Improving planning and investment through the use of accessibility indices

Generating adequate access to opportunities is a fundamental condition for ensuring well-being. Yet, many transport policies are still more focused on generating physical movement and increasing speeds than in guaranteeing access. This has often resulted in induced demand (i.e. the phenomenon that increasing road capacity leads to an increase in traffic volumes), exacerbating congestion, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. A focus on private motorized transport also tends to exacerbate inequality and social exclusion. By shifting the focus of policies and investment from accommodating traffic growth to improving accessibility authorities could deliver simultaneously on a wide set of sustainability goals.

cambiaMO with Floridea has prepared in 2017 this report for the OECD International Transport Forum that examines how accessibility indicators can be used to improve transport planning and investment with the objective of boosting accessibility. It also identifies principles for accessibility-based decision making and discusses how accessibility indicators can be effectively operationalized.