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Preparing for Investments Along the University Corridor
The maps and charts available at the bottom of this page describe the Twin Cities regional economy in a variety of ways. IRP conducted a study of employment growth and commuting patterns as the basis for these maps. Toward the bottom you will also find maps relating to University Corridor commuting, such as percentage of households without a vehicle, and proposed LRT or BRT stations along University Avenue.
Job Center Employment Growth: This map shows the 40 job centers IRP found in the region. The job centers are defined as contiguous Traffic Analysis Zones (or TAZs) with greater than average numbers of jobs per square mile, and at least 1000 jobs in each TAZ. Large job agglomerations like those in the centers of Minneapolis and St. Paul were divided into multiple clusters based on job densities.
The 40 job centers are scattered across the region but are more likely to be in the western and southwestern parts of the region. They range in size from 141,000 jobs (in the Minneapolis central business district) down to 2,300 (Burnsville/Hwy 13) jobs in 2000.
The job clusters can be described not only by their location (inner or outer part of the region), but by their relative growth in jobs during the 1990s. Thus we have:
• declining centers (these are the red places on the map; they are the job centers that had job losses during the decade),
• the slow growth centers (are light blue; with growth between 0 and 20%),
• moderate growth centers (blue centers; growth between 20 and 40%), and
• high growth centers (darkest blue places; with growth more than 40% from 1990 to 2000).
The darkest blue places that are growing the fastest are largely on the periphery of the region. The other area of high job growth was in non-clustered employment, which is not indicated on this map because it is occurring everywhere. (Please see the "Job Center Employment Growth" map for reference.)
Job Growth by Location of Job Center: The overall percentage growth in jobs in the Twin Cities region from 1990-2000 was 22 percent (noted at the bottom of the chart). Yet the only type of job center that saw this level or higher of growth were outer suburban job centers, at 32 percent growth. Every other type of job cluster – every center that was anywhere near the central business district or the heart of the region – had lower than average job growth in the 1990s compared to the outer job centers and the nonclustered jobs. (Please see the "Job Center by Location of Job Center" chart for reference.)
Racial Breakdown by Job Growth Rates: In this chart we’re looking at the percentage of all workers in the region, broken out by race. So for instance, 10% of whites in the region work in declining employment centers. To focus for a moment on the declining and slow growth job centers, 31% of all white workers in the region are employed in declining or slow growth places, while nearly 50% of all black workers are employed in these places. Black workers were less likely than any other group to work in moderate- or high-growth job centers. They are also least likely to work in areas outside of job centers – where jobs are growing most rapidly.
White workers are the most likely to be employed in nonclustered jobs, reflecting the current mix of clustered vs. nonclustered jobs in the region (about half and half). But all other racial groups are overrepresented in the job centers and underrepresented in the nonclustered jobs. Black, Hispanic and other minority workers reflect a mix between clustered and nonclustered employment more representative of 1980, that is, about 60% of workers of color are employed in the job centers and about 40% have jobs in nonclustered places. Clearly workers of color are not accessing the region’s job growth at the same rates as white workers. (Please see the "Racial Breakdown by Job Growth Rates" chart for reference.)
Job Growth and Industry Mix: Job growth in the employment centers was at a pace of about 14% growth from 1990 to 2000. The University Corridor showed a drop in jobs over the same decade, resulting in a loss of 5% of its jobs. The most rapid job growth in the 1990s occurred in the outer suburban job centers and in the unclustered places spread throughout the region. In terms of industry mix, the University Corridor shows higher than average percentages of jobs in the education and health care industries. (Please see the "Job Growth and Industry Mix" chart for reference.)
Number of Jobs: The “number of jobs” map of the region is a less detailed way of looking at employment in the Twin Cities metro than using the employment centers data. The traffic analysis zones vary in size, getting larger where population is smaller, so the number of jobs can look exaggerated in some of the outlying areas. Nonetheless, it is a useful way of looking at the raw numbers of jobs in the region. The percentage change in jobs from 1990-2000 map shows where jobs have increased or decreased during the decade. This map should also be used with caution, since small places with few jobs in 1990 will register a large percentage increase in jobs with even small gains. (Please see the "Number of Jobs" and “Percentage Change in Jobs 1990-2000” maps for reference.)
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