A methodological Investigation of the 15-Minute City (15-MC) studies

dc.contributor.authorRahman, Fabihaen
dc.contributor.committeechairKim, Junghwanen
dc.contributor.committeememberOliver, Robert Douglasen
dc.contributor.committeememberCrawford, Thomas Wallen
dc.contributor.departmentGeographyen
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-13T08:00:23Zen
dc.date.available2025-05-13T08:00:23Zen
dc.date.issued2025-05-12en
dc.description.abstractIn contemporary urban planning visions, where sustainable mobility, localization and proximity are paramount, the concept of the 15-minute city (15-MC), which focuses on strategically placing essential amenities within 15-minute walking or biking distances, is gaining significant importance. As efforts are being undertaken to translate the 15-MC concept into practical action, it is critical to address two key limitations of existing research: 1. A heavy reliance on open-source datasets, such as OpenStreetMap (OSM), which are often criticized for their limited point of interest (POI) data quality, and 2. The tendency to compute access uniformly across different sociodemographic groups, without taking into account how different internal and external attributes may affect their walking speed, thus shaping their 15-MC experiences. The study addresses these gaps by two approaches: #1. calculating 15-MC accessibility scores in six differently-sized regions in Virginia, United States, and empirically comparing OSM's point datasets with its less contentious alternative, Google Maps data, and #2. developing a novel geospatial methodology for evaluating 15-MC accessibility scores, focusing on how factors like topographic elevation, age, and (self-identified) gender in the Roanoke-Salem region of Virginia, USA, generate varied accessibility for different groups. Our results show that, average 15-MC accessibility scores obtained from the OSM's point-based POI data were significantly lower than those obtained from Google POI data in small-medium sized cities. The overall inequality (measured by Gini indices) deviates from the standard range of Google-based values when the OSM's point-based POI data is used. The study also emphasizes the limitations of prior studies' simplistic approach to estimating 15-MC accessibility, which usually overestimates pedestrian accessibility by disregarding topographic and demographic variables. In contrast, we believe the proposed new method provides a more realistic depiction of 15-MC accessibility as it captures the nuanced variation of walk speed that creates different levels of accessibility for different groups. The findings are intended to assist researchers and policymakers in better understanding the emerging 15-MC concept, which may eventually improve their city's accessibility for a range of demographic groups. As many local planners and lawmakers increasingly focus on implementing the 15-MC in different parts of the world, the comparative findings can help them reassess which factors contribute to creating more accurate, inclusive, and equitable urban environments that enhance residents' livability.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralThe 15-minute city (15-MC) concept, which is gaining attention among urban planners and researchers worldwide, focuses on strategically placing essential amenities within 15-minute walking or biking distances for a city's residents. As increasing efforts are being undertaken by planners to implement this theoretical concept into practical action, it is critical to address some of the limitations of previous studies. One of the limitations of these previous research is the heavy reliance on openly available datasets, such as OpenStreetMap (OSM), which are often criticized for their limited number of locational data, especially in small-town like places. In addition, these studies tend to frequently assume that the degree of accessibility is same across all sociodemographic groups of a city, without taking into account how different factors may affect their walking speed, thus shaping their 15-MC experience. Considering these, the study attempts to fill these gaps by: 1. calculating 15-MC accessibility scores in six differently-sized regions in Virginia, United States, and analytically comparing OSM's datasets with its less debatable alternative, Google Maps data, 2. developing a new methodology for evaluating 15-MC accessibility scores, focusing on how factors like topographic elevation, age, and (self-identified) gender in the Roanoke-Salem region of Virginia, USA, generate varied accessibility experiences for different groups. Our results show that, average 15-MC accessibility scores obtained from the OSM's location data were significantly lower than those obtained from the standard Google data in small-medium sized cities. It also emphasizes the limits of prior studies' simplistic approach to estimating 15-MC accessibility, which usually overestimates pedestrian accessibility by disregarding topographic and demographic variables. In contrast, we believe the proposed new method provides a more realistic depiction of 15-MC accessibility as it captures the slope-based variation in walk speed that creates different levels of accessibility for different groups. The findings are intended to assist researchers and policymakers in better understanding the emerging 15-MC concept, which may eventually improve their city's accessibility and livability for a range of demographic groups. As many local planners and lawmakers increasingly focus on implementing 15-MC in different parts of the world, the comparative findings can help them to develop more accurate, inclusive, equitable, and accessible urban environments.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:43162en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/132190en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectAccessibility; 15-minute city (15-MC); Elevation-based Accessibilityen
dc.subjectPoint of Interest (POI)en
dc.titleA methodological Investigation of the 15-Minute City (15-MC) studiesen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineGeographyen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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