Evaluation of Urban Spatial Equality Based on Accessibility to Economic Activities: Beijing as a Case Study

Urban space is the spatial projection of various social and economic activities. Given the complexity of urban functions and the ongoing expansion of urban areas, the spatial differentiation of various economic activities within cities tends to become more and more clear; moreover, there tends to be spatial inequalities in resource allocation. Taking Beijing as an example, this study develops a spatial accessibility model at the town (jiedao) level by integrating the spatial distribution of economic activities with the transport system and evaluating the accessibility (at the spatial level) to various economic activities. The equality of the residents’ economic-related travel activity is also evaluated in line with the population distribution. The results show that the accessibility to economic activities generally decreases in going from the urban center to the peripheral suburbs, and this “core to edge” difference is readily apparent. In general, residents tend to choose areas to settle in which have a high degree of accessibility, however, the attractiveness of accessibility is constrained within certain limits, as evidenced by a reduction of population in the center of Beijing. Additionally, there are inequalities with respect to traveling experiences. For instance, 27.8% of residents experience very convenient travel conditions, mostly in the Xicheng, Dongcheng, and Haidian districts, and this equates to a high level of accessibility; about half of the residents in Beijing live in areas ranked as being of medium accessibility and where the distribution of economic activities and transportation facilities are insufficient. Residents living in the outlying Changping, Mentougou, Shunyi, and Fangshan districts have relatively poor access to transportation indicating a low level of accessibility. Overall, the evaluation method for spatial equality considers comprehensively the distribution of economic activities, transportation, and population distribution and can provide a reference framework for optimization of the urban spatial structure to improve urban spatial equality.