Urban Villages Left Behind? A Spatial Equity Analysis of Public Transit in Shenzhen
PDF

Keywords

public transit equity; urban villages; spatial analysis; transit accessibility

Abstract

Fair access to public transportation is a key foundation for building inclusive urban mobility, yet significant gaps remain between different types of communities. In the context of China’s rapid urbanization, few studies have directly compared transportation accessibility between urban villages and formal residential areas. Taking Shenzhen as a case study, this research systematically examines the differences in transport accessibility across these communities. By integrating spatial data on metro stations, bus stops, and community boundaries, and applying geographic and statistical analysis, we assess multiple accessibility indicators. The findings show that formal residential areas enjoy higher transport facility density and more balanced distribution, while urban villages often face fragmented networks or insufficient coverage. These results highlight persistent inequalities in urban transport provision and point to the urgent need for targeted planning to improve accessibility in underserved areas of rapidly growing cities.

https://doi.org/10.63808/ir.v1i3.201
PDF

References

[1] Ahmed, Q. I., Lu, H., & Ye, S. (2008). Urban transportation and equity: A case study of Beijing and Karachi. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 42(1), 125–139.

[2] Cameron, A. C., & Trivedi, P. K. (2013). Regression analysis of count data (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

[3] Cervero, R., & Day, J. (2008). Suburbanization and transit-oriented development in China. Transport Policy, 15(5), 315–323.

[4] Delbosc, A., & Currie, G. (2011). Using Lorenz curves to assess public transport equity. Journal of Transport Geography, 19(6), 1252–1259.

[5] Deng, T., & Nelson, J. D. (2013). Bus Rapid Transit implementation in Beijing: An evaluation of performance and impacts. Research in Transportation Economics, 39(1), 108–113.

[6] El-Geneidy, A., Levinson, D., Diab, E., Boisjoly, G., Verbich, D., & Loong, C. (2016). The cost of equity: Assessing transit accessibility and social disparity using total travel cost. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 91, 302–316.

[7] Gao, Y., Liu, K., Zhou, P., & Xie, H. (2021). The effects of residential built environment on supporting physical activity diversity in high-density cities: A case study in Shenzhen, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13), 6676.

[8] Handy, S. L., Boarnet, M. G., Ewing, R., & Killingsworth, R. E. (2002). How the built environment affects physical activity: Views from urban planning. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 23(2), 64–73.

[9] Jiao, J., & Dillivan, M. (2013). Transit deserts: The gap between demand and supply. Journal of Public Transportation, 16(3), 23–39.

[10] Jing, Y., Liu, Y., Cai, E., Liu, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2018). Quantifying the spatiality of urban leisure venues in Wuhan, Central China–GIS-based spatial pattern metrics. Sustainable Cities and Society, 40, 638–647.

[11] Kwan, M. P. (2013). Beyond space (as we knew it): Toward temporally integrated geographies of segregation, health, and accessibility. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 103(5), 1078–1086.

[12] Liu, Y., He, S., Wu, F., & Webster, C. (2010). Urban villages under China’s rapid urbanization: Unregulated assets and transitional neighborhoods. Habitat International, 34(2), 135–144.

[13] Lucas, K. (2012). Transport and social exclusion: Where are we now? Transport Policy, 20, 105–113.

[14] Lucas, K., Van Wee, B., & Maat, K. (2016). A method to evaluate equitable accessibility: Combining ethical theories and accessibility-based approaches. Transportation, 43(3), 473–490.

[15] Martens, K. (2016). Transport justice: Designing fair transportation systems. Routledge.

[16] Martens, K., Golub, A., & Robinson, G. (2012). A justice-theoretic approach to the distribution of transportation benefits: Implications for transportation planning practice in the United States. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 46(4), 684–695.

[17] Pan, H., Shen, Q., & Zhang, M. (2009). Influence of urban form on travel behaviour in four neighbourhoods of Shanghai. Urban Studies, 46(2), 275–294.

[18] Wang, D., & Chai, Y. (2009). The jobs–housing relationship and commuting in Beijing, China: The legacy of Danwei. Journal of Transport Geography, 17(1), 30–38.

[19] Wu, F., Zhang, F., & Webster, C. (2013). Informality and the development and demolition of urban villages in the Chinese peri-urban area. Urban Studies, 50(10), 1919–1934.

[20] Xu, J., & Yeh, A. G. (2005). City repositioning and competitiveness building in regional development: New development strategies in Guangzhou, China. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 29(2), 283–308.

[21] Xu, W., Guthrie, A., Fan, Y., & Li, Y. (2017). Transit-oriented development in China: Literature review and evaluation of TOD potential across 50 Chinese cities. Journal of Transport and Land Use, 10(1), 743–762.

[22] Yang, W., Chen, B. Y., Cao, X., Li, T., & Li, P. (2017). The spatial characteristics and influencing factors of modal accessibility gaps: A case study for Guangzhou, China. Journal of Transport Geography, 60, 21–32.

[23] Zhang, M., & Kukadia, N. (2005). Metrics of urban form and the modifiable areal unit problem. Transportation Research Record, 1902(1), 71–79.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2025 Yilin Wang