The Professional Geographer (1999) 51(2): 210-227.
Gender and Individual Access to Urban Opportunities:
A Study Using Space-time Measures
Mei-Po Kwan
Abstract: Conventional accessibility measures based on the notion of locational
proximity ignore the role of complex travel behavior and space-time constraints
in determining individual accessibility. As these factors are especially
significant in women's everyday lives, all conventional accessibility measures
suffer from an inherent "gender bias." This study conceptualizes
individual accessibility as space-time feasibility and provides formulations of
accessibility measures based on the space-time prism construct. Using a
subsample of European Americans from a travel diary data set collected in
Franklin County, Ohio, space-time accessibility measures are implemented with a
network-based GIS method. Results of the study indicate that women have lower
levels of individual access to urban opportunities when compared to men,
although there is no difference in the types of opportunities and areas they can
reach given their space-time constraints. Further, individual accessibility has
no relationship with the length of the commute trip, suggesting that the journey
to work may not be an appropriate measure of job access.
Key Words: accessibility, gender, space-time constraints, urban
opportunities.
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