In part, it's called "spatial mismatch theory". Essentially, poor people tend to not live near areas with high possibilities of employment (and even when they d

In part, it's called "spatial mismatch theory". Essentially, poor people tend to not live near areas with high possibilities of employment (and even when they do, as in inner-city/urban environments, either racism, or simply lack of skills for the knowledge worker positions in the downtown area, tend to leave these workers unemployed/under-employed). With the increase of the suburbanization of poverty (in which suburbs also tend to have less access to jobs), the problems of access to transportation play an even larger role. Geographers and sociologists have been studying this issue for a well over 50 years. It's simply now that people are paying a bit more attention, but it's certainly not a new problem.