Measuring the Spatial Accessibility of Parks in Wuhan, China, Using a Comprehensive Multimodal 2SFCA Method

Abstract

The spatial accessibility of urban parks is an important indicator of the livability level of cities. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive multimodal two-step floating catchment area (CM2SFCA) method which integrates supply capacity, the selection probability of individuals, and variable catchment sizes into the traditional multimodel 2SFCA method. This method is used to measure park accessibility in Wuhan, China. The results show that the spatial distribution of park accessibility under the proposed method is variant. High accessibility areas are clustered near the Third Ring Road with strong supply capacity parks, and low accessibility areas are distributed in the western and southern regions. Compared with the single-model accessibility (bicycling, driving, and public transit) method, we found that the multimodal spatial accessibility, combining the characteristics of three single transportations, can provide a more realistic evaluation. We also explore the spatial relationship between park accessibility and population density by bivariate local Moran’s I statistic and find that the Low Ai-High Pi area is located in the center of the study area, and the Low Ai-Low Pi area is located at the edge of the study area, with a relatively discrete distribution of parks and weak supply capacity. These findings may provide some insights for urban planners to formulate effective policies and strategies to ease the spatial inequity of urban parks.