Evaluating the Temporal Organization of Public Service Provision Using Space-Time Accessibility Analysis

Abstract

In recent years, there has been increasing awareness about the impact of urban time policies on the quality of people's everyday lives. However, within the urban planning field, evaluations of public service delivery have primarily focused on the spatial rather than the temporal organization of public service facilities. This study tries to fill this gap by using space-time accessibility analysis to explore the extent to which changes in open hours affect the social equity of service provision. To this end an accessibility model is implemented and employed in a case study of public service provision in the urban area of Ghent, Belgium. Our analysis not only demonstrates that access to public services exhibits substantial hour-to-hour and day-to-day variations, but it also shows that individuals with certain personal and household attributes are affected differently by changes to the temporal regime of public service facilities.

Keywords:

• space-time accessibility analysis
• locational benefits
• time constraints
• operating hours
• Ghent