Travelling Beyond Spatial Analysis The Impact of Temporal and Personal Restrictions on Equitable Access to Opportunities by Koos Fransen De impact van tijd- en persoonsgebonden restricties op een gelijkwaardige toegang tot voorzieningen Travelling beyond Spatial Analysis: The Impact of Temporal and Personal Restrictions on Equitable Access to Opportunities Koos Fransen Promotoren: prof. dr. P. De Maeyer, prof. dr. ing. G. Deruyter Proefschrift ingediend tot het behalen van de graad van Doctor in de industriële wetenschappen Vakgroep Geografie Voorzitter: prof. dr. P. De Maeyer Faculteit Wetenschappen Vakgroep Civiele Techniek Voorzitter: prof. dr. ir. P. Troch Faculteit Ingenieurswetenschappen en Architectuur Academiejaar 2017 - 2018 ISBN 978-94-6355-074-1 NUR 905, 901 Wettelijk depot: D/2017/10.500/109 Members of the examination board: Prof. dr. ir. Gert De Cooman (Ghent University, chair) Prof. dr. Philippe De Maeyer (Ghent University, promotor) Prof. dr. ing. Greet Deruyter (Ghent University, promotor) Prof. dr. Steven Farber (University of Toronto Scarborough) Prof. dr. Kobe Boussauw (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) Prof. dr. ir. Sidharta Gautama (Ghent University) Prof. dr. Peter Bogaert (Ghent University) Prof. ir. Dirk Lauwers (Ghent University) Prof. dr. Nico Van de Weghe (Ghent University) Dean: “Sal, we gotta go and never stop going 'till we get there.” Sal: “Where we going, man?” Dean: “I don't know but we gotta go.” Jack Kerouac in On the Road, 1957 - i - - ii - Conducting a PhD is actually very similar to scuba diving; roughly plan your route, jump right in, enjoy yourself and, most importantly, keep breathing, and you’ll be just fine. Koos Fransen, 2017 For those who got to know me these past four years as a colleague or as a friend (mostly as both), the analogy between writing a doctoral dissertation and travelling – or being on the road – will not come as a surprise. It took me quite the effort to process one of my favorite pastimes in my dissertation title, and I will continue on this stretch for thanking the multitude of magnificent people who have helped me being where I am today, writing my thoughts on paper at this very moment. As all good travel stories, I should start with the beginning. And for actually starting – and, of course, eventually finishing – my PhD, I have to extensively thank my two supervisors or, considering my analogy, my guides throughout my PhD journey. Philippe, you provided me with the opportunity to continue on my master thesis topic, which mainly focused on the concept of accessibility; a topic that has interested me from the very beginning. Your support in applying for a scholarship after my studies was very welcome, and from that moment on I have always considered you the researchers’ tourist office: the helpful person with the right contacts everywhere, the necessary information at hand (when asked for) and a ton load of maps lying around in his office. Moreover, I greatly appreciate the freedom you gave me during these four years in finding my own trodden path. In contrast to your laid-back, let-him-be-he’s-doing-just-fine way of guidance, my next victim for praise can be considered as the typical look-around-and-enjoy type of guide. Geert (sometimes also referred to a ‘Greet’ or ‘Greedt’), as a respective promotor should, you showed me every tip and trick in the book to work more efficiently, explore more grounds and develop myself to the fullest. Yet you also motivated me that there is always more to do – in my PhD as well as in life in general – and reminded me to never stop enjoying every part of it. I had the pleasure of joining you in exploring exotic temples in India, making fishing holes in frozen Finnish lakes and even ploughing through – both literally and figuratively – muddy waters in Bertrix. But more importantly, you made me feel at home in the great world of academia, even when at times the road seemed long and hard to travel. And in all this, no time constraints were large enough to hold you back from taking a break - iii - to go over a paper, brainstorm on an idea or just make small talk (or indeed, gossip). Thank you for everything. On my great PhD expedition, there are two additional people that deserve as much praise in guiding me throughout the journey. Tijs and Steve, I will call you guys the locals, the ones that led me to a destination’s good spots while avoiding the boring tourist traps. In the bewildering world of transportation, you definitely made sure I found my way. In addition, you introduced me to some of my major ‘academic idols’ (e.g., the part-time philosopher and always captivating Karel Martens or the powerful yet charming Karen Lucas), with whom I had the pleasure of discussing my research topic or working together with thanks to you. Tijs, you gave me the kick start that I so eagerly needed, with an accepted IWT grant proposal and two accepted journal articles within my first year of research. I enjoyed working with you, and I can now honestly say that the first year was the most productive one, because I had the pleasure of travelling into academia alongside you. I wish you all the best with your family and your career, and maybe someday a return ticket to academic research. Steve, just as Tijs boosted my moral in the preliminary stage of my PhD, you flew me in to Toronto, made me part Canuck and got me on the academic path again during the second half of my PhD. I really enjoyed my time in Toronto, and I will never forget your efforts in helping me on the Utah paper while you and Jess were expecting little Raphael (and you bringing him to our farewell dinner when he was only a couple weeks old). I wish you guys the best of luck in your new home, say ‘hi’ to Theo and Jess, and I will always be looking forward to our next Belgian (or yeah, why not Canadian) beer together. As many of you know, travelling abroad – be it for conferences, workshops or just downright holidays – has encompassed a large portion of my time as a PhD student. Nonetheless, I have fallen deeply in love with my hometown and the capital of my time as a (PhD) student: the bustling city of Ghent, where – without explicitly quoting Will Smith – I spent most of my days. Herein, I have many travel companions to thank. As an industrial engineer with a promotor in geography and a research interest in mobility and spatial planning, I had the pleasure of getting to know three groups of colleagues. Our memorable times together could suffice as a reason for me to flunk my PhD and stay just a little longer. First, I would like to thank all the colleagues in the Geography department at the S8. I had the pleasure of sharing an office with Tijs and Bart, and later with Samuel, Pepijn and Nina. I have no doubt that we will soon play some funky, jazzy tunes at a jam - iv - session in the Kinky Star, drink an Aperol Spritz on a lazy Friday afternoon or row down the Watersportbaan together. I should definitely also thank the Barts, Marijke, the Anneliezen, Jasper, Tim, Britt, Berdien, Laure, Kristien, Lieselot, Kevin, Jochem, Jeffrey, Jeroen, Lander, the Michiels, Lien, the Hannes, Freke, Jonas, Leen, Ann, Niels and Soetkin for the (bachelor) parties, escape games, apero’s, conferences, programming help, ping pong championships, collaboration, assistentenweekendjes, etc. Thank you all for making my (what now really feels like limited) time at the S8 that much fun. In addition, a special word of gratitude goes out to Helga. Thank you for all your help and kind words of support, without you my PhD would definitely have been an administrative wreck. I wish you the best with your painting and calligraphy, and hopefully we can see each other soon over a good bowl of pasta topped with Ruben’s delicious olive oil (not phrasing). Second, I would like to thank all the colleagues at the Schoonmeersen. Here, I had the pleasure of sharing an office with Hanne, Kizzy, Gieljan, Marijke, Charlotte, Sara and Sven, and although there was some office rivalry, Arne, Anthony and Leo “working” in the other office deserve as much praise. I am sure that I will hop in for a ‘frigomomentje’ now and then, join you on the dance floor at the Oude Vismijn, get my butt kicked in padel or archery or just casually meet up with you guys in Ghent. And for those of you still travelling down the PhD road, I wish you the best of luck. In particular, I would also like to thank Hanne for our pleasant times together. It is always nice when colleagues become your friends, but it is an even greater pleasure when one of your friends joins you as your colleague. Good luck with the GIS course, I am sure you will do fine without me. My gratitude also goes out to the slightly- less-younger generation of colleagues: Frank, Dirk, Tom, Veerle, Wouter, Hilde, Kathleen, Ignaas and Marc. I am sure we will catch up in the coffee corner. Last but not least, I would like to thank my colleagues at the AMRP. Karel and Suzanne, good luck on your impending PhD dissertation deadline. Thomas and Els, the best of luck on your new professional adventures. Barbara and Beitske, I am convinced that you will keep the AMRP wheel turning, through the prospect of a great number of new projects.