An integrated analysis of housing and transit affordability in the Chicago metropolitan area

An integrated analysis of housing and transport affordability provides comprehensive insights into the affordability of different locations in a city. By focusing on transit-based workers, who constitute a significant portion of commuters but are understudied in the affordability literature, this study proposes a new, integrated method for estimating housing and transit (H + T) affordability in the Chicago Metropolitan Area using census data and data from the Google Maps Directions API. Methodologically, the study contributes to the literature by proposing and implementing a new method that estimates H + T affordability in an integrated manner based on census data and data from the Google Maps Directions API across three types of housing occupants (i.e., owners with/without a mortgage and renters). Empirically, the results indicate varying H + T affordability distribution patterns among different types of housing occupants and provide a comprehensive picture of housing and transport affordability in the study area without incurring prohibitive time and cost of data collection. The study indicates that policy-makers should consider expanding the existing concessionary fare scheme to include low-income residents and establishing affordable housing programmes that subsidise not only mortgage/rent but also miscellaneous costs related to housing (such as utilities) in order to improve the overall H + T affordability for different types of housing occupants.