Although e-shopping is increasingly adopted, it remains unclear (1) how e-shopping varies geographically, and (2) how this relates to physical and virtual accessibility. This paper presents a ...combined study of both issues focusing on the case of China, arguably one of the emerging e-shopping hotspots. Drawing on Alibaba's Online Shopping Index, we use a general spatial model (SAC) to explore the role of virtual and physical accessibility in the spatial distribution of e-shopping across 276 prefecture-level cities in China. The results suggest that both physical accessibility (proxy-ed by the relative number of shopping malls and the relative number of buses) and virtual accessibility (proxy-ed by the percentage of broadband subscribers and the relative number of delivery points) increase e-shopping, with both effects complementing each other. We discuss how findings contribute to our understanding of the geography of e-shopping, and outline implications for policymakers and e-retailers alike.
•The unequal distribution of e-shopping across 276 prefecture-level cities in China is revealed.•The roles of physical and virtual accessibility in the geography of e-shopping are investigated at the city level.•Both physical accessibility and virtual accessibility are positively associated with e-shopping.•Physical accessibility and virtual accessibility complement each other in influencing e-shopping.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Cities are recognised as key enablers for the world’s sustainable future. Urban sprawl and inefficient use of land are important issues significantly impacting the provision and use of open green ...spaces. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 11.7.1 aims at globally monitoring the amount of land that is dedicated by cities for public space. In Europe, the indicator “Share of urban population without green urban areas in their neighbourhood” is supposed to correspond to the SDG11.7.1 but is currently on-hold due to methodological issues and lack of data. Moreover, to efficiently assess public space conditions, timely and spatially disaggregated information is essential but not yet widely adopted by urban practitioners. Hereafter, we use a combination of satellite and crowdsourced Earth Observations (EO) to model physical accessibility to urban green spaces in four European cities. Findings suggest that it is technically feasible to derive information on the share of urban population without green urban areas in their neighbourhood. Results demonstrate that the proposed methodology represents a consistent, valid, reliable, low-cost, timely and continuous source of information for sustainable urban development. Open and free EO data can be a good complement to enhance official and traditional statistics on urban areas facilitating EU reporting against the SDG indicator for better comparison between EU countries.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
This is the first population-based study in South Korea to examine the comprehensive nature of gambling accessibility. While most previous studies have examined only the physical aspects of gambling ...accessibility, this study accepts that gambling accessibility is multi-dimensional comprising physical, social, and cognitive accessibility, and tests the predictive power of each dimension of gambling behavior. We measured gambling behaviors in three ways: problem gambling, time spent on gambling, and gambling expenditure. Using a proportional quota sampling method (based on gender, age, and region) to represent the general Korean population, we identified 8245 adults (aged 19-69 years), and 2044 participated in online survey from July 1 to July 9, 2021. Study findings revealed that, among the three accessibility dimensions, social accessibility was the strongest predictor of all three gambling behavior measures. Study findings provide insights for developing culturally sensitive gambling prevention programs and highlight the importance of a comprehensive examination of the relationship between gambling accessibility and gambling behavior.
•Present method for considering multiple elements of environmental justice.•Spatial variations in different combinations of activity and user diversity.•Types of perceived problems also vary ...according to each combination.•Method enables managers to target different elements of environmental justice.
This study presents a Public Participation Geographic Information System (PPGIS) method for spatially identifying and assessing multiple elements of environmental justice in urban blue space. We used this method in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland, to examine: (1) the diversity and spatial distribution of clusters based on the activities undertaken in urban blue space; (2) the diversity of users in each cluster, representing a composite measure of income, age and family income, and; (3) the extent of perceived problems and unpleasant experiences (PPUE) in each cluster. Proportionately more high activity and high user diversity areas were found in Helsinki than Espoo and Vantaa municipalities. Contrasting combinations of activity and user diversity (high-low, low-high) show very different spatial distributions, dominant activities and PPUE. The method enables landscape and urban planning strategies to be tailored to different types of activities and users, and to be responsive to the PPUE found in urban blue spaces. We encourage future landscape and urban planning research to further develop and apply this PPGIS method for assessing multiple elements of environmental justice.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPUK, ZRSKP
Despite the significance of accessibility for sustainable tourism development, little is known about the relationship between physical accessibility and restaurant sales revenues. Previous studies ...also did not consider restaurant managers’ perceptions of accessibility, although they are responsible for implementing an accessible offer. The objectives of the present study are (1) to investigate if managers of small and medium-sized restaurant enterprises (SMEs) perceive restaurants as physically accessible and (2) to determine if better physical accessibility generates higher sales revenues. This study was performed in two steps. First, research on accessibility and relevant legislation was analysed. Second, primary data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire in field research from 149 restaurant managers, and secondary financial data for each SME was obtained through publicly available financial reports. To SMEs express the perspectives of people with disabilities (PWDs), disability organisation SMEs representatives were included in the questionnaire development process. Descriptive SMEs statistics and correlation analyses were used to analyse the data. Findings reveal SMEs that managers have low knowledge of accessibility, perceive restaurants as relatively SMEs poorly accessible, and that physical accessibility is not correlated to sales revenues. SMEs Concerning the different layout areas, managers identified toilet facilities as the most SMEs inaccessible restaurant area. Besides the legislative responsibility, managers should SMEs also be aware of the economic potential of the disability market in tourism and the SMEs fact that an accessible offer facilitates the use of restaurants for society as a whole.The article ends with providing recommendations for the restaurant industry, policymakers, and academia.
•Direct use of point clouds to generate navigable graphs for pedestrians in urban environments.•Real routes generated according to two motor skills: pedestrians without reduced mobility and ...wheelchairs.•Navigable space based on ground elements and static objects.•Occlusion correction of sidewalks by applying morphological operations.
Pathfinding applications for the citizen in urban environments are usually designed from the perspective of a driver, not being effective for pedestrians. In addition, urban scenes have multiple elements that interfere with pedestrian routes and navigable space. In this paper, a methodology for the direct use of point clouds for pathfinding in urban environments is presented, solving the main limitations for this purpose: (a) the excessive number of points is reduced for transformation into nodes on the final graph, (b) urban static elements acting as permanent obstacles, such as furniture and trees, are delimited and differentiated from dynamic elements such as pedestrians, (c) occlusions on ground elements are corrected to enable a complete graph modelling, and (d) navigable space is delimited from free unobstructed space according to two motor skills (pedestrians without reduced mobility and wheelchairs). The methodology is tested into three different streets sampled as point clouds by mobile laser scanning (MLS) systems: an intersection of several streets with ground composed of sidewalks at different heights; an avenue with wide sidewalks, trees and cars parked on one side; and a street with a single-lane road and narrow sidewalks. By applying Dijkstra pathfinding algorithm to the resulting graphs, the correct viability of the generated routes has been verified based on a visual analysis of the generated routes on the point cloud and on the knowledge of the urban study area. The methodology enables the automatic generation of graphs representing the navigable urban space, on which safe and real routes for different motor skills can be calculated.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The level of development of the country's health care system can be assessed in different ways, in particular by the level of pharmaceutical aid provision to the population. The quality of ...pharmaceutical aid for the population depends on many factors, including physical accessibility and the number of pharmacies located in a certain area. The aim of the work was to study the dynamics of changes in the physical accessibility of pharmaceutical aid provision for the population and changes in the number of pharmacies in Ukraine during 2017–2022. Annual reports of the State Service of Ukraine for medicinal products and drug control, regarding licensees in the field of economic activity in the production of medicines, wholesale and retail trade of medicinal products, circulation of drugs have been used for the analysis of dynamics. It was established that the pandemic of the coronavirus disease, which was caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) coronavirus, and the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation had a significant impact on the development of the pharmaceutical market in Ukraine according to the results of the study. There is a general tendency to decrease the number of economic entities conducting their activities in the retail trade of medicines, while simultaneous increasing the places of activity, which may indicate the globalization of the pharmaceutical market. However, it can also cause a reduction in the quality of the competitive environment and limit the choice of pharmaceutical aid providers by patients. Thus, in the studied period, the number of economic entities decreased by more than 1,400. The number of pharmaceutical establishments engaged in the compounding of medicinal products also decreased significantly, by 23.5%. The total number of economic entities engaged in activities related to the circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors also decreased significantly, which definitely worsened the physical availability of this group of drugs.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In Ghana, tuberculosis (TB) case detection is low (< 34%). Existing scientific evidence suggest access to TB diagnostic tests play an essential role in TB case detection, yet little has been ...scientifically documented on it in Ghana. This study, therefore, sought to map TB diagnosis sites, and describe the geographic availability and physical accessibility to TB diagnosis in six regions of Ghana to inform scale-up and future placement of TB diagnostic tests.
We assembled the geolocation and attribute data of all health facilities offering TB diagnosis in Upper West Region (UWR), Upper East Region (UER), Ahafo, North-East, Northern, and Savannah regions. QGIS was employed to estimate the distance and travel time to TB diagnosis sites within regions. Travel time estimates were based on assumed motorised tricycle speed of 20 km (km)/hour.
Of the total 1584 health facilities in the six regions, 86 (5.4%) facilities were providing TB diagnostic testing services. This 86 TB diagnosis sites comprised 56 (65%) microscopy sites, 23 (27%) both microscopy and GeneXpert sites, and 7 (8%) GeneXpert only sites (8%). Of the 86 diagnosis sites, 40 (46%) were in the UER, follow by Northern Region with 16 (19%), 12 (14%) in UWR, 9 (10%) in Ahafo Region, 5 (6%) in North East, and 4 (5%) in Savannah Region. The overall estimated mean distance and travel time to the nearest TB diagnosis site was 23.3 ± 13.8 km and 67.6 ± 42.6 min respectively. Savannah Region recorded the longest estimated mean distance and travel time with 36.1 ± 14.6 km and 108.3 ± 43.9 min, whilst UER recorded the shortest with 10.2 ± 5.8 km and 29.1 ± 17.4 min. Based on a 10 km buffer of settlement areas, an estimated 75 additional TB diagnosis sites will be needed to improve access to TB diagnosis services across the six regions.
This study highlights limited availability of TB diagnosis sites and poor physical accessibility to TB diagnosis sites across five out of the six regions. Targeted implementation of additional TB diagnosis sites is needed to reduce travel distances to ≤ 10 km.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Primary care is the first point of care, also for people with disabilities. The accessibility of primary care facilities is therefore very important. In this study we analysed comparative data on ...physical accessibility of general practices (GP practices) in 31 (mainly) European countries.
We used data from the QUALICOPC study, conducted in 2011 among GPs in 34 (mainly European) countries and constructed a physical accessibility scale. We applied multilevel analysis to assess the differences between and within countries and to test hypotheses, related to characteristics of the practices and of the countries.
We found large differences between countries and a strong clustering of physical accessibility within countries. Physical accessibility was negatively related to the age of the GPs, and was less in single-handed and in inner city practices. Of the country variables only the length of the period of social democratic government participation during the previous decades was positively related to physical accessibility.
A large share of the variation in physical accessibility of GP practices was on the level of countries. This means that national policies can be used to increase physical accessibility of GP practices.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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