Access beyond spatial accessibility: a multi-space, multi-dimensional conceptual framework of access in physical-virtual space

Keywords: conceptual framework of access, spatial accessibility, physical-virtual space
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 39

Abstract

Access to human needs such as food and healthcare is conceptually understood to be comprised of multiple spatial and aspatial dimensions. However, research in this area has traditionally been explored with spatial accessibility (SA) measures that almost exclusively focus on the availability of supply resources/services and accessibility which is the ease to which locations of these supplies can be reached with existing land-use and transport systems. These objective measures are insufficient in holistically capturing the available opportunities as they ignore other components such as the emergence of virtual space to carry out activities and interactions enabled by modern information and communication technologies (ICT). Today’s human dynamics exists in a hybrid physical-virtual space. Recent research has highlighted the importance of understanding ICT, individual behavior, human perceptions, and social networks in identifying opportunities available to people. However, we lack a holistic approach that relates these different dimensions with access research. To address this gap, this paper proposes a new conceptual framework for the geography of access with food access as a case study to illustrate how the proposed framework can be used to address critical societal issues. This presentation discusses the new conceptual framework of access from a perspective that people’s surrounding environments, social networks, and perceptions are closely related to different dimensions of access in a hybrid physical-virtual world.