The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on our daily lives, and in particular on our mobility, with increased up-take of digitalisation at the forefront. On-going megatrends such as teleworking and e-commerce have accelerated, raising questions about the type of transport infrastructure we have in place today and that we need, in an uncertain, tomorrow.

Developing accessible cities – where people can connect easily with jobs, services, goods and other people – is essential to economic prosperity, social development and environmental sustainability. Policy-makers increasingly acknowledge that a first key step in this direction is to move from a planning model that focuses on mobility to one that connects people to local amenities. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the need for this change by reasserting the importance of proximity to the means by which people access social, economic and cultural opportunities. The current context presents a window of opportunity to adopt policies for a compact and connected urban growth, but also a challenge as governments may adopt economic recovery measures that may derail progress already made, for example, relaxing environmental standards to allow energy providers to operate and granting subsidies for buying cars.

This chapter makes the case for enhancing urban accessibility in cities as a way to build compact, greener and more inclusive cities with higher levels of well-being. It argues that urban accessibility also has the potential to support recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic via transit-oriented policies. The chapter begins with a discussion on the shift from mobility to accessibility. This is followed by an examination of the policy actions cities may consider to improve sustainable access to opportunities for everyone, in particular low-income households and women, such as improvements to the transport network, housing policies, active and micro mobility as well as smart mobility projects. The chapter concludes with a discussion on how cities can improve quality of life through the urban form by exploring urban density, land use policies, connectivity and a better balance between modes of transport.

This chapter proposes some actions cities may undertake to improve planning and governance arrangements to build accessible cities. It argues that fostering urban accessibility requires a holistic planning approach, a sound institutional framework, reliable sources of funding, enhanced governmental capacity (staff) and strong community engagement. The chapter starts with an exploration of how cities organise their planning framework for accessibility. It then continues with a discussion on the different governance arrangements needed to promote and support urban accessibility policies. The discussion focuses on how cities adapt their institutional framework to improve transport planning and ensure they have access to potential sources of funding to implement those plans. The chapter highlights the need for improving governments’ need for qualified staff and access to reliable data. It concludes with a discussion on how community engagement can be better pursued to enhanced urban accessibility.