On the Road Again: Using JMP Workflow to Identify U.S. Commuting Zones (2026-US-30MP-2876)

Commuting zones were introduced in the 1990s as a geographic unit to help explain economic ties. They are not tied to population size (like metropolitan areas), so they can be defined for the entire country. Since their inception, the methodology used in their construction has remained unchanged.

In this talk, I share my attempts to explore an alternative approach that uses more recent network clustering algorithms. I demonstrate how the JMP workflow proved to be a vital instrument in streamlining the construction process, including data collection, extraction, data table manipulation, and even exporting to R for clustering and shapefile creation. I also give some insight into some of the considerations needed for clustering on networks.

Commuter_Zone_Files contains the commuter zone data table (us_commuter_zones.jmp) and necessary JMP tables for mapping the zones and regions (Commuter_Zones_and_Regions_JMP_Shapefiles.zip). Make sure to update the Map Role property for the Commuter Zone and Commuter Region columns to point to the correct location for the map files.