Measuring urban accessibility: Evidence from Kampala
This project computes new measures of urban accessibility in Kampala – information that can help policymakers identify critical areas where local residents have limited access to various establishments.
To measure accessibility – the ability of city residents to access the places they wish to visit – information on travel time to each possible venue within each destination category is needed. This detailed data is not typically collected in government surveys or easily available from other sources. This paucity of useful data, therefore, limits the ability of urban policymakers to evaluate mobility and accessibility needs in their cities.
For this project, we compute new measures of urban accessibility in Kampala, Uganda. Our accessibility metrics will help Ugandan policymakers identify critical areas within Kampala where local residents have poor access to establishments like schools, hospitals, police stations, food stores, or jobs. Our accessibility metrics consider whether poor access is caused by slow travel speeds and congestion or by long distances between where people live and where venues are. We also compare Kampala's performance on accessibility metrics to that of peer cities in Africa and around the world. Overall, this project delivers detailed insights into the inner workings of a developing city.
