Combining walkability assessments at different scales in measuring spatial inequalities in access to railway stations

Abstract

Introduction: One of the goals of Agenda 2030 is to make cities inclusive, safe, and sustainable, promoting transport and social equity. One of the ways to promote social inclusion is encouraging people to use efficient and affordable mass rapid transit services. Therefore, ensuring good pedestrian accessibility to railway stations is a priority for policymakers. In this perspective, it is not surprising that 15-min cities and transit-oriented development are widely debated concepts and applied with policies encouraging sustainable transportation modes and building inclusive communities. However, disparities in policy practice seem to exist between suburban areas and cores in many European cities. Indeed, the quality of pedestrian infrastructure is not at the same level in different areas, creating disadvantaged communities with lower access to public transport services and forced to be car-dependent. Method: Presenting a case study, the paper aims to investigate the impacts of road connectivity and pedestrian network quality on spatial and social equity in access railway stations. Fourteen railway stations in Palermo (Italy) were analyzed. The paper proposes a GIS-based approach combining walkability assessments at different scales. Firstly, walkability around railway stations was analyzed considering meso-scale indicators related to road connectivity (road density, intersection density, Ped-shed ratio). Secondarily, since quality-related factors are crucial in evaluating pedestrian accessibility, three criteria (practicability, safety, and pleasantness) to evaluate street-level walkability around railway stations are defined based on the literature. Results: Combining both the assessments, big disparities in accessibility between railway stations located in suburban areas and city centre were found. Poor accessibility in suburbs represents a social equity problem, undermining the effectiveness of rail services as equitable modes of transportation. Conclusions: This approach can be a decision-support tool, identifying what priority measures are needed and where to improve the quality of the pedestrian network to support public transport use in suburban areas.