Unpacking data representation issues in distributional accessibility impact assessments: Lessons from Bogotá's urban gondola

Abstract

This paper contributes to the academic literature by comparing findings from various conceptualizations of accessibility used in planning practice alongside analyses informed by different moral principles found in transportation scholarship. The study focuses on the accessibility benefits of Bogotá's first urban gondola project, known locally as TransMiCable. It addresses two main questions: (1) How many people benefit from the access improvements enabled by TransMiCable? (2) How does TransMiCable enhance job access, and for whom? Findings from a local accessibility analysis indicate that the investment benefited approximately 80,000 residents within TransMiCable's 800-m catchment area. However, results from a regional accessibility impact analysis show that the benefits extend beyond the project's immediate area, reaching residents from various socioeconomic backgrounds, some living up to ten kilometers away —totaling more than one million beneficiaries.

Distributional accessibility impact analyses guided by Rawls's principles of distributive justice indicate that the most disadvantaged population groups received the greatest accessibility benefits from TransMiCable, rendering the project progressive, and therefore justifiable on ethical grounds. However, analyses guided by egalitarian and sufficientarian notions of justice present a less compelling case for supporting the project. The paper closes by discussing the potential implications for accessibility-oriented planning and recommendations to transportation data analysts and city planners.