Emergency Medical Service Accessibility Equity Across Higher- and Lower-Intensity Residential Communities: A Subdistrict Screening Exercise in Beijing
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Urban renewal decisions require evidence on both absolute emergency medical services (EMS) access and relative differences between residential communities. We compared 13,266 residential communities across 190 Beijing subdistricts using a modified two-leg two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) measure of potential opportunity and two-leg EMS vehicle travel time. Floor area ratio (FAR) was used as a proxy for development intensity: communities with FAR ≥ 2.0 were classified as higher-intensity and those with FAR < 2.0 as lower-intensity. A percentile-based Fairness index compared within-subdistrict distributions for both accessibility dimensions, and the classification was repeated at FAR = 3.0 as a threshold-sensitivity check. A paired screening identified subdistricts where lower-intensity communities had relative advantages on both measures; these locations may warrant follow-up review of higher-intensity communities, while low-access communities in either group require attention regardless of index direction. Under FAR = 2.0, the mean Fairness indices were −0.023 for potential opportunity and 0.004 for vehicle travel time; they were positively correlated (Pearson r = 0.805). Seventy-one subdistricts were high-rise-friendly and 65 low-rise-friendly, while 17 and 16 entered Tier I and Tier II double-disadvantage screening. With FAR = 3.0, 147 subdistricts were estimable, friendly-type agreement fell to 51.02%, and Tier I/Tier II Jaccard indices were 0.130 and 0.087. The results indicate that relative equity patterns are jointly associated with opportunity and travel-time accessibility but are sensitive to the operational FAR threshold. The proposed workflow translates the findings into a transparent, reproducible screening sequence for urban-renewal review. The framework can support transparent, subdistrict-level prioritization for field verification in urban-renewal review.
Source: Buildings
Language: English
Subfield: Transportation
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
OpenAlex ID: W7225813065