proximity between place of residence and place of work (reduction of commuting distance)? • What is the consequence of urban polycentrism on car use?

3. Methodology • Analysis of the Paris urban area (1990 and 1999 Census of the Population) • Identification of employment subcenters and evolution (1990-1999) • Analysis of the growth of commuting distances • Consequences on car use

4. The Paris Urban Area (1999) • 11 millions of inhabitants • 5.1 millions of jobs • 1583 municipalities • We consider only workers living and working in the urban area (4.9 millions)

5. Urban Sprawl (1990-1999)

6. The identification of urban subcenters • Attractivity: municipality that attract 85% of the commuters • Maximisation of internal commutes: group of municipalities (subcenters)

7. Subcenters in the Paris urban area (1999)

8. The subcenters in 1999 • 25 subcenters • 13% of the municipalities • 55% of the jobs (83% of the jobs located outside the city center)

9. The subcenters in 1990 and in 1999 • No new subcenter • Some subcenters have sprawled (new municipalities) along the motorways • Decrease in the total number of workers (-3%) • Increase in the total number of jobs (+4%) • Growing jobs-housing imbalance

10. Type of commute and associated distance (1999)

11. Type of commute and car use

12. The main evolution (1990-1999) • Decrease of intra-subcenter commutes (-7.6%) • Increase of inter-subcenter commutes • Decrease of commutes to the center but increase of commutes from the center (to the suburban subcenters) • Increase of commutes from and to the rest of the urban area

13. The increase of commuting distance (1990-1999)