From space to service: Measuring the accessibility in a space-time heterogeneity perspective

Abstract

Accessibility has been identified as the primary motivating factor for the use of daily service facilities. Existing methods for measuring the accessibility of service facilities primarily focus on location accessibility, while little research extends it to service accessibility, which includes both reaching the location and obtaining the services. This paper proposes a novel approach to measuring service accessibility, termed the Space-Time Heterogeneous Gaussian Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (STH-G2SFCA). Firstly, a fine-grain heterogeneity analysis of service accessibility is constructed based on the supply-demand relationship. Secondly, a space-time search strategy is proposed with a Gaussian distance attenuation function, optimized by the decay rate of service attraction. Lastly, we introduce a supply-demand score and the Global Moran's index to assess the space-time patterns of service accessibility. A case study is conducted in the central urban area of Wuhan, China, with catering facilities as an example. The experimental results show that the STH-G2SFCA method can more precisely assess service accessibility, which is often overestimated in classic methods, and capture the temporal dynamics process of service accessibility within a day. The proposed method promises to be replicated in other service facilities, providing urban planners with a valuable tool for digital planning.