Ripples and undulations in the perceived supply–demand mismatch surfaces of London’s job market

In all cities there is a potential for a mismatch to occur between the demand for and supply of jobs. This mismatch is reflective of the balance struck between jobs and housing. This mismatch is non-uniformly perceived by different occupations. The present paper introduces a method to simulate and represent the mismatch surfaces in the perceptions of different social groups that can be compared through visualization using a standard balanced plane. The three-dimensional visualization of the results of the London metropolitan area demonstrates that the commuting advantages – higher levels of commuting affordability through various transport systems, and the configuration of the land-use system – lead to larger ‘flooded areas’ under the balanced plane ($S_i^m$ = 0) and a more scattered pattern of the job centres from the central city to suburban areas for people in higher managerial occupations. Evaluation of these surfaces further show the east–south and north–south divisions perceived by occupations.