Accessibility to urban parks: Comparing GIS based measures in the city of Padova (Italy).

Accessibility to urban green spaces is essential for urban dwellers' health and well-being. For planning purposes different accessibility measures and indicators have been used. Some are only based on availability, others consider distance from residences, yet others rely on gravity-based methods that consider both supply and demand. Different indicators often provide diverse and sometimes contradictory results and many issues remain in developing a comprehensive measure of accessibility, and representativity problems remain in matching indices with reality. In this study different accessibility measures have been developed and applied to the urban parks of the city of Padova, in northeastern Italy. Effectiveness and reliability of ten indicators derived from these measures, in identifying needs, inadequacies and disparities in park access have been tested at the urban unit scale. The study confirmed that multiple indicators need to be used to provide a useful planning tool for the provision of adequate and equal opportunities for open space access to the citizens. The study has also shown which indicators can be replaced by each other without losing important information. • Measuring accessibility to green spaces with GIS is essential for urban planning. • Accessibility indicators provide diverse and sometimes contradictory results. • Correlation analysis can help avoiding replications and allowing for replaceability. • An integrated use of different types of accessibility indicators should be favored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]