Patterns of Location II: Family Characteristics

Abstract

In this chapter the theory of household location is used to predict and explain the patterns of location of households with differing family characteristics, i.e. differences in the number of persons in the household and in the number working. In the first section of the chapter we use the theory to predict the changes in the household’s optimal location within the city caused by changes in the household’s family characteristics. In the second section these predictions are compared with the results of some empirical studies of intra-urban migration. The third section is mainly concerned with the comparative length of the journey to work of males and females in the British conurbations. The results of several empirical studies of the patterns of location of households with different family characteristics are discussed in the fourth section. In a final section we show that household size varies with distance from the centre.