IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jotrge/v32y2013icp56-64.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The puzzle of mobility and access to the city in Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Diaz Olvera, Lourdes
  • Plat, Didier
  • Pochet, Pascal

Abstract

This paper examines access to the city as revealed by the daily travel behaviour of urban dwellers. It is based on secondary analyses of six household travel surveys carried out in cities in West and Central Africa between 1992 and 2003. Vehicle ownership rates are low in these cities and the cost of public transport is a major item of expenditure in household budgets, which limits its use. Walking is therefore the main mode of transport for most urban dwellers. The paper highlights the difficulties and issues linked with trip-making to conduct the major types of out-of-home activities (work and education, household management, and sociability). Our analyses show that the shortcomings of the transport system restrict the ability of urban dwellers, particularly the poor, to travel outside their neighbourhood and play a part in maintaining social inequalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Diaz Olvera, Lourdes & Plat, Didier & Pochet, Pascal, 2013. "The puzzle of mobility and access to the city in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 56-64.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:32:y:2013:i:c:p:56-64
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2013.08.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966692313001634
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2013.08.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lourdes Diaz Olvera & Didier Plat & Pascal Pochet, 2001. "Immobiles ou invisibles? Les mobilités quotidiennes des femmes à Bamako et à Ouagadougou," Post-Print halshs-01357243, HAL.
    2. Diaz Olvera, Lourdes & Plat, Didier & Pochet, Pascal, 2008. "Household transport expenditure in Sub-Saharan African cities: measurement and analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13.
    3. Lucas, Karen, 2011. "Making the connections between transport disadvantage and the social exclusion of low income populations in the Tshwane Region of South Africa," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1320-1334.
    4. Roger Behrens & Lourdes Diaz Olvera & Didier Plat & Pascal Pochet, 2006. "Collection of passenger travel data in Sub-Saharan African cities: Towards improving survey instruments and procedures," Post-Print halshs-00068328, HAL.
    5. Schafer, Andreas & Victor, David G., 2000. "The future mobility of the world population," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 171-205, April.
    6. Monique Bertrand, 2010. "De l'accès au logement à la relation domicile-travail : enjeux sociaux et spatiaux des mobilités dans la région du grand Accra (Ghana)," Revue Tiers-Monde, Armand Colin, vol. 0(1), pages 87-106.
    7. D. F. Bryceson & T. C. Mbara & D. Maunder, 2003. "Livelihoods, daily mobility and poverty in sub-saharan Africa," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 177-196, January.
    8. repec:dau:papers:123456789/4536 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Lourdes Diaz Olvera & Didier Plat & Pascal Pochet, 1998. "Villes africaines au quotidien," Post-Print halshs-00139419, HAL.
    10. Lourdes Diaz Olvera & Didier Plat & Pascal Pochet, 2008. "Household transport expenditure in Sub-Saharan African cities: measurement and analysis," Post-Print halshs-00264231, HAL.
    11. Baker, Judy & Basu, Rakhi & Cropper, Maureen & Lall, Somik & Takeuchi, Akie, 2005. "Urban poverty and transport : the case of Mumbai," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3693, The World Bank.
    12. Behrens, Roger & Diaz-Olvera, Lourdes & Plat, Didier & Pochet, Pascal, 2006. "Collection of passenger travel data in Sub-Saharan African cities: Towards improving survey instruments and procedures," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 85-96, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lourdes Diaz Olvera & Didier Plat & Pascal Pochet, 2013. "The puzzle of mobility and access to the city in Sub-Saharan Africa," Post-Print halshs-00861105, HAL.
    2. Lourdes Diaz Olvera & Didier Plat & Pascal Pochet, 2015. "Assessment of mobility inequalities and income data collection. Methodological issues and a case study (Douala, Cameroon) [Evaluation des inégalités de mobilité et recueil des revenus. Questions mé," Post-Print halshs-01235185, HAL.
    3. Diaz Olvera, Lourdes & Plat, Didier & Pochet, Pascal, 2015. "Assessment of mobility inequalities and income data collection. Methodological issues and a case study (Douala, Cameroon)," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 180-188.
    4. Lourdes Diaz Olvera & Didier Plat & Pascal Pochet, 2015. "Assessment of mobility inequalities and income data collection. Methodological issues and a case study (Douala, Cameroon)," Post-Print halshs-01205776, HAL.
    5. Andreasen, Manja Hoppe & Møller-Jensen, Lasse, 2017. "Access to the city: Mobility patterns, transport and accessibility in peripheral settlements of Dar es Salaam," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 20-29.
    6. Alberts, Anna & Pfeffer, Karin & Baud, Isa, 2016. "Rebuilding women's livelihoods strategies at the city fringe: Agency, spatial practices, and access to transportation from Semmencherry, Chennai," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 142-151.
    7. Borker, Girija, 2024. "Understanding the constraints to women’s use of urban public transport in developing countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    8. Nkurunziza, Alphonse & Zuidgeest, Mark & Brussel, Mark & Van Maarseveen, Martin, 2012. "Examining the potential for modal change: Motivators and barriers for bicycle commuting in Dar-es-Salaam," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 249-259.
    9. Mendiate, Classio Joao & Nkurunziza, Alphonse & Machanguana, Constancio Augusto & Bernardo, Roberto, 2022. "Pedestrian travel behaviour and urban form: Comparing two small Mozambican cities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    10. Foley, Louise & Brugulat-Panés, Anna & Woodcock, James & Govia, Ishtar & Hambleton, Ian & Turner-Moss, Eleanor & Mogo, Ebele R.I. & Awinja, Alice Charity & Dambisya, Philip M. & Matina, Sostina Spiwe , 2022. "Socioeconomic and gendered inequities in travel behaviour in Africa: Mixed-method systematic review and meta-ethnography," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    11. Lourdes Diaz Olvera & Didier Plat & Pascal Pochet, 2011. "Se déplacer pour se soigner. Pratiques et obstacles à Conakry et Douala," Post-Print halshs-00733353, HAL.
    12. Lourdes Diaz Olvera & Didier Plat & Pascal Pochet, 2016. "Changes in daily mobility patterns in Dakar (Senegal)," Post-Print halshs-01346869, HAL.
    13. Setareh Ataian, 2011. "Analysis of households’ urban transportation budget in Tehran [Analyse des dépenses en transport urbain des ménages à Téhéran]," Post-Print halshs-00733368, HAL.
    14. Acheampong, Ransford A. & Siiba, Alhassan, 2018. "Examining the determinants of utility bicycling using a socio-ecological framework: An exploratory study of the Tamale Metropolis in Northern Ghana," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1-10.
    15. Acheampong, Ransford A. & Asabere, Stephen Boahen, 2022. "Urban expansion and differential accessibility by car and public transport in the Greater Kumasi city-region, Ghana—A geospatial modelling approach," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    16. Gandelman, Néstor & Serebrisky, Tomás & Suárez-Alemán, Ancor, 2019. "Household spending on transport in Latin America and the Caribbean: A dimension of transport affordability in the region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-1.
    17. Falchetta, G. & Noussan, M. & Hammad, A.T., 2021. "Comparing paratransit in seven major African cities: An accessibility and network analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    18. Böhme, Marcus & Thiele, Rainer, 2012. "Is the Informal Sector Constrained from the Demand Side? Evidence for Six West African Capitals," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1369-1381.
    19. Plyushteva, Anna, 2023. "Affording mobility: Attending to the socio-material affordances of transport un/affordability," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    20. Valenzuela-Levi, Nicolás, 2021. "The rich and mobility: A new look into the impacts of income inequality on household transport expenditures," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 161-171.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:32:y:2013:i:c:p:56-64. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-transport-geography .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.