Household structure and urban opportunities: Evaluating differences in the accessibility to jobs, education and leisure in São Paulo

Abstract

Household structure has been recognized as an important element of residential location choice. The aim of this work is to understand how the spatial configuration resulting from these location choices could cause differentials in terms of urban life and opportunities. To do so, a weighted gravitational accessibility index is applied to the São Paulo Metropolitan Area to investigate the differences among household structures to distinct types of accessibility (jobs, education and leisure). The results point to a high disparity between accessibility levels, especially in the accessibility to jobs. The household size plays an important role, with lower accessibility levels associated with more members in the household. The study shows that the household composition also has impacts on accessibility and that higher deprivation levels affect single-parent households.