Measuring global human accessibility to essential daily necessities and services

Shengbiao Wu, Bin Chen (), Jiafu An, Andrew Nelson, Fan Dai, Chen Lin and Peng Gong ()
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Shengbiao Wu: The University of Hong Kong, Future Urbanity & Sustainable Environment (FUSE) Lab, Division of Landscape Architecture, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture
Bin Chen: The University of Hong Kong, Future Urbanity & Sustainable Environment (FUSE) Lab, Division of Landscape Architecture, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture
Jiafu An: The University of Hong Kong, Urban Systems Institute
Andrew Nelson: Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) of the University of Twente, Department of Natural Resources
Fan Dai: The University of Hong Kong, Institute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality
Chen Lin: The University of Hong Kong, Urban Systems Institute
Peng Gong: The University of Hong Kong, Urban Systems Institute

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Equitable access to daily necessities and services is crucial for enhancing human quality of life and achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. However, knowledge about global access to these essential resources remains limited and fragmented, due to the absence of a comprehensive infrastructure inventory and scalable accessibility measures. Here we compile a global database of points of interest to represent six essential infrastructure categories—living, healthcare, education, entertainment, public transit, and working. We use refined 30-meter resolution friction surface data to map travel time to these critical infrastructures as a proxy for accessibility across the urban-rural continuum and assess disparities across geographic, urbanization, and socio-economic contexts. Our results reveal uneven access in infrastructure availability, per capita distribution, and travel time. Globally, 62.8% (3.08 billion) and 82.5 % (4.04 billion) of urban residents live within a 15- and 30-minute walk of essential resources, respectively. These results highlight the need to optimize strategies for planning, allocation, and management of critical infrastructure to promote inclusive and sustainable development.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65732-w

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