Abstract:

This paper constitutes an examination of the nature of accessibility indices and their usage in the planning process. It begins with a brief and patchy review of planning practice as seen by an outsider with particular emphasis being placed on some of the mistakes and the unforseen consequences that have occurred. One approach to minimising these mistakes, and also of making the nature of the consequences more explicit, can be based around the use of indicators, and given the nature of the mistakes discussed, specifically accessibility indices: the examination of suitable definitions of accessibility, their economic and social implications, and particularly the technical problems relating to operational formulations.