Cited by 55Urban Planning and GovernanceUrban Development and Societal IssuesUrban Transport and Accessibility

Social Sustainability in Metropolitan Areas: Accessibility and Equity in the Case of the Metropolitan Area of Valencia (Spain)

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Pitarch-Garrido, Maria-Dolores·2018·Sustainability

Abstract

By definition, sustainable development includes environmental, economic and social dimensions. Scholars have paid little attention to the latter, although greater interest has been seen in recent years due to the growing strength of the idea that development without equity is not development. Within this context, moreover, urban spaces present complex structures that make it difficult to address sustainable development goals without adequate territorial planning. The aims of the present article are twofold: to expound a conceptual line of thinking to define the social dimension of sustainability—while aware that it is inseparable from the other two—and to propose a simple measurement method based on the accessibility of public services. This method uses time-distance as the measure through which to understand socio-spatial equity. It is based on using GIS tools for a case study—in this case, the city of Valencia—and on the concept of spatial equity as the basis of social sustainability.

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  1. Harvey, D. Social Justice and the City; Blackwell Publ.: Oxford, UK, 1973.
  2. Bramley, G.; Dempsey, N.; Power, S.; Brown, C. What is "social sustainability", and how do our existing urban forms perform in nurturing it? In Proceedings of the Planning Research Conference, Bartlett School of Planning, UCL, London, UK, 5-7 April 2006.
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  7. Pitarch-Garrido, M.D. Measuring Equity and social sustainability through accessibility to public services by public transport: The case of the Metropolitan area of Valencia (Spain). Eur. J. Geogr. 2013, 4, 64-85.
  8. Martens, K. Basin Transport Planning on Principles of Social Justice. Berkeley Plan. J. 2006, 19, 1-17.
  9. Bhat, C.; Handy, S.; Kockelman, K.; Mahmassani, H.; Chen, Q.; Weston, L. Development of an Urban Accessibility Index: Literature Review; Centre of Transportation Research, The University of Texas: Austin, TX, USA, 2000.

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Authors
Pitarch-Garrido, M.-D.
Affiliations
Department of Geography, Inter-University Institute of Local Development, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibañez, 28, 46010 Valencia, Spain
Venue
Sustainability
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2018-01-31
Volume
10
Issue
2
Pages
371
ISSN
2071-1050 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2786399243
Cited by
55
References
44
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 3
FWCI
21.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Sustainability (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • European Regional Development Fund (CSO2016-74888-C4-1-R)
  • Agencia Estatal de Investigación (CSO2016-74888-C4-1-R)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban Planning and Governance
  • Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban Development and Societal Issues
  • Social Sciences › Transportation › Urban Transport and Accessibility
Keywords
social sustainability, metropolitan areas, accessibility (transport and spatial geography), equity, socio-spatial equity, public services, time distance, sustainable development, spatial planning, Valencia metropolitan area

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