Publication: Exploring Accessibility to Employment Opportunities in African Cities: A First Benchmark
Date
2019-08
ISSN
Published
2019-08
Author(s)
Peralta-Quiros, Tatiana
Kerzhner, Tamara
Avner, Paolo
Abstract
This paper presents an analysis of
transit accessibility to employment for 11 African cities.
The use of identical methodologies and similar data sets
allows for the creation of the first benchmark to compare
accessibility across urban areas in Africa through different
metrics and visuals. The study shows how the spatial pattern
of land use and transport systems perform in connecting
people to employment opportunities in these various
settings. This first comparable benchmark is achieved by
overcoming two significant data hurdles that are common in
many developing country cities and in Africa in particular:
(i) the scarcity of information on the distribution of
employment and (ii) the lack of information on transit
routes and travel times. These data gaps are filled through
a novel methodology to estimate the distribution of
employment in urban areas (Employment Opportunity Areas) as
well as a comprehensive mapping of informal transit
networks. The analysis developed here can be replicated in
different cities in the future. The computation of these
baseline accessibility studies also opens up the possibility
to assess the impacts of future transport investments and/or
land use changes, through the use of counterfactual
scenarios, which could assist decision makers in these
cities. Finally, this analysis can serve as a demonstration
that the computation of accessibility metrics is achievable,
including in data scarce environments, and should be
considered as a progress indicator for Sustainable
Development Goal 11.2, which focuses on safe and affordable
transport for all, including public transport.
Citation
“Peralta-Quiros, Tatiana; Kerzhner, Tamara; Avner, Paolo. 2019. Exploring Accessibility to Employment Opportunities in African Cities: A First Benchmark. Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8971. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32223 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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