University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

Although a large body of literature has examined the rise in suburban poverty, relatively little is known about the causes and consequences associated with growing suburban economic distress. For example, it is possible that both push and pull factors have encouraged a spatial redistribution of poverty, with poorer households leaving urban communities and settling in suburban neighborhoods. However, downward economic mobility may also be a component of this shift, with incumbent suburban residents experiencing increasing financial vulnerability in recent years. Regardless of these potential causes, low-income suburban households face unique challenges, particularly with regard to transportation. The car-centric nature of many suburban areas means that low-income suburbanites must negotiate the challenges of automobile ownership — and its attendant costs — to a far greater extent than their urban counterparts