Measuring transport equity under the context of different-sized cities in China
Topics:
Keywords: Transport equity, Social equity, Distributive principle, Accessibility, Indicator, China
Abstract Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Authors:
Zhengyue Wan, University College London
Helena Titheridge, University College London
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Abstract
China has witnessed a significant imbalance in socio-economic development across the country with its rapid urbanization. As an important dimension of transport sustainability, increasing attention has been given to transport equity. Due to China’s unique social institutions, conventions and development conditions, Western equity concepts and indicators may not be fully applicable for guiding transport development in China. This research builds on a conceptual framework of transport equity in China, which identified the range of benefits and burdens to be distributed, the proper distributional principle for Chinese cities and clarified specific disadvantaged groups to focus on. For cities with limited capability and resources, an alternative, more practical distributional principle - ensuring a baseline for every citizen to meet their basic needs - was proposed This paper firstly extracts a set of criteria for selecting indicators from the literature, and then specifies these criteria based on the conceptual framework for Chinese transport equity. An indicator set for Chinese cities is then proposed through a critical review of equity indicators applied in academic studies and transport practice in both the Global North and the Global South. The proposed indicator set draws on the existing indicators where available and appropriate, and discusses how these indicators can be framed under the Chinese context. In the case that current indicators do not fit within the conceptual framework and the established criteria for indicator selection, suggestions are made for developing alternative indicators. The proposed indicators will be tested through interviews with Chinese transport practitioners from different sized-cities.
Measuring transport equity under the context of different-sized cities in China
Category
Virtual Paper Abstract