Urban road accessibility in Mexicali, Mexico and its impact on the quality of life of the highly marginalised population

Abstract

The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of urban road accessibility on the quality of life of the population living in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. It was necessary to use the Basic Geostatistical Areas as territorial delimitation and identify critical areas, those with low quality of life or high levels of marginalisation due to the lack of basic services in their housing. The methodology analysed socioeconomic data extracted from the 2020 Population and Housing Census, seeking to develop an Urban Marginalisation Index and categorise the population status as Very High, High, Medium-High, Medium-Low, Low and Very Low. Subsequently, the accessibility conditions of the road network were analysed in two ways: relative or absolute, mainly in the most unfavourable areas, thereby identifying the relationship between quality of life and road accessibility. It is shown that 13 of the 429 Basic Geostatistical Areas in Mexicali present a High to Very High marginalisation level, these being the areas where the population lives in the most unfavourable conditions. The results revealed that most of these areas are connected to the city's road network through a tertiary road in precarious condition due to the lack of paving maintenance and upkeep. It is concluded that the population living in the most unfavourable conditions is the one with the least access to primary education, healthcare rights, and access to piped water and drainage in their housing.