Which Neighborhoods Have Easier Access to Online Home Delivery Services? A Spatiotemporal Accessibility Analysis in Nanjing, China

Abstract

The rise in online home delivery services (OHDS) has had a significant impact on how urban services are supplied and used in recent years. Studies on the spatial accessibility of OHDS are emerging, but few is known about the temporal dimension of OHDS accessibility as well as the geographic and socioeconomic differences in the spatiotemporal accessibility of OHDS. This study measures the spatiotemporal accessibility of four types of OHDS, namely leisure, fresh and convenient, medical, and catering services. The geographic and socioeconomic disparities in the spatiotemporal accessibility of these four types of OHDS are then identified using spatial statistical methods and the Kruskal-Wallis test (K-W test). The case study in Nanjing, China, suggests that: 1) spatiotemporal accessibility better reflects the temporal variation of OHDS accessibility and avoids overestimation of OHDS accessibility when only considering its spatial dimension. 2) The spatiotemporal accessibility of OHDS varies geographically and socioeconomically. Neighborhoods located in the main city or neighborhoods with higher housing prices, higher population density, and higher point of interest (POI) mix have better OHDS spatiotemporal accessibility. Our study contributes to the understanding of OHDS accessibility from a spatiotemporal perspective, and the empirical insights can assist policymakers in creating intervention plans that take into account variations in OHDS spatiotemporal accessibility.