Commuting and Land Use Patterns

The assumption in cost minimization behavior is that a close relationship exists between urban structures and commuting patterns. Thus, an investigation of cost minimization could be undertaken by examining the existing relationship between land use and commuting patterns. Such an examination is undertaken by investigating the relationship between urban structures and commuting, using the following two measures: excess commuting and jobs/housing balance. Given the actual land use pattern in 1990, the requisite commuting distance in the Taipei metropolitan region is estimated. The results demonstrate a 79% excess commuting rate, but also indicate that only a minor influence exists on commuting from the job/housing balance in the Taipei metropolitan region, a finding which calls into question cost minimization behavioral assumptions. When comparing these findings to studies undertaken in Los Angeles and Tokyo, within these two regions, the findings indicated differing degrees of excess commuting; the relatively low level of excess commuting found in Tokyo may be attributable to the relatively larger area of the unit zone. This study suggests that when undertaking any examination of excess commuting, both the utility constraint and the non - uniform land price distribution, are crucial areas for consideration, and for further research.