POSTER SESSION
April 15, 2026 | 4:30 - 6:00 PM
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POSTER SESSION
April 15, 2026 | 4:30 - 6:00 PM
25
Abstract: This study introduces a novel metric to measure accessibility to essential services (i.e., healthcare, food, education, and entertainment) across Georgia from 2019 to 2023. The metric integrates real-world visit data from points of interest (POIs), travel distance, and facility capacity to capture realized access experienced by residents. Distinct patterns emerge across sectors. Healthcare access expanded along the I-75 and I-85 corridors, with fewer extreme disparities between high- and low-access areas. Food access remained concentrated in metropolitan regions but became more balanced statewide. Education access continued to cluster around major institutional hubs, while entertainment remained metro-centered. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, urban areas consistently exhibited higher accessibility across all services. During the pandemic, healthcare and food access increased in urban areas, whereas education and entertainment access declined. In the recovery period, regional disparities narrowed overall. Spatial analysis further indicates that a fragmented 2019 accessibility landscape reorganized into a consolidated Atlanta-centered high-access core, a northern low-access belt, and emerging clusters near secondary cities. Overall, accessibility proves dynamic rather than static and becomes less spatially concentrated over time, yet still shaped by persistent urban-rural structural differences.
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