scholarly journals Measuring Spatial Accessibility to Pick-Up Service Considering Differentiated Supply and Demand: A Case in Hangzhou, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liyun Lin ◽  
Haoying Han ◽  
Wanglin Yan ◽  
Shun Nakayama ◽  
Xianfan Shu

In recent years, customer pick-up at collection and delivery points has become a popular alternative to traditional home delivery, which is under great pressure. However, current service of pick-up facilities has seldom been geographically evaluated despite its general uneven distribution and diverse needs. In this paper, in order to interpret the differentiation in customers’ service demands toward reception alternatives and in facilities’ service excludability in different built environments, a two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method is improved to measure customers’ spatial accessibility to pick-up facilities, providing a methodology to evaluate the match relation between the differentiated supply and demand of pick-up service. A case study of widespread automated parcel stations (APSs) is conducted in Hangzhou, China and correlative factors to residents’ accessibility are discussed. From the results, residents’ accessibility to pick-up service shows significant spatial unevenness and social inequity in the study area, which is found to correlate most to residences’ maintenance management. As well-managed, gated communities generally hold effective access to exclusive services, most open communities and self-built, single houses are in need of improvement due to inadequate service stemming from a high aging rate, lack of property management, and low service availability of nonexclusive facilities in open areas.

Author(s):  
Tianlu Qian ◽  
Jie Chen ◽  
Ang Li ◽  
Jiechen Wang ◽  
Dingtao Shen

Spatial accessibility to general hospitals is an important indicator of the convenience and ability of residents to obtain medical services. Therefore, developing a model for measuring accessibility to general hospitals by multiple transportation modes is necessary. In this study, considering that the increase in travel time will reduce the attractiveness of general hospitals, we used the Two-Step Floating Catchment Area with the Gaussian attenuation function, in which the supply was presented by capacity of hospitals (i.e., number of beds), and the demand was presented by population in each grid derived with social media data mapping real-time locations of active users. The Gaussian Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (Ga2SFCA) simulates the attenuation tendency of the general hospital service capabilities over transit time. To obtain a highly precise understanding of accessibility to hospitals, transit time on Baidu Maps’ navigation service was used as the impedance condition, and the study area was divided into 1 square kilometer grids as the basic unit of research. Taking Nanjing city as a case study, it is found that the accessibility distribution shape changes from a multi-centered circular pattern to a multi-peak distribution, as the time threshold increases. By comparing the accessibility among 11 districts varying from main urban area to suburbs, the accessibility to general hospitals in Nanjing is significantly regionally unbalanced in both travel modes. By calculating and mapping the Modal Accessibility Gap (MAG) of the two travel modes, different modes of transportation resulted in different general hospital accessibility distributions. Generally, private car is superior in access to general hospitals to public transit in most areas. In the central area, public traffic may not contribute to the access to medical services as much as we thought, rather it plays a role in areas far from hospitals along metro lines and bus routes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Subal ◽  
Piret Paal ◽  
Jukka M. Krisp

Abstract Background It is necessary to ensure sufficient healthcare. The use of current, precise and realistic methods to model spatial accessibility to healthcare and thus improved decision-making is helping this process. Generally, these methods—which include the family of floating catchment area (FCA) methods—incorporate a number of criteria that address topics like access, efficiency, budget, equity and the overall system utilization. How can we measure spatial accessibility? This paper investigates a sophisticated approach for quantifying the spatial accessibility of general practitioners. (GPs). Our objective is the investigation and application of a spatial accessibility index by an improved Huff three-step floating catchment area (MH3SFCA) method. Methods We modify and implement the huff model three-step floating catchment area (MH3SFCA) method and exemplary calculation of the spatial accessibility indices for the test study area. The method is extended to incorporate a more realistic way to model the distance decay effect. To that end, instead of a binary approach, a continuous approach is employed. Therefore, each distance between a healthcare site and the population is incorporated individually. The study area includes Swabia and the city of Augsburg, Germany. The data for analysis is obtained from following data sources: (1) Acxiom Deutschland GmbH (2020) provided a test dataset for the locations of general practitioners (GPs); (2) OpenStreetMap (OSM) data is utilized for road networks; and (3) the Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder (German official census 2011) provided a population distribution dataset stemming from the 2011 Census. Results The spatial accessibility indices are distributed in an inhomogeneous as well as polycentric pattern for the general practitioners (GPs). Differences in spatial accessibility are found mainly between urban and rural areas. The transitions from lower to higher values of accessibility or vice versa in general are smooth rather than abrupt. The results indicate that the MH3SFCA method is suited for comparing the spatial accessibility of GPs in different regions. The results of the MH3SFCA method can be used to indicate over- and undersupplied areas. However, the absolute values of the indices do not inherently define accessibility to be too low or too high. Instead, the indices compare the spatial relationships between each supply and demand location. As a result, the higher the value of the accessibility indices, the higher the opportunities for the respective population locations. The result for the study area are exemplary as the test input data has a high uncertainty. Depending on the objective, it might be necessary to further analyze the results of the method. Conclusions The application of the MH3SFCA method on small-scale data can provide an overview of accessibility for the whole study area. As many factors have to be taken into account, the outcomes are too complex for a direct and clear interpretation of why indices are low or high. The MH3SFCA method can be used to detect differences in accessibility on a small scale. In order to effectively detect over- or undersupply, further analysis must be conducted and/or different (legal) constraints must be applied. The methodology requires input data of high quality.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuolin Tao ◽  
Yang Cheng ◽  
Jixiang Liu

Abstract Background Spatial accessibility to healthcare facilities has drawn much attention in health geography. In China, central and local governments have aimed to develop a well-organized hierarchical system of healthcare facilities in recent years. However, few studies have focused on the measurement of healthcare accessibility in a hierarchical service delivery system, which is crucial for the assessment and implementation of such strategies. Methods Based on recent improvements in 2SFCA (two-step floating catchment area) method, this study aims to propose a Hierarchical 2SFCA (H2SFCA) method for measuring spatial accessibility to hierarchical facilities. The method considers the varied catchment area sizes, distance decay effects, and transport modes for facilities at various levels. Moreover, both the relative and absolute distance effects are incorporated into the accessibility measurement. Results The method is applied and tested in a case study of hierarchical healthcare facilities in Shenzhen, China. The results reveal that the general spatial accessibility to hierarchical healthcare facilities in Shenzhen is unevenly distributed and concentrated. The disparity of general accessibility is largely caused by the concentrated distribution of tertiary hospitals. For facilities at higher levels, average accessibility of demanders is higher, but there are also larger disparities in spatial accessibility. The comparison between H2SFCA and traditional methods reveals that traditional methods underestimate the spatial disparity of accessibility, which may lead to biased suggestions for policy making. Conclusions The results suggest that the supply of healthcare resources at primary facilities is far from sufficient. To improve the spatial equity in spatial accessibility to hierarchical healthcare facilities, various actions are needed at different levels. The proposed H2SFCA method contributes to the modelling of spatial accessibility to hierarchical healthcare facilities in China and similar environments where the referral system has not been well designed. It can also act as the foundation for developing more comprehensive measures in future studies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Luo ◽  
Lingling Tian ◽  
Lei Luo ◽  
Hong Yi ◽  
Fahui Wang

A recent advancement in location-allocation modeling formulates a two-step approach to a new problem of minimizing disparity of spatial accessibility. Our field work in a health care planning project in a rural county in China indicated that residents valued distance or travel time from the nearest hospital foremost and then considered quality of care including less waiting time as a secondary desirability. Based on the case study, this paper further clarifies the sequential decision-making approach, termed “two-step optimization for spatial accessibility improvement (2SO4SAI).” The first step is to find the best locations to site new facilities by emphasizing accessibility as proximity to the nearest facilities with several alternative objectives under consideration. The second step adjusts the capacities of facilities for minimal inequality in accessibility, where the measure of accessibility accounts for the match ratio of supply and demand and complex spatial interaction between them. The case study illustrates how the two-step optimization method improves both aspects of spatial accessibility for health care access in rural China.


Author(s):  
Zifeng Chen ◽  
Xingang Zhou ◽  
Anthony GO Yeh

Spatial accessibility to kindergartens is a critical issue related to the transport safety of children. Young children should be escorted to kindergartens by adults, and trips to kindergartens are occasionally dependent on parents’ home–work trips because parents may escort their children to kindergartens en route to work. Many types of school trip can be categorized into two main types: “Home–School” and “Home–School–Work” trips. However, existing studies have tended to focus on only one type of school trip and have disregarded the other type in the assessment of accessibility. The present study examines accessibility to kindergartens by considering both types of school trips. The basic two-step floating catchment area method is used to measure the accessibility of “Home–School” trips and the commuter-based two-step floating catchment area is used for “Home–School–Work” trips. This study proposes a spectrum combinational approach, which combines both types of trips according to their actual percentages, to provide a realistic assessment of accessibility to kindergartens. An empirical study is conducted in Shanghai by combining cellphone big data and traditional data from a census. Results indicate that, compared with the spectrum combinational approach, the inequality of accessibility would be underestimated if we only focus on “Home–School” trips in the measurement of accessibility, but overestimated if we only focus on “Home–School–Work” trips. The proposed spectrum combinational approach, by modifying the trip assumptions on which accessibility evaluation is based, constitutes a novel and more realistic accessibility measurement of spatial accessibility to kindergartens.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-218
Author(s):  
Francis Chuma Osefoh

Some of the renowned world tourism countries have special peculiarities in character in terms of their nature reserves and built environments; that made them stand out for their attractions and visits. These qualities range from conservation and preservation of nature reserves, built environments- epoch architectural supports over the years; historical heritage; political; religious; socio-economic; cultural; and  high technology that enhance culture. The virtues of multi- ethnic groups and multi- cultural nature gave Nigeria a rich cultural heritage, and she is blessed with natural wonders, unique wildlife, and a very favorable climate. More often than not less attention and importance are placed over the nature reserves and built environments to the detriment of tourism in lieu of other sectors. Summarily the country lacks the culture of conservation and preservation of her abundant resources to promote cultural tourism. Case study strategy was applied in the research tours with reports of personal experiences, documentaries and analyses of sites visited in Europe and Nigeria were highlighted with references to their attributes in terms of structures and features that made up the sites as relate to culture and attraction.The task in keeping rural, city landscapes and nature reserves alive stands out as the secret of communication link from the past to present and the future; which tourism developed nations reap as benefits for tourist attraction.


Author(s):  
Magda Mostafa

The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the application of the Autism ASPECTSS™ Design Index in the Post-Occupancy Evaluation of existing learning environments for children along the autism spectrum. First published in 2014 this index outlines 7 design criteria that have been hypothesized to support environments conducive of learning for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Using the index as a framework, this paper outlines a case study of a Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) of an existing pre-K-8th grade public charter purpose-built school for children on the autism spectrum. The tools used for the evaluation were: the ASPECTSS scoring of the school through a survey of teachers and administrators; on-site behavioral in-class observation; and focus groups of parents, teachers, staff and administrators. The results informed a design retro-fit proposal that strived to assess any ASPECTSS compliance issues and implement the index across the learning spaces, therapy spaces, support services and outdoor learning environments of the school. This paper will outline the application of the index and the resultant design from this process. The results will strive to present a scalable and replicable methodology and prototype for improving existing built environments for learners with ASD.


Author(s):  
Ellen Taylor ◽  
Sue Hignett

Thinking in patient safety has evolved over time from more simplistic accident causation models to more robust frameworks of work system design. Throughout this evolution, less consideration has been given to the role of the built environment in supporting safety. The aim of this paper is to theoretically explore how we think about harm as a systems problem by mitigating the risk of adverse events through proactive healthcare facility design. We review the evolution of thinking in safety as a safety science. Using falls as a case study topic, we use a previously published model (SCOPE: Safety as Complexity of the Organization, People, and Environment) to develop an expanded framework. The resulting theoretical model and matrix, DEEP SCOPE (DEsigning with Ergonomic Principles), provide a way to synthesize design interventions into a systems-based model for healthcare facility design using human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) design principles. The DEEP SCOPE matrix is proposed to highlight the design of safe healthcare facilities as an ergonomic problem of design that fits the environment to the user by understanding built environments that support the “human” factor.


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