Access to Emergency Services: A New York City Case Study

TL;DR

This study introduces a network-based method to evaluate emergency service accessibility in NYC, identifying underserved areas and providing insights for improving infrastructure resilience and resource allocation.

Contribution

It presents a novel network methodology for assessing emergency service access and identifying service deserts using NYC data, linking travel time to service site density.

Findings

95% of NYC residents are well-served by emergency services

Staten Island is disproportionately underserved

Travel time inversely related to ESS site density

Abstract

Emergency services play a crucial role in safeguarding human life and property within society. In this paper, we propose a network-based methodology for calculating transportation access between emergency services and the broader community. Using New York City as a case study, this study identifies 'emergency service deserts' based on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) guidelines, where accessibility to Fire, Emergency Medical Services, Police, and Hospitals are compromised. The results show that while 95% of NYC residents are well-served by emergency services, the residents of Staten Island are disproportionately underserved. By quantifying the relationship between first responder travel time, Emergency Services Sector (ESS) site density, and population density, we discovered a negative power law relationship between travel time and ESS site density. This relationship can be used directly by policymakers to determine which parts of a community would benefit the most from providing new ESS locations. Furthermore, this methodology can be used to quantify the resilience of emergency service infrastructure by observing changes in accessibility in communities facing threats.