A Metropolitan Accessibility Index for Australian Capital Cities - Metro ARIA

Abstract

Accessibility measures make it possible to investigate the relationship between location and health, well-being, service utilisation, and service provision. With no standard metropolitan accessibility measure available across Australia, this presentation examines the development, potential applications, and research opportunities possible with the Metropolitan Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (Metro ARIA). Metro ARIA is a composite spatial index that reflects the ease or difficulty people face accessing basic services within a metropolitan context. Its methodology, originally developed in 2002, was based on the widely used Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia Plus (ARIA+) methodology. Metro ARIA has been adapted from ARIA+ to be more sensitive for quantifying accessibility within metropolitan Australia, and has recently been constructed for all Australian capital cities. Calculation of Metro ARIA is derived from the measurement of road distances from land parcels within Australia’s eight capital cities to services locations belonging to five service themes: (1) Education; (2) Health; (3) Shopping; (4) Public Transport; and (5) Financial/Postal Services. In addition to the final composite index, accessibility classifications (ranging from high to low) for each of the five service themes can be used for standalone analysis. The resulting six accessibility indices have been aligned to Statistical Area 1 census units for easy integration with Australian census datasets to inform current research and stimulate new research opportunities. As one of 1,000+ datasets currently available to urban researchers through the Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN), access to the Metro ARIA accessibility indices (via the AURIN portal) will also be discussed.