Spatial and temporal fluctuations in individual accessibility: a comparative analysis among subgroups of the population

In recent years, there has been a growing interest among urban and transport planners in the accessibility levels of different societal groups within an urban region. The interest stems in part from the concern that inadequate spatial and temporal planning may foster social exclusion by giving rise to accessibility limitations that bear disproportionately on certain population groups. This paper proposes and implements person-based, time-specific indicators of accessibility. It will be shown how such indicators may help increase our understanding of how spatial patterns of accessibility of subgroups within the city evolve over time as a consequence of differences in space-time constraints. Unlike earlier studies of person-based accessibility, subgroup differences in accessibility will be measured during multiple time intervals over an entire week, using longitudinal activity-travel diaries and a time use survey. Our study shows that, within the city of Ghent (Belgium), male and female adults living with a different occupational status (i.e. full-time, part-time and unemployed) may experience significantly different levels of accessibility during the diurnal cycle as a consequence of variation in their time use patterns.