DEVELOPMENT OF AN URBAN ACCESSIBILITY INDEX: FORMULATIONS, AGGREGATION, AND APPLICATION

Abstract

This is the final report for the research project: Development of an Urban Accessibility Index. The objective was to select an accessibility measure and develop a methodology to aggregate disaggregate accessibility measures along several dimensions of interest: time of day, mode, trip purpose, and space. The main types of accessibility measures are presented and assessed for their relevance for the research objective. A gravity/logsum measure is chosen. Aggregation along individual dimensions are assessed for use in this research. Ultimately a method based on the multinomial logit model is developed for use. The accessibility measure and aggregation method are then coded in an add-in for use with the TransCAD geographic information system (GIS). The software program comes with the Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin data sets. However, data from any area can be used. Outputs from the software include a color-coded map indicating areas of relatively high and low accessibility and a table that can be manipulated in the same way as any other GIS layer. The User's Manual for the software is included as an appendix.