Quantifying walkable accessibility to urban services: An application to Florence, Italy

Abstract

The concept of quality of life in urban settings is increasingly associated to the accessibility of amenities within a short walking distance for residents. However, this narrative still requires thorough empirical investigation to evaluate the practical implications, benefits, and challenges. In this work, we propose a novel methodology for evaluating urban accessibility to services, with an application to the city of Florence, Italy. Our approach involves identifying the accessibility of essential services from residential buildings within a 10-minute walking distance, employing a rigorous spatial analysis process and open-source geospatial data. As a second contribution, we extend the concept of 10-minute accessibility within a network theory framework and apply a clustering algorithm to identify urban communities based on shared access to essential services. Finally, we explore the dimension of functional redundancy. Our proposed metrics represent a step forward towards an accurate assessment of the adherence to the 10-minute city model and offer a valuable tool for place-based policies aimed at addressing spatial disparities in urban development.