Spatial variation of self-containment and jobs-housing balance in Shenzhen using cellphone big data

Self-containment of employment and jobs-housing balance have been used to examine commuting patterns from different perspectives. Appropriate jobs-housing ratio may achieve high self-containment. However, self-containment may be affected by other factors. In this study, the spatial variation of self-containment of employment and jobs-housing balance is examined with job types, location, and housing prices using the cellphone data in Shenzhen, China. Jobs-housing balance is found to be more important in self-containment of employment for secondary-sector workers compared with that for tertiary-sector workers. Secondary-sector workers tend to reside near their workplaces because of relatively balanced jobs and housing, whereas tertiary-sector workers tend to reside farther away from their workplaces to save housing cost. The study enhances our understanding of self-containment of employment and jobs-housing balance which is primarily based on Western cities.