What does this indicator measure?

This indicator measures the share of jobs within 3 miles, 3-10 miles, and more than 10 miles from the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA’s) downtown/central city(ies).  This indicator was collected in 2006 and is provided for the Syracuse, Albany, Buffalo, and Rochester MSA’s, as well as the aggregate of the 98 Largest Metro Areas.

Sprawling metros consume large amounts of land, force auto-dependence, and reduce job accessibility, while centralized metros with dense employment centers encourage the efficient use of land, support vibrant neighborhoods, and enable the development of alternative modes of transportation.–explanation courtesy of the Brookings Institute

According to the report this information was compiled from (which is available on the Brookings website) the Syracuse MSA was one of the most centralized MSA’s in the country.  Centralized referring to the share of jobs within 3 miles of the core city’s downtown.  However, the Syracuse MSA was also categorized as going through a rapid decentralization.