The social aspect of residential location choice: on the trade-off between proximity to social contacts and commuting

Abstract

Commuting has been found to be one of the least enjoyable activities. As it is a consequence of the choice of home and work location, the question arises as to how its disutility is compensated. Urban location theory suggests a compensation in the housing or the labor market. While this provides part of the explanation, individuals' personal networks may provide additional insights. Data from a social network survey were used to investigate proximity to social contacts as a factor in residential location choice. The results indicated that proximity to social contacts was an important factor and that it was traded off against commute time. The notion that the disutility of commuting is not compensated for may be a consequence of ignoring the effect of personal networks. The results contribute to the understanding of residential location choice and have implications for urban planning and policies that seek to reduce commuting.