Accessibility and quality of life: time-geographic perspectives

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe two different but related approaches to the study of individual accessibility to shed new light on the effect of various types of constraints on individual life choices (especially in the context of access to activity and travel choices). We examine how these approaches, which are based upon the time-geographic perspective, can be used to better understand how access to opportunities may affect individuals’ quality of life. The paper argues that more research on the impact of accessibility on travel choices and on the quality of life is urgently needed. We also stress that the social aspects (besides the environmental and economic aspects) of sustainability is also of increasing importance, and accessibility is one of the criteria for evaluating the sustainability of various spatial configurations