Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41315196›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Measuring global human accessibility to essential daily necessities and services.

Shengbiao Wu, Bin Chen, Jiafu An, Andrew Nelson, Fan Dai, Chen Lin, Peng Gong

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Shengbiao WuFuture Urbanity & Sustainable Environment (FUSE) Lab, Division of Landscape Architecture, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4569-6366
Bin ChenFuture Urbanity & Sustainable Environment (FUSE) Lab, Division of Landscape Architecture, Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. binley.chen@hku.hk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3496-2876
Jiafu AnUrban Systems Institute, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Andrew NelsonDepartment of Natural Resources, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) of the University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7249-3778
Fan DaiInstitute for Climate and Carbon Neutrality, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Chen LinUrban Systems Institute, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4205-8633
Peng GongUrban Systems Institute, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. penggong@hku.hk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1513-3765

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

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.

Indexed as

Health Services AccessibilityHumansRural PopulationSocioeconomic FactorsSustainable DevelopmentTransportationTravelUrbanizationUrban Population

Identifiers

PMID41315196
PMCPMC12663381

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.