AccessCity4All

AccessCity4All applies a mixed-methods approach in up to 50 urban neighbourhoods, ranging from city centres to the outskirts, across five European cities in Austria, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Türkiye. This approach combines city-wide calculated accessibility measures and co-creative workshops with stakeholders, as well as in-depth qualitative Walk-Along Interviews with local residents and large-scale digital participatory mapping methods (Public Participation GIS, PPGIS). AccessCity4All engages stakeholders in a co-creative process to help identify the best ways to integrate the findings into planning policies and practices. WAIs capture people’s socio-spatial perceptions, specific viewpoints and needs during movement, while PPGIS collects place-based information on citizens’ spatial practices and their perceptions of living environments.

AccessCity4All aims to enhance the 15-minute city concept by considering the diversity of people’s mobility needs and the spatial heterogeneity of neighbourhoods. Through detailed investigations, the project seeks to identify mismatches between calculated, perceived and actualised accessibility.

AccessCity4All aims to develop neighbourhood-level accessibility measures sensitive to urban forms and social groups by studying mobility patterns and perceptions of different population groups, thereby supporting sustainable urban transitions. In doing so, AccessCity4All furthers the 15-minute City concept by including residents’ perceived and actualised accessibility in mainstream measurements of calculated accessibility, tailoring them to the unique characteristics and specific needs of individual cities. 

The project’s outcomes include an updated understanding of the 15-minute City concept, improved accessibility measures for diverse urban contexts, policy recommendations for designing inclusive public spaces, and insights into people-centred, place-specific 15-minute neighbourhoods across Europe. The project’s findings will inform strategic policymaking and planning beyond the partner cities, contributing to improved and more accurate modelling of service accessibility across European cities, as well as supporting the implementation of accessibility-based planning concepts for active, healthy and inclusive neighbourhoods.