Publication: Accessibility Across Transport Modes and Residential Developments in Nairobi
Loading...
Files in English
377 downloads
Published
2019-01
ISSN
Date
2018-11-27
Editor(s)
Abstract
A key goal of urban transportation planning is to provide people with access to a greater number of opportunities for interaction with people and places. Measures of accessibility are gaining attention globally for use in planning, yet few studies measure accessibility in cities in low-income countries, and even fewer incorporate semi-formal bus systems, also called paratransit. Drawing on rich datasets available for Nairobi, Kenya this analysis quantifies place-based accessibility for walking, paratransit, and driving using three different measures: a mobility measure quantifying how many other locations in Nairobi can be reached in 60 min, a contour measure quantifying the number of health facilities that can be reached in 60 min, and a gravity measure quantifying the number of health facilities weighted by a time-decay function. Health facilities are used because they are an essential service that people need physical access to and as a representation of the spatial distribution of activities more broadly. The findings show that place-based accessibility is highest for driving, then paratransit, then walking, and that there are high levels of access to health facilities near the Central Business District (CBD) for all modes. Additionally, paratransit accessibility is comparatively better in the contour and gravity measures, which may mean that paratransit is efficiently providing access based on the spatial distribution of services. The contour measure results are also compared across different residential levels, which are grouped based on neighborhood characteristics and ordered by income. Counterintuitively, the wealthiest areas have very low levels of place-based accessibility for all modes, while poor areas have comparatively better walking access to health facilities. Interestingly, the medium low residential level, characterized in part by tenement apartment buildings, has significantly higher accessibility than other residential types. One way to reduce inequality in access across income groups is to increase spatial accessibility for the modes used by low- and middle-income households, for example with policies that prioritize public transport and non-motorized travel, integrate paratransit with land use development, and provide safe, efficient, and affordable options.
Link to Data Set
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Cities on the Move : A World Bank Urban Transport Strategy Review(Washington, DC, 2002-08)The report's objectives are i) to better understand the nature and magnitude of urban transport problems, particularly in respect of the poor, and ii) to articulate a strategy by which the World Bank and other agencies can assist national and city governments to address these problems. The first part of the report considers how urban transport can be used as an instrument of urban development and poverty reduction. Chapter 2 discusses how transport reduces poverty. Chapter 3 examines how urban transport policies can be focused more specifically on meeting the needs of the poor but touches on other transport related aspects of the quality of life of poor people. Chapter 4 considers the urban environment, focusing on air pollution to which the poor are particularly vulnerable, while Chapter 5 considers problems of personal safety and security. The second part of the report considers how the objectives can be pursued by using a range of instruments. Chapter 6 considers the provision and management of road infrastructure. Chapter 7 discusses road based public transport, including the role of the informal sector. Chapter 8 considers the role and limitations of mass transit. Chapter 9 pays special attention to non-motorized transport. Chapter 10 raises the issues of pricing and financing, and Chapter 11, looks at institutional arrangements. Finally, Chapter 12 discusses the implications for the instruments and lending strategies of the Bank.Publication Understanding the Emerging Role of Motorcycles in African Cities : A Political Economy Perspective(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-04)A decline in organized public transport systems has led to rapid growth in non-conventional means of public transport, initially provided by minibuses and shared taxi/vans, and more recently by commercial motorcycles. Unlike cities in South and East Asia, ownership and use of motorized two-wheelers as a personalized vehicle is very small in sub-Saharan cities. However, over the past decade there has been a significant growth in the use of motorcycles as a commercial public transport mode. While offering certain transport advantages in the form of easy maneuverability, ability to travel on poor roads, and demand responsiveness, commercial motorcycle service growth has also led to an increase in road accidents, traffic management problems, pervasive noise and increases in local air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Government efforts to regulate the market have had the contrary impact of compounding the problem by distorting market structures. The growth in the use of commercial motorcycles has also dispelled one of the commonly held illusions: fare controls in the public bus market are often justified to support affordability for a vast majority of low income population; however, commercial motorcycles are more expensive than the lowest bus fares, but are increasingly being patronized by the poor due to the inadequacy of bus services. This paper attempts to evaluate the commercial motorcycle mode used in the three cities of Douala, Lagos, and Kampala, based on their political economy context in order to draw general conclusions of value throughout Africa and the rest of the developing world. The evaluation underscores the linkages between governance failure and weak sector performance and highlights the need to adapt policy instruments to local political and economic context. Central to discussion is the necessity to develop a participation framework driven by open communications across a wide spectrum of stakeholders.Publication Transforming Cities with Transit : Transit and Land-Use Integration for Sustainable Urban Development(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-01-03)This study explores the complex process of transit and land-use integration in rapidly growing cities in developing countries. It first identifies barriers to and opportunities for effective coordination of transit infrastructure and urban development. It then recommends a set of policies and implementation measures for overcoming these barriers and exploiting these opportunities. Well-integrated transit and land development create urban forms and spaces that reduce the need for travel by private motorized vehicles. Areas with good access to public transit and well-designed urban spaces that are walkable and bikeable become highly attractive places for people to live, work, learn, play, and interact. Such environments enhance a city's economic competitiveness, reduce local pollution and global greenhouse gas emissions, and promote inclusive development. These goals are at the heart of transit-oriented development (TOD), an urban form that is increasingly important to sustainable urban futures. This book uses a case study approach. It draws lessons from global best-case examples of transit-oriented metropolises that have direct relevance to cities in developing countries and elsewhere that are currently investing in bus rapid transit (BRT) and other high-capacity transit systems. It also reports the results of two original in-depth case studies of rapidly growing and motorizing cities that introduced extended BRT systems: Ahmedabad, India and Bogota, Colombia. Two shorter case studies enrich the understanding of factors that are critical to transforming cities with transit.Publication Transport Strategy to Improve Accessibility in Developing Countries(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-05-01)In developing countries disabled people and the elderly are more likely to be among the poor. Moreover, exclusion increases the costs associated with disability to constrain disabled people from breaking out of poverty. Improved access and mobility are important factors in reducing poverty and can facilitate the participation of people with disabilities in economic, social, and political processes. Many countries have legislation requiring that these challenges be addressed but effective responses are generally very limited. Action to improve the situation is constrained by the serious shortage of data on the access and mobility needs of disabled and elderly people as well as by resource constraints. This paper outlines guidance for addressing the access and mobility needs of disabled and elderly people in the context of the World Bank's mission to reduce poverty and discusses the main challenges for providing inclusive transport. It draws attention to opportunities to learn from transport interventions and to current research. The paper describes the main activities being fostered by the transport sector in the World Bank. These aim to raise awareness of proven good practice in setting policies and strategies.Publication Mongolia Trade and Transport Facilitation Action Plan(Washington, DC, 2009-01-20)This report develops and expand on the Trade Facilitation and Logistics Development Strategy Report, published in December 2006. This report employs a supply chain perspective which focuses on the trade and transportation needs of the products and supply chains assessed. These specific needs are then compared with the trade facilitation services available, the gaps between these and the needs identified, recommendations made for closing the gaps. Three export and three import products/product groups have been chosen for analysis, for the highest export growthpotential. Given the recent dramatic decline in the market price of minerals and the drop in demand for them, diversification of Mongolia's economy and international trade has assumed renewed importance. In this review we have combined attention to traditional exports as support for diversification of trade, while not ignoring the export of minerals and import of mining equipment as these will continue to be important.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Using Mobile Data to Understand Urban Mobility Patterns in Freetown, Sierra Leone(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-01)In recent years, researchers have demonstrated that digital footprints from mobile phones can be exploited to generate data that are useful for transport planning, disaster response, and other development activities—thanks mainly to the high penetration rate of mobile phones even in low-income regions. Most recently, in the effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, these data can be used and explored to track mobility patterns and monitor the results of lockdown measures. However, as rightly noted by other scholars, most of the work has been limited to proofs of concept or academic work: it is hard to point to any real-world use cases. In contrast, this paper uses mobile data to obtain insight on urban mobility patterns, such as number of trips, average trip length, and relation between poverty, mobility, and areas of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. These data were used in preparation of an urban mobility lending operation. Additionally, the paper describes good practices in the following areas: accessing mobile data from telecom operators, frameworks for generating origin and destination matrices, and validation of results.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Taxes, Spending, and Equity: International Patterns and Lessons for Developing Countries(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-17)Taxes and public spending underpin the basic administration of government and finance the human capital and infrastructure investments needed for economic growth. They can also have a significant and immediate impact on poverty and inequality. The question of how public finance can support longer-term growth objectives while promoting equity has become even more important in recent years, given the high fiscal deficits and debt levels most countries emerged with in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. These included the increasing cost of debt and the need to restart environmentally sustainable growth while helping households address the learning losses and other social scars caused by the pandemic. This paper examines the global evidence on which households pay which taxes and who benefits from what spending, and critically, the net effect on different households across the income distribution. The aim is to identify the patterns and lessons that emerge for designing progressive fiscal policies. A global dataset of 96 countries is assembled, spanning all regions of the world and all national income levels, grounded in the Commitment to Equity (CEQ) approach to fiscal incidence.Publication Direct and Indirect Impacts of Transport Mobility on Access to Jobs: Evidence from South Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-12)Access to jobs is essential for economic growth. In Africa, unemployment rates are notably high. This paper reexamines the relationship between transport mobility and labor market outcomes, with a particular focus on the direct and indirect effects of transport connectivity. As predicted by theory, wages are influenced by the level of commuting deterrence. Generally, higher earnings are associated with longer commute times and/or higher commuting costs. Local accessibility is also important, especially for individuals with time constraints. Both direct and indirect impacts are found to be significant in South Africa, where job accessibility has been challenging since the end of apartheid. For the direct impact, the wage elasticity associated with commuting costs is significant. Returns on commute are particularly high for women. Local accessibility to socioeconomic facilities, such as shops and health services, is also found to have a significant impact, consistent with the concept of mobility of care. To enhance employment, therefore, it is crucial to connect people not only to job locations but also to various socioeconomic points of interest, such as markets and hospitals, in an integrated manner. This integration will enable individuals to spend more time working and commuting longer distances.Publication World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees, and Societies(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2023-04-25)Migration is a development challenge. About 184 million people—2.3 percent of the world’s population—live outside of their country of nationality. Almost half of them are in low- and middle-income countries. But what lies ahead? As the world struggles to cope with global economic imbalances, diverging demographic trends, and climate change, migration will become a necessity in the decades to come for countries at all levels of income. If managed well, migration can be a force for prosperity and can help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. World Development Report 2023 proposes an innovative approach to maximize the development impacts of cross-border movements on both destination and origin countries and on migrants and refugees themselves. The framework it offers, drawn from labor economics and international law, rests on a “Match and Motive Matrix” that focuses on two factors: how closely migrants’ skills and attributes match the needs of destination countries and what motives underlie their movements. This approach enables policy makers to distinguish between different types of movements and to design migration policies for each. International cooperation will be critical to the effective management of migration.