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Equity of Urban Service Delivery: A Comparison of Different Accessibility Measures

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  • Tijs Neutens

    (Department of Geography, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 (S8), B-9000 Ghent, Belgium)

  • Tim Schwanen

    (Transport Studies Unit, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, England)

  • Frank Witlox
  • Philippe De Maeyer

Abstract

This paper evaluates the use of various place-based and people-based measures of accessibility in the context of public service delivery. While place-based measures examine the spatial separation between service locations and in a single reference location, people-based measures are based on detailed observations of an individual's activity schedule and space–time constraints. The aim of this paper is to contribute to previous methodological studies of accessibility by investigating the extent to which utility-based measures relying on the Burns–Miller framework relate to place- based and other people-based measures of individual accessibility. In total, four place-based and six people-based measures that are frequently used to evaluate urban service delivery are analyzed. The relationships between these measures are examined and their implications for the assessment of equity of urban service distribution are evaluated. We have found substantial differences between place-based and people-based measures, supporting previous findings in the relevant literature and extending them to utility-based space–time measures of accessibility. We also observed substantial differences within the group of people-based measures. It appears that measures which express the cardinality of a feasible opportunity choice set are quite different from measures which express the desirability of such a set. The salience of this difference is also borne out by the measurement of statistical dispersion of accessibility values, indicating that different measures provide markedly different insights into how equally service delivery is distributed among the population.

Suggested Citation

  • Tijs Neutens & Tim Schwanen & Frank Witlox & Philippe De Maeyer, 2010. "Equity of Urban Service Delivery: A Comparison of Different Accessibility Measures," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(7), pages 1613-1635, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:42:y:2010:i:7:p:1613-1635
    DOI: 10.1068/a4230
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    Cited by:

    1. Ben-Elia, Eran & Benenson, Itzhak, 2019. "A spatially-explicit method for analyzing the equity of transit commuters' accessibility," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 31-42.
    2. van Wee, Bert, 2016. "Accessible accessibility research challenges," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 9-16.
    3. Stępniak, Marcin & Pritchard, John P. & Geurs, Karst T. & Goliszek, Sławomir, 2019. "The impact of temporal resolution on public transport accessibility measurement: Review and case study in Poland," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 8-24.
    4. Wong, Sandy, 2018. "The limitations of using activity space measurements for representing the mobilities of individuals with visual impairment: A mixed methods case study in the San Francisco Bay Area," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 300-308.
    5. Pritchard, John P. & Tomasiello, Diego Bogado & Giannotti, Mariana & Geurs, Karst, 2019. "Potential impacts of bike-and-ride on job accessibility and spatial equity in São Paulo, Brazil," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 386-400.
    6. Cascetta, Ennio & Cartenì, Armando & Montanino, Marcello, 2016. "A behavioral model of accessibility based on the number of available opportunities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 45-58.
    7. Stepniak, Marcin & Rosik, Piotr, 2013. "Accessibility improvement, territorial cohesion and spillovers: a multidimensional evaluation of two motorway sections in Poland," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 154-163.
    8. Neutens, Tijs & Delafontaine, Matthias & Schwanen, Tim & Weghe, Nico Van de, 2012. "The relationship between opening hours and accessibility of public service delivery," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 128-140.
    9. Yang, Shu & Liu, Xuan & Wu, Yao-Jan & Woolschlager, John & Coffin, Sarah L., 2015. "Can freeway traffic volume information facilitate urban accessibility assessment?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 65-75.
    10. Schwanen, Tim, 2019. "Transport geography, climate change and space: opportunity for new thinking," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    11. Mouter, Niek & van Cranenburgh, Sander & van Wee, Bert, 2017. "An empirical assessment of Dutch citizens' preferences for spatial equality in the context of a national transport investment plan," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 217-230.
    12. Lukasz Damurski & Jacek Pluta & Jerzy Ładysz & Magdalena Mayer-Wydra, 2019. "Online or Offline Services for Urban Neighbourhoods?: Conceptualisation of Research Problems," International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR), IGI Global, vol. 8(1), pages 50-67, January.
    13. Neutens, Tijs & Delafontaine, Matthias & Scott, Darren M. & De Maeyer, Philippe, 2012. "An analysis of day-to-day variations in individual space–time accessibility," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 81-91.
    14. Cheng, Shaowu & Xie, Bing & Bie, Yiming & Zhang, Yaping & Zhang, Shen, 2018. "Measure dynamic individual spatial-temporal accessibility by public transit: Integrating time-table and passenger departure time," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 235-247.
    15. Papa, Enrica & Bertolini, Luca, 2015. "Accessibility and Transit-Oriented Development in European metropolitan areas," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 70-83.
    16. Tijs Neutens, 2012. "Accessibility to public service delivery: a combination of diff erent indicators," Chapters, in: Karst T. Geurs & Kevin J. Krizek & Aura Reggiani (ed.), Accessibility Analysis and Transport Planning, chapter 7, pages 118-132, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    17. Chen, Chialin & Achtari, Guyves & Majkut, Kevin & Sheu, Jiuh-Biing, 2017. "Balancing equity and cost in rural transportation management with multi-objective utility analysis and data envelopment analysis: A case of Quinte West," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 148-165.
    18. Wang, Yafei & Chen, Bi Yu & Yuan, Hui & Wang, Donggen & Lam, William H.K. & Li, Qingquan, 2018. "Measuring temporal variation of location-based accessibility using space-time utility perspective," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 13-24.
    19. Karen Lucas & Bert Wee & Kees Maat, 2016. "A method to evaluate equitable accessibility: combining ethical theories and accessibility-based approaches," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 473-490, May.
    20. Mollanejad, Mostafa & Zhang, Lei, 2014. "Incorporating spatial equity into interurban road network design," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 156-164.
    21. Pereira, Rafael H.M., 2019. "Future accessibility impacts of transport policy scenarios: Equity and sensitivity to travel time thresholds for Bus Rapid Transit expansion in Rio de Janeiro," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 321-332.
    22. McArthur, Jenny & Robin, Enora & Smeds, Emilia, 2019. "Socio-spatial and temporal dimensions of transport equity for London's night time economy," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 433-443.
    23. Floridea Di Ciommo & Yoram Shiftan, 2017. "Transport equity analysis," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 139-151, March.
    24. Mayaud, Jerome & Anderson, Sam & Tran, Martino & Radic, Valentina, 2018. "Insights from self-organizing maps for predicting accessibility demand for healthcare infrastructure," SocArXiv yngx4, Center for Open Science.
    25. Neutens, Tijs, 2015. "Accessibility, equity and health care: review and research directions for transport geographers," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 14-27.

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