A multi-mode Gaussian-based two-step floating catchment area method for measuring accessibility of urban parks

Abstract

Parks play a vital role in promoting urban livability and public health; however, the traditional accessibility mode neglect non-spatial factors and spatial equity, Thus, it has significant theoretical and practical implications to explore parks accessibility using more sophisticated accessibility models, under the framework of spatial equity. Based on network analysis, different trip modes (walking, public transport, and car modes) and park attractiveness coefficients were integrated into a Gaussian-based 2SFCA model, and park accessibility in the 10-min, 15-min, and 20-min scenarios was analyzed and compared with a single-mode model. The spatial mismatch between park accessibility and population density was also explored by bivariate local Moran's I statistic. Results show that: 1. The landscapes of park accessibility are spatial heterogenous and varied with temporal-spatial scale. With the increase of catchment size, the mean value and standard deviation of park accessibility decreases. 2. The traditional single-mode model will overestimate park accessibility while the multi-modes model can provide more realistic evaluation and offer better guidance for urban park planning. The multi-mode model can also get smoother and homogeneous results. 3. The spatial relationships between park accessibility and population density are divided into a positive match, negative match, positive mismatch, negative mismatch, and non-significant. This paper can provide some improvement to studies that did not consider the impact of trip modes and park attributes on accessibility and spatial equity.