The Planners' War against Spatial Mismatch: Lessons Learned and Ways Forward

Most existing reviews on spatial mismatch have focused on its causes and consequences rather than the successes and failures of planning practices for addressing this problem. This review article contributes to the literature by classifying spatial mismatch mitigation strategies into four groups and evaluating the successes and failures of each strategy group. The evaluation finds that empirical evidence on most strategies is inconsistent and the effectiveness of those strategies remains unclear, yet research examining car ownership programs consistently shows positive effects. The article concludes by recommending planners to expand their support for car ownership programs, test the effectiveness of the more recent, coordinated policy programs, and pay attention to nonspatially related employment barriers such as discrimination, social support, and human capital factors.