Despite the growing focus on accessibility - the ease of reaching destinations - in transport planning, much research has centered on urban contexts. However, Canada's diverse landscapes, including rural, remote, northern, and isolated communities, present unique challenges (e.g., seasonal variability) that are unaddressed by urban accessibility literature.
In this context, we examine the spatial accessibility of Yellowknife, a northern Canadian community (population of ~20,000) and the capital city of the Northwest Territories. Yellowknife is currently undergoing the creation of their first comprehensive transportation master plan. We explore how the newly calculated Spatial Access Measure (SAM) provided by Statistics Canada may compliment this initiative.
We first review how SAM may relate to more commonly used "remoteness indices' relevant to Northern community planning. Then, we evaluate how dissemination areas rank in terms of their SAM to important care destinations such as grocery stores and healthcare, recreational, and education facilities by active transportation modes. We discuss the suitability of this measure in potentially reflecting lived experiences from different dimensions, like youth's access to school. Overall, our study seeks to critically evaluate the applicability of the newly calculated SAM in the Northern context and outline future research needs.
