The COVID19 pandemic exposed so many of the disparities in access to healthcare facilities within communities. These inequalities could be a result of the built infrastructure in society. Some of these can either encourage or discourage where to live, and they can shape the overall health outcomes of communities. In the Data, Mobility, and Infrastructure course, there was a notable emphasis on the concept of walkability, which examines how built infrastructures either encourage or discourage walking and physical activity.

Reflecting on my learning during the course seminar, I realised that enhancing walkability offers governments and policymakers across the world a practical approach for improving urban and rural planning. For instance, the Mayor of Paris, during his campaign, made the concept of a 15-minute neighborhood very prevalent. He is identified as working on improving the walkability of his district, with the COVID-19 pandemic underscoring the urgent need for such infrastructure improvements. This has also spread across other places like Melbourne, Edinburgh etc., priortising walkability in their planning initiatives.

During the practical sessions of the course, open-source data from wikifeatures was used to analyse the walkability of the city of Edinburgh. This analysis provided insights of how such data can inform policy decisions. In the analysis, which focused on the various services that are reachable within 5, 10, and 15 minutes, respectively, in Edinburgh, I observed that places with high walkability showed a higher density of services like cafes, restaurants, and ATMs. I had thought that clinics and healthcare facilities would be prevalent in these places, but an unfortunate realisation was that there were fewer health facilities. My question then was, should another pandemic hit the world again, how would these disparities that are observed in the present help us manage it? What could be the reason for such disparities?

Although I want to make excuses for the government, I recall that the solutions do not only lie with them. I find that resources can be within the reach of authorities and that they may be interested in making their cities livable and walkable, but these good intentions need to be backed by intentional actions. The case of Paris reminds me of the importance of stakeholder inclusion. For instance, while the idea of a 15-minute neighborhood sounds appealing to me, as an important concept for addressing inequality in healthcare accessibility, it was also noted that some protests claiming the government had devised another plan to imprison citizens with the 20-minute neighborhood concepts broke out. Reflecting on this makes me see that most improvements and projects that are targeted at citizens will require adequate education on the attempts.

In other words, should there be a course for any pandemic, globally or locally, the need to involve people in the attempts to make infrastructure reachable can start already. Engagements with people can help achieve a successful result. However, the most important discourse we can have, is will everyone have a decent access to healthcare?

Ultimately, I think fostering collaboration between government entities, stakeholders, and the public is essential for creating sustainable and equitable urban environments with infrastructure like clinics to reduce health inequality. By prioritising walkability and involving communities in the planning process, cities can not only address current health disparities but also build resilient and inclusive infrastructure for the future.

References

Frank, L. D., Appleyard, B. S., Ulmer, J. M., et al. (2021). Comparing walkability methods: Creation of street smart walk score and efficacy of a code-based 3D walkability index. Journal of Transport and Health, Vol, 21, pp. 1-12. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2020.101005

Saelens, B.E., Sallis, J.F., Frank, L.D. (2003) Environmental correlates of walking and cycling: findings from the transportation, urban design, and planning literature. Ann. Behav. Med. 25, 80–91. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324796ABM2502.

Shashank, A. and Schuurman, N. (2019). Unpacking walkability indices and their inherent assumptions. Journal of Health and Place, Volume 55, pp. 145–154.

Inclusivity, Walkability and Healthcare Accessibility / Onyebuchi Enechukwu / Knowledge Integration and Project Planning: Data, Inequality and Society (2023-24) by is licensed under a