Metropolitan Accessibility: Comparative Indicators for Policy Reform
Accessibility:
Accessibility is the ease of reaching destinations, as opposed to mobility, which is the ease of movement. In areas offering great proximity, accessibility can be high, even with low mobility. Mobility, proximity, and (remote electronic) connectivity are all means to accessibility.
Transportation policy is a prime influence on the shape of the built environment in metropolitan areas, and it has historically been guided by the goal of ensuring and improving mobility. But what travelers want from a transportation system is not mobility but accessibility – the capacity to reach destinations. This project develops multiple measures of accessibility for the top metropolitan regions in the United States. We argue that a shift from mobility to accessibility as the primary criterion by which transportation policy is evaluated is a necessary step for improving transportation systems. The study is the first to develop accessibility measures that enable a meaningful comparison across metropolitan areas, with the aim of uncovering the relationships between accessibility and characteristics of the built environment. We strive to establish a measurable basis for policymaking at the metropolitan and intermetropolitan scale. What kind of metropolitan region provides a high level of accessibility to its residents?
accessibility accessibility maps
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Atlanta US Map baltimore population curves