Prioritizing low-stress and equitable bicycle networks using neighborhood-based accessibility measures

As cities across the United States strive to create comfortable bicycle networks for mainstream users, three topics have garnered attention: project prioritization criteria, accessibility to everyday destinations, and social equity. However, these topics have not often been integrated in research or practice. This paper introduces a method to assess the extent to which reductions in “Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress” (LTS) on segments of a citywide bicycle network increase accessibility to supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, and public libraries. Six accessibility performance measures are developed and evaluated for 278 neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland using a GIS-based approach. The demographic distributions of accessibility results are further analyzed, focusing on disadvantaged populations. Using a set of 106 proposed bicycle projects, the marginal accessibility gains and cumulative demographic impact across affected neighborhoods are assessed for each project. These results are ranked and crosslisted to identify a set of projects that balance accessibility gains with equity objectives. The prioritization results demonstrate some overlap with the short-term priorities embodied in City of Baltimore's 2015 Bike Master Plan, but they also highlight projects in other areas, specifically those that would serve neighborhoods most disadvantaged in terms of racial segregation, high poverty rates, and low rates of vehicle ownership.     

A flexible framework for measuring accessibility with destination bundling

A transit system's usefulness is governed by the freedom it provides to those who use it. This freedom, typically quantified as accessibility, is proportional to the amount and variety of destinations available to a potential transit user. Often, transit systems are designed with the commuter in mind; employment is a typical stand-in measure for all destinations when measuring accessibility in a city. This paper proposes a framework to “bundle” destination types into a more comprehensive profile of accessibility. The framework is flexible enough to adapt to local conditions and data availability, and provides a potential planner with the ability to tell a more nuanced story of transit accessibility in a city. Using population, employment, and crowd-sourced destination data in Calgary, Canada, we perform a comparison of destination bundling approach to find that the relative level of access to destinations varies greatly with the bundle of destinations used. We also analyze correlations between quality of access to destinations, suggesting that certain destinations can act as substitutes for others, and that using destinations with low correlations in their quality of access increases the results' sensitivity to the transit network. As this approach uses open data sources available in most jurisdictions, it can be easily applied to different urban areas, destination sets, and accessibility measures to tell a more comprehensive story of transit accessibility in cities.     

Measuring relative non-motorized accessibility to retail activities

Accessibility planning is a crucial alternative to mobility planning for reaching sustainable outcomes. Although there is a vast literature on accessibility, less attention is paid to accessibility as a relative concept, i.e., its relationship with the socio-economic characteristic of the population. While accessibility is known to vary by location, it also changes as a consequence of differences in individual willingness to reach destinations by certain transport modes. Using the city of Zaragoza, Spain as a case study, this paper evaluates relative non-motorized accessibility (walking and cycling) to three types of retail activities: daily, weekly, and incidental. First, a clustering process is used to identify four population groups according to their socio-economic characteristics (the young employed; the young unemployed; seniors and adults). Second, distance-decay functions based on time-willingness to reach retail destinations by non-motorized modes are compared between the four clusters of population. Third, relative accessibility maps based on gravity-based models are elaborated, highlighting places that exhibit statistical differences between the population clusters. The results indicate that willingness to reach retail stores on foot by seniors (>65?years old) was significantly different from the rest of groups analyzed, providing additional insights on how relative accessibility measurements can anticipate potential social exclusion risks.     

A new approach to modelling distance-decay functions for accessibility assessment in transport studies

This paper tries to break new ground in how distance-decay relationships are modelled in accessibility and transport demand studies and does it based on an innovative approach to empirical data collection on psychological perceptions of distance in relation with activities located in space and a new aggregate distance-decay function. This new approach improves on the quality of the representation of spatial interaction effects on transport demand modelling studies that commonly rely on generic curves barely confronted with empirical data. We compare the level of fit of the proposed curve with other distance-decay functions mentioned in the literature and used in practice and draw relevant conclusions on the proper model specification.     

A PTAL approach to measuring changes in bus service accessibility

Accessible transport systems are essential to ensure equal opportunities for all people in society. The need for information about transport disadvantage is now a key policy requirement and previous studies have highlighted the need for tools to assess the impact of interventions on the bus network and the accessibility of the system. Geographical Information System (GIS) and ACCMAP enable the analysis of transport disadvantage and accessibility. This paper provides an analysis of the Citybus Network in Northern Ireland and assesses the spatial impact of a hypothetical network change on populations residing within the Citybus network area.     

Determinants of attractiveness for a seniors-friendly destination: a hierarchical approach

This study explored the factors that determine the tourism attractiveness of a seniors-friendly destination drawing upon an expert panel. A list of 20 destination-specific attributes was generated through a literature review and was then classified, using the ‘4 As’ of tourism destination management practice: Attractions, Access, Amenities, and Ancillary Services. The results identified the essential components of a seniors-friendly tourism destination as barrier-free public transportation facilities, barrier-free accommodation facilities, variety of seniors-only accommodation options, barrier-free facilities along customized travel routes, and variety of public transport options. While accessibility and amenities constitute important and/or essential experiential components in a seniors-friendly destination, complementary services and tourism resources also contribute to tourism attractiveness. It is concluded that the ability of a destination to accommodate the special needs of senior travellers could be further enhanced by extending the availability and variety of both lodging- and transport-related barrier-free facilities and services. From a scholarly perspective, the study reinforces the need to address the desire amongst seniors in general for a sense of freedom and mobility, and the reality that a substantial subgroup have needs that merit special provision.     

A multimodal approach to assessing accessibility of a high-speed railway station

In China, accessibility has been profoundly improved by the large-scale construction and operation of high-speed rail (HSR), with far-reaching implications for population flows and socioeconomic development. As a novel attempt to compare the shortest travel times, accessible regions, service populations, and population potential of one- to four-hour isochrones under four scenarios in Tanggu Railway Station (i.e., base scenario, hypothetical scenario 1, hypothetical scenario 2, and actual scenario), this paper analyses three factors' influences on and contributions to accessibility change: the advent of HSR, conventional railway route adjustment, and road network improvement. The results indicate that station accessibility significantly improved from 2007 to 2012. HSR has not only brought a time-space contraction effect to the region from the station to the north-western area but also strengthened interactions among different regions. Due to the reduction of some conventional railway routes, the shortest travel times from the station to the north-eastern areas have slightly increased. Although this factor has some negative effects, it has not affected the ascending trend of enhanced accessibility. Road network improvement is identified as a key factor with balanced impacts on all four-hour isochrones. The results of this study generate supportive information for the planning and construction of HSR stations and networks and provide references for comprehensive transport policymaking.     

Using accessibility measures to integrate land use and transport policy in Edinburgh and the Lothians

To ensure more effective integration of development and transport planning, new national planning policy guidance in the UK requires greater consideration of accessibility issues. Although quantitative accessibility analysis is common in research, the practical application of these techniques in land use planning has been rare, and assessment has been restricted to qualitative considerations. The strong policy focus on accessibility increases the need for robustness, but practical quantitative techniques are still evolving. This paper describes a structured approach to accessibility analysis, as part of the development of a new structure plan for Edinburgh and the Lothians, and demonstrates how an ‘integration index’ can be developed from accessibility measures to help compare alternative approaches.     

From the traditional understanding of tourism destination to the smart tourism destination

The paper reviews the evolution of key tourism destination concepts, with the aim to emphasize the extent of changes that occurred in understanding the term ‘destination’ over the past decades. A special emphasis is placed on the concept of smart tourism destinations, since this is a recent concept that strongly relies on the systemic concept, and represents a completely different understanding of a destination, as opposed to the traditional concept. The digital revolution has led to the emergence of concept of smart destinations in which knowledge and information are accessible to all stakeholders, facilitating them to carry out continuous innovation of their activities, as much as possible. Without using digital technologies enabling adequate public–private–consumer collaboration, it is almost impossible nowadays to achieve successful market valorization of destinations’ geographical attributes.     

Exploring transport to arts and cultural activities as a facilitator of social inclusion

This paper explores the relationship between travel and social inclusion in relation to a relatively rarely examined group of travel destinations—arts and cultural activities. This paper examines travel behaviour to arts and cultural activities and how this relates to social inclusion. Research literature associated with these issues is examined and then an analysis of a household travel survey in Melbourne, Australia, is undertaken to explore how travel to arts and cultural activities varies by income, car ownership and location. The paper outlines a range of evidence linking participation in arts and cultural activities and positive outcomes for social inclusion. Arts and cultural activities do not fit well into traditional household travel survey definitions of trip purposes. There is also no definitional difference between travel to activities and ‘participation’ or ‘attendance’ in arts and cultural activities. This is unfortunate since social outcomes may vary by participation or attendance. Travel survey analysis shows that like other activities trip rates to arts and cultural activities increase with income. However higher participation is demonstrated for zero- and one-car households, which contrasts with previous research of work, education and social travel. Higher participation is also demonstrated for those living in inner parts of the city. The paper suggests that most travel to arts and cultural activity is quite localised and hence much travel may be led by the diversity and range of local opportunities provided. These are particularly high in inner parts of the city. A high share of travel is also demonstrated for older people, who are thought to have the time and desire for greater participation in arts and cultural activities.     

How to plan for regional accessibility?

In order to address some of the shortcomings of traditional urban transportation planning, it is argued that a shift is needed from planning for mobility to planning for accessibility. Accessibility is a well-known and studied concept within the scientific literature. Its use in practice however is limited. This paper explores the ways of using the concept of accessibility in planning practice, with a special focus on the phase of policy design. Using the Amsterdam Region as an example, it is illustrated how simple accessibility measures can help planners with the design of integrated transport and land-use policies that call for different solutions than the traditional approach.     

Collaboration and cooperation in a tourism destination: a network science approach

The extent of collaboration and cooperation is an important determinant for the development of a tourism destination. These features are usually assessed through qualitative investigations. This letter proposes a quantitative approach based on the evaluation of the modularity characteristics of the network of the destination stakeholders. The results of a sample analysis are reported.     

Assessing transport related social exclusion using a capabilities approach to accessibility framework: A dynamic Bayesian network approach

Accessibility is considered to be a valuable concept that can be used to generate insights on issues related to social exclusion due to limited access to transport options. Recently, researchers have attempted to link accessibility with popular theories of social justice such as Amartya Sen's Capabilities Approach (CA). Such studies have set the theoretical foundations on the way accessibility can be expressed through the CA, however, attempts to operationalise this approach remain fragmented and predominantly qualitative in nature. In this study, a novel framework of expressing accessibility at the level of an individual is proposed, based on the basic elements of the CA. In particular, dynamic Bayesian networks are used to express the causal relationship between capabilities, functionings, personal and environmental characteristics. This is done by introducing informative Dirichlet prior distributions constructed using data from traditional mobility surveys, modelling the transition probabilities with data related to place based characteristics and defining an observation model from unlabelled mobility data and places of interest (POI). We demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed framework by assessing the equality levels and their link to transport related social exclusion of different population groups in London, using unlabelled, service provider generated mobility data.     

Spatiotemporal accessibility to supermarkets using public transit: an interaction potential approach in Cincinnati,Ohio

Improving nutrition in urban regions involves understanding which neighborhoods and populations lack access to stores that sell healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables. To this end, recent work has focused on mapping regions without access to places like supermarkets, often terming them ‘food deserts’. Until recently, this work has not considered residents’ mobility as facilitated by transportation systems, and even among those that do, few have considered alternative forms of transportation, like public transit, opting for automobile-oriented travel assumptions. This paper analyzes people’s spatio-temporal constraints to accessing supermarkets, and focuses on the transit commuting population. Analysis of commute data from Cincinnati, Ohio shows there are a significant number of residents that have improved access to supermarkets when a grocery shopping trip is made on the way home from work, than if they were to depart from their home location. These results extend previous work showing relatively few automobile commuting residents have better access to supermarkets given their work locations.     

Public transit accessibility approach to understand the equity for public healthcare services: A case study of Greater Mumbai

Urban public health is one of the most critical yet neglected aspects of urban planning in developing countries such as India. Inequity in access to government healthcare facilities affects the overall urban population and can substantially negatively impact the vulnerable population, who mostly rely on government healthcare services. In this paper, the accessibility measure for healthcare services by public transport is developed using travel time and the number of transit stops (accounting for transit connectivity) for Greater Mumbai. We also identified socially vulnerable wards (administrative units) using a Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), developed based on 16 indicators using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Developed regression models showed that the proposed accessibility measure explains the coverage and usage of healthcare services better than the traditional accessibility measure, which is based on only aggregate level travel time impedances. South Mumbai has relatively better accessibility for public hospitals and dispensaries, whereas, lower level of accessibility is observed in the eastern part for public healthcare services. Assessment for the spatial inequity based on the Gini index, bivariate Moran's I, and mean access value reveals a higher degree of spatial inequity for accessing government hospitals for the slum population. The study developed a decision framework to suggest effective policy measures, which can be prioritised based on SVI to reduce the disparity in the spatial distribution of accessibility to government healthcare systems for vulnerable groups. Our findings can aid transportation and urban planners, health researchers, and policymakers to improve accessibility in under-served areas and give special attention to the needs of the vulnerable population.     

An integrative model of destination brand equity and tourist satisfaction

This paper develops an integrative model that includes the dimensions of destination brand equity (i.e. awareness, image, quality and loyalty), as well as a key behavioural variable that is tourist satisfaction. In particular, our paper aims to contribute to the literature: (1) by examining the relationships between the dimensions of destination brand equity, which is not a deeply investigated issue so far; and (2) by adding tourist satisfaction, a key concept in loyalty formation, to the variables usually considered in destination brand equity models. The model was tested in two samples, national and international tourists visiting a destination in Spain, in order to also explore the role of the geographical and cultural distance between tourist and destination. Our results from a multi-group analysis indicate: (1) a robust link between “quality-satisfaction-loyalty” in both samples of tourists; (2) a chain of effects among awareness, image (separately considering the cognitive and affective dimensions) and perceived quality, although with the presence of some significant difference between both samples of tourists; and (3) a positive influence of cognitive image on affective image in both cases.     

Daily fluctuations in transit and job availability: A comparative assessment of time-sensitive accessibility measures

Accessibility to jobs by transit is increasingly incorporated into transportation and land-use planning objectives, as it is proven to be a relevant indicator for assessing land-use and transport performance. With a rise in time-sensitive accessibility measures, choosing the appropriate measure is increasingly challenging for engineers, planners and policy-makers. This research presents a comparative analysis of three accessibility measures, two of which are time-sensitive. Relative accessibility measures are generated for five time periods based on a) constant transit service and number of jobs (constant); b) variable transit service and constant number of jobs (static) and c) variable transit service and variable number of jobs available (dynamic). The measures are first assessed by incorporating them into a transit mode share model. Interestingly, findings show that all three measures behaved similarly in the three regression models. Furthermore, all accessibility measures are found to be highly correlated. The study suggests that the most commonly used accessibility measure (constant measure at 8 am) is representative of the relative accessibility (static or dynamic) over the course of the day and is thus appropriate and meaningful to be used by policy-makers, engineers and planners.     

From hub to tourist destination – An explorative study of Singapore and Dubai's aviation-based transformation

The growth of air transport networks and deregulation have allowed small, low-populated places like Singapore and Dubai to become major international tourism destinations. Both have used tightly combined airline, airport and tourism strategies to help achieve this. Here we analyse developments in Singapore and Dubai by examining interactions between their airlines, airports, governments and tourism authorities, and how integrated management strategies leveraged their aviation traffic hubs to develop tourism destinations.     

Evaluating interregional freight accessibility conditions through the combination of centrality and reliability measures

The main contribution of this paper is a new approach to evaluate and compare the freight accessibility conditions offered in a set of regions or cities. The key innovation of this approach lies in that it combines (statistical) centrality and reliability measures of accessibility, thus tackling one of the weaknesses that researchers have identified in the vast accessibility literature. The proposed approach is first explained in details for a hypothetical setting, and then is applied to Iran using data collected in the latest transport survey conducted in this country. The focus is placed on road transport, by far the dominant freight transport mode in Iran. The results obtained through this application provide clear insights into the relative positions of the main freight production and attraction zones of Iran with respect to road accessibility conditions, and therefore valuable information to assist transport authorities in their decisions regarding the evolution of the country's road network.     

Identification of land-use characteristics using bicycle sharing data: A deep learning approach

Extensive research has shown that urban land-use characteristics, including resident, work, consumption, transit, etc., are significantly interrelated with travel behaviors and travel demands. Many research efforts have been made to evaluate the impact of land use planning or policies on travel behavior, however, few studies are able to quantitatively measure the land-use characteristics based on the data of travel behaviors or travel demand. In this paper, a new hybrid model that combines time series feature extraction and deep neural network is proposed to identify regional land use characteristics and quantify land use intensity using ridership data of bicycle sharing. This method consists of four main parts: (i) A set of land-use characteristic labels are evaluated based on planning and Geographic Information System (GIS) data. (ii) An ensemble clustering method is used to determine the segmentation points of ridership time series. (iii) The statistical characteristics of the segmented time series are extracted and used as input to the neural network. (iv) A deep neural network is established and trained based on the processed ridership features and land-use labels. In terms of data collection, ridership data of the bicycle-sharing parking spots and land-use planning data are obtained from bicycle-sharing system and planning department in San Francisco Bay Area, California U.S.A., respectively. The test results show that this approach has high accuracy for identifying land-use characteristics based on several standard evaluation measures and that the identification distribution can be well explained. The extension results further prove that the model can be applied to effectively analyze the main land-use characteristics of the region although the identification results may become unstable after 3–4 months.