Planning for a fair and resilient city. An Inclusive Accessibility by Proximity index

Accessibility is a relevant condition for social inclusion, depending on both context (transport systems, land use patterns, temporal availability) and individual features; it may be used for measuring people's ability to participate in social life and activities that contribute to their well-being. In this frame, the paper proposes an Inclusive Accessibility by Proximity Index (IAPI) as a tool for assessing active mobility-based accessibility levels to the services deemed essential for local inhabitants while recognizing the impact of the physical and perceptual characteristics of urban spaces and paths on active modal choices. By considering the responses of different mobility profiles (pedestrians, cyclists, people with reduced mobility) to the urban environments they live and cross daily, IAPI can help direct the construction of planning and urban design measures aimed at promoting walkability and cyclability and improving accessibility via active modes to everyday services, thus envisioning a more sustainable and inclusive city. Taking a cue from the experience conducted in the testbed of Bologna (Italy), the paper describes the methodology for constructing and applying the index, presents the results obtained, and outlines the future steps planned to make the tool more scalable and sensitive to the contexts of use and analysis.