Space‐Time and Integral Measures of Individual Accessibility: A Comparative Analysis Using a Point‐based Framework
1998/07/01 by Mei‐Po Kwan · 1,156 citations
Health Professions · Mathematics · Social Sciences · #Computer science #Conceptual framework #Construct (python library) #Data mining #Geography #Human geography #Mathematics #Measure (data warehouse) #Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies #Noise Effects and Management #Point (geometry) #Set (abstract data type) #Sociology #Space (punctuation) #Time geography #Urban Transport and Accessibility
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1538-4632.1998.tb00396.x
published in Geographical Analysis 30(3), 191-216 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 1998/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
Abstract
Conventional integral measures of accessibility, although valuable as indicators of place accessibility, have several limitations when used to evaluate individual accessibility. Two alternatives for overcoming some of the difficulties involved are explored in this study. One is to adapt these measures for evaluating individual accessibility using a disaggregate, nonzonal approach. The other is to develop different types of measures based on an alternative conceptual framework. To pursue the former alternative, this study specifies and examines eighteen gravity‐type and cumulative‐opportunity accessibility measures using a point‐based spatial framework. For the latter option, twelve space‐time accessibility measures are developed based on the construct of a prism‐constrained feasible opportunity set. This paper compares the relationships and spatial patterns of these thirty measures using network‐based GIS procedures. Travel diary data collected in Columbus, Ohio, and a digital data set of 10,727 selected land parcels are used for all computation. Results of this study indicate that space‐time and integral indices are distinctive types of accessibility measures which reflect different dimensions of the accessibility experience of individuals. Since space‐time measures are more capable of capturing interpersonal differences, especially the effect of space‐time constraints, they are more “gender sensitive” and helpful for unraveling gender/ethnic differences in accessibility. An important methodological implication is that whether accessibility is observed to be important or different between individuals depends heavily on whether the measure used is capable of revealing the kind of differences the analyst intends to observe.
Citations
Cited by
- Development of a Chrono‐Urbanism Status Composite Index under the 5/10/15‐Minute City Concept Using Social Media Big Data
- Access Weight Matrix: A Place and Mobility Infused Spatial Weight Matrix
- Gender, the Home‐Work Link, and Space‐Time Patterns of Nonemployment Activities*
- Does a short journey get me to the food bank? An empirical study on fare-based public transport accessibility and its implications for social equity
- Measuring transport poverty with a mixed-methods approach. A comparative case study of the German cities Berlin and Hamburg
- Time to challenge the 15-minute city: Seven pitfalls for sustainability, equity, livability, and spatial analysis
- Future access to essential services in a growing smart city: The case of Surrey, British Columbia
- Do informal settlements contribute to sprawl in Sub-Saharan African cities?
- A Discrepancy-based Framework to Compare Robustness between Multi-Attribute Evaluations
- Space-time accessibility supports participation in after-work leisure activities
- Inclusive Accessibility: Integrating Heterogeneous User Mobility Perceptions into Space-Time Prisms
- Gender difference in space–time fixity from household structure in urban China: A case study of Beijing
- Equity of Urban Service Delivery: A Comparison of Different Accessibility Measures
- Accessibility evaluation of land-use and transport strategies: review and research directions
- Are commuting patterns a good indicator of urban spatial structure?
- Sufficient mobility and access within limits: Research agenda for bringing together corridor frameworks and transportation research
- Evoluindo resiliência em rotas de ônibus: Proposta de um método para a maximização de acessibilidade em cenários de incerteza por meio de algoritmo genético
- Perceived accessibility in Dutch rural areas: Bridging the gap with accessibility based on spatial data
- Accessible accessibility research challenges
- Distributive justice and equity in transportation
- Potential Path Areas and Activity Spaces in Application: A Review
- Social Exclusion and the Disabled: An Accessibility Approach∗
- A three-dimensional network-based space–time prism
- A GIS-based method to identify spatiotemporal gaps in public service delivery
- The Prism of Everyday Life: Towards a New Research Agenda for Time Geography
- Thinking Time Geography: Concepts, Methods and Applications
- Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess the role of the built environment in influencing obesity: a glossary
- Measures of Transport-Related Social Exclusion: A Critical Review of the Literature
- Participatory GIS — a people's GIS?
- Gis methods in time‐geographic research: geocomputation and geovisualization of human activity patterns
- A review of quantitative methods for movement data
- Torsten Hägerstrand in the Citation Time Web
- How public transit evolution moderates urban-rural healthcare inequality amid rapid urban expansion: A 42-year longitudinal study
- Measuring and visualizing place-based space-time job accessibility
- Accessibility to health care facilities in Montreal Island: an application of relative accessibility indicators from the perspective of senior and non-senior residents. [europepmc]
- Estimating spatial accessibility to facilities on the regional scale: an extended commuting-based interaction potential model. [europepmc]
- Identification of the appropriate boundary size to use when measuring the food retail environment surrounding schools. [europepmc]
- Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Pastoral Mobility in the Far North Region, Cameroon: Data Analysis and Modeling. [europepmc]
- A Comprehensive System for Monitoring Urban Accessibility in Smart Cities. [europepmc]
- Explaining Accessibility and Satisfaction Related to Healthcare: A Mixed-Methods Approach. [europepmc]
- Accessibility of general and specialized obstetric care providers in Germany and England: an analysis of location and neonatal outcome. [europepmc]
- A multi-modal relative spatial access assessment approach to measure spatial accessibility to primary care providers. [europepmc]
- Geographical Accessibility of Community Health Assist System General Practitioners for the Elderly Population in Singapore: A Case Study on the Elderly Living in Housing Development Board Flats. [europepmc]
- Evaluating the Accessibility of Healthcare Facilities Using an Integrated Catchment Area Approach. [europepmc]
- An Improved Healthcare Accessibility Measure Considering the Temporal Dimension and Population Demand of Different Ages. [europepmc]
- Beyond Commuting: Ignoring Individuals' Activity-Travel Patterns May Lead to Inaccurate Assessments of Their Exposure to Traffic Congestion. [europepmc]
- Using floating catchment area (FCA) metrics to predict health care utilization patterns. [europepmc]
- Assessing Spatial Accessibility to Hierarchical Urban Parks by Multi-Types of Travel Distance in Shenzhen, China. [europepmc]
- Urban and rural differences in geographical accessibility to inpatient palliative and end-of-life (PEoLC) facilities and place of death: a national population-based study in England, UK. [europepmc]
- Demand and level of service inflation in Floating Catchment Area (FCA) methods. [europepmc]
- Daily activity locations k-anonymity for the evaluation of disclosure risk of individual GPS datasets. [europepmc]
- International Mind, Activities and Urban Places (iMAP) study: methods of a cohort study on environmental and lifestyle influences on brain and cognitive health. [europepmc]
- How mobility habits influenced the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from the Italian case study. [europepmc]
- The role of transport accessibility within the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic in Italy. [europepmc]
- Efficiency of fine scale and spatial regression in modelling associations between healthcare service spatial accessibility and their utilization. [europepmc]
- Measuring hospital spatial accessibility using the enhanced two-step floating catchment area method to assess the impact of spatial accessibility to hospital and non-hospital care on the length of hospital stay. [europepmc]
- Equity of geographical access to public health facilities in Nepal. [europepmc]
- Facility or Transport Inequality? Decomposing Healthcare Accessibility Inequality in Shenzhen, China. [europepmc]
- Measuring spatial accessibility to urban services for older adults: an application to healthcare facilities in Milan. [europepmc]
Related