Nonwork Accessibility as a Social Equity Indicator

This study explains a method for deriving nonwork accessibility indicators and evaluates how nonwork accessibility varies among social groups in the Detroit metropolitan region. It finds that vulnerable social groups-including African Americans, Hispanics, low-income households, and households in poverty-experience an advantage in physical accessibility over more privileged groups for several trip purposes, including convenience stores, childcare facilities, religious organizations, and hospitals. However, vulnerable groups experience a distinct disadvantage in accessibility to shopping and supermarkets. These vulnerable social groups experience a substantially larger share of households with extremely low levels of accessibility, as a result of disproportionately low access to private vehicles.