Griffen Angel

GEOG 5000 - Urban GIS

Lab 3

p. 72 Essay

Personally, I do not feel that the telecommuting phenomenon is important enough

to warrant a change of rules on what constitutes an MSA. For one, although I can’t
comment on the number or percentage of jobs that contribute to the telecommuting
portion, I would imagine that the majority of commuters’ jobs are not set up to
incorporate a telecommute option. Only the higher tech jobs and more professional level
ones will be affected by telecommuting. Despite this proviso, the jobs on the opposite end
of this spectrum will likely be filled predominately by those who live in the area itself,
and will not commute. While the rules on what constitutes an MSA probably don’t
require change, how we calculate commuting-specific information may require it. Most
people who do telecommute are required to show up in person at least a few times a
week, and due to this reason will still commute by car – this can potentially compromise
the data collection on commuting rates. This is because you can’t analyze commuting
behavior on a traditional Monday through Friday, 9-5 pattern when these workers will
sometimes be at home during these times.
From examining the database included with the exercise, it was noted that many
people commute to destinations exceedingly far from their home address. I would assume
this indicates these people are telecommuting. (i.e. home – Dallas Co, MO; work
destination – Maricopa County, AZ). It may be potentially useful in determining separate
rules for MSAs regarding major cities. These would be the likely hubs for
industries/corporations who employ workforces that long-distance telecommute, and only
check in to the home office on a rare basis. For example, Chicago or New York would
likely house these offices, and have many more people who long distance commute than
cities like Gastonia, NC or Springfield, MO, which would only have local telecommuters
who actually physically show up to the office on a regular basis.

Springfield, MO MSA
Griffen Angel
GEOG 5000 - Urban GIS
Lab 3

King County

UA Population (Seattle, WA) – 1,689,780 – This does meet the definition of a urbanized
area.
UC Population (North Bend, WA) – 16,666 – This meets the definition of an urban
cluster