Measuring remoteness and accessibility - A set of indices for Canadian communities

Proximity and agglomeration have been long recognized as important factors in shaping the socioeconomic opportunities of regions. Even in a globalized world, in which transportation and communication technologies have altered the meaning and perception of distance in many ways, geographic proximity remains a well established determinant of socioeconomic outcomes at the local level. For this reason, various operational measures of proximity have found widespread use in applied research and policy analysis. Among the most prominent examples are measures of remoteness from economic activities or, conversely, the accessibility of economic activities. In broad terms, these measures are intended to represent the potential disadvantages which may be associated with distance from the points of service provision and/or the lack of agglomeration. These types of measures have been used in policy analysis and program delivery to assess, and possibly compensate for, the conditions associated with a specific geographic location. Although various measures have been developed at the local or regional level, in the Canadian context no methodology and measure exist that are applicable to all communities across the country. This research is intended to fill this gap. This paper presents the computational methodology and the results of an index of remoteness created for all Canadian communities (census subdivisions) reporting some population in the Census year 2011 or connected to the main road network. In conjunction with this index, the authors also present the methods and results for a set of measures of accessibility to selected services. Although the main focus of this research project was on an index of remoteness, the conceptual and methodological development of such an index for the Canadian context led to the specification of a set of ancillary measures of accessibility to selected services.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 43p

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01648471
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 9780660082820
  • Report/Paper Numbers: 18-001-X
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Oct 16 2017 10:47AM