A sensitive indicator of regional space-time accessibility

The concept of accessibility needs to take into account factors like individual needs, preferences, and abilities as well as transportation, land use, and finances. This article proposes a sensitive space–time accessibility indicator from a regional perspective. This indicator, representing cumulative available activity time with a regional context, is different from both traditional accessibility measures (e.g., gravity-based accessibility, cumulative accessibility, utility-based accessibility, and so on) and previous concepts of individual space–time accessibility. The major advantage of this indicator is its sensitivity to the location of the anchor point, the transportation network, the distribution of activity sites over the whole region, and certain individual needs such as minimum activity times and activity time budgets. Several examples are worked to demonstrate these sensitivities and an innovative accessibility pattern which was previously unknown. This indicator should be helpful for planning agencies to assess urban environmental patterns and for business owners to evaluate potential business locations.