Analyzing collective accessibility using average space-time prisms

New publication:  Lee, J. and Miller, H.J. (2019) “Analyzing collective accessibility using average space-time prisms,” Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 69, 250-264.

Abstract:  The space-time prism (STP) is the envelope of all possible travel paths in space and time between two anchor locations and times, measuring accessibility for an individual given a designated travel and activity episode. Although the STP provides a powerful measure of individual accessibility, transportation researchers often need to analyze accessibility at collective-levels for planning and policy analysis. Deriving a representative STP of a set of individual STPs would provide a general idea of how collective members’ accessibility is performing. However, there is no analytical time geographic method to calculate a collective-level representative STP that is consistent with individual STPs. To fill this gap, this research develops the concept of average space-time prism (ASTP). The ASTP is a representative STP of a group of individual STPs with respect to size, shape, and location. We develop methods for calculating an ASTP using analytical time geography and elliptic Fourier shape analysis techniques. The ASTP provides a geometric and visual summary of collective accessibility: it can be used to generate representative STPs for aggregate geographic units such as neighborhoods and cities based on individual-level data. A possible application of the ASTP is the spatial equity analysis of accessibility. The ASTP can be located at individuals’ anchor locations and overlaid with opportunities, enabling in-situ comparisons between individual versus collective accessibility and accessibility equity analysis considering geographic contexts. We illustrate this ASTP’s capability when measuring the impacts of new transit service on healthcare access equity in a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *