Spatial delineation per longitudinal sequence in dynamic spatial accessibility: a case study of primary care in New York City

Keywords: Dynamic spatial accessibility, Healthcare resources, Urban dynamics, Sequence analysis, 2SFCA
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Dynamic spatial accessibility, incorporating temporal dimension into spatial accessibility measurements, is in the spotlight because of significant temporal variations in urban phenomena (e.g., traffic congestion or floating population). Despite its importance, there are two significant gaps, particularly in existing healthcare access literature: 1) lack of consideration of the dynamic nature of spatial accessibility, and 2) limited support of dynamic spatial accessibility for practical policymaking. Our study aims to improve the measurements of spatial accessibility with time-dependent data and summarize their longitudinal sequences for effective decision-making support. Specifically, we measure hourly changes in spatial accessibility to primary care resources in New York City with the generalized two-step floating catchment area (G2SFCA) method. We then employ sequence analysis to detect and cluster unique temporal changes observed in the measures of accessibility. Our results reveal that the epicenter of sufficient accessibility moves around various locations owing to the dynamic changes in urban phenomena. In addition, we find that places can be classified based on the combination of temporal changes (i.e., stationary and non-stationary) and the different levels (e.g., sufficient, average, or insufficient) of accessibility. Therefore, our findings can suggest flexible policy implications for the various needs of locations. For example, certain areas should have extended operating hours of primary care or additional hospitals in place to have better accessibility. Given that decision-making is often based on limited resources, our study sheds light on how to make optimal allocation of healthcare resources to effectively reduce inequality of access.