Learning about spatial inequalities: Capturing the heterogeneity in the urban environment

TL;DR

This paper investigates spatial inequalities in urban service accessibility, revealing disparities faced by low-income populations and emphasizing the need for comprehensive planning to promote equitable resource distribution in cities.

Contribution

It introduces a multidimensional approach to analyze urban service inequalities, highlighting the complex interactions between land use, transportation, and socioeconomic factors.

Findings

Low-income populations have limited access to hospitals and cultural centers.

Peripheries show diverse levels of accessibility to public services.

Complex spatial inequalities are driven by land use and transportation interactions.

Abstract

Transportation systems can be conceptualized as an instrument of spreading people and resources over the territory, playing an important role in developing sustainable cities. The current rationale of transport provision is based on population demand, disregarding land use and socioeconomic information. To meet the challenge to promote a more equitable resource distribution, this work aims at identifying and describing patterns of urban services supply, their accessibility, and household income. By using a multidimensional approach, the spatial inequalities of a large city of the global south reveal that the low-income population has low access mainly to hospitals and cultural centers. A low-income group presents an intermediate level of accessibility to public schools and sports centers, evidencing the diverse condition of citizens in the peripheries. These complex outcomes generated by the interaction of land use and public transportation emphasize the importance of comprehensive methodological approaches to support decisions of urban projects, plans and programs. Reducing spatial inequalities, especially providing services for deprived groups, is fundamental to promote the sustainable use of resources and optimize the daily commuting.