Living well with the foundational economy: Assessing the spatial accessibility of foundational infrastructures in Vienna and the relationship to socio-economic status

Foundational infrastructures play a vital role for providing a good life for all within planetary boundaries. In this
article, we employ a spatial understanding of accessibility to assess the access to five foundational infrastructures
(healthcare, care, education, culture, nature) for Vienna’s 250 census districts. Based on government statistics
and OpenStreetMap data, we develop the Foundational Accessibility Indicator and study how accessibility in-
tersects with spatially explicit socio-economic variables, as covered by the Social Status Index. We find strong
spatial disparities with regard to the accessibility of foundational infrastructures in Vienna, with high access for
most infrastructures in the city center and partially the west, but poor access in the south and east of the city.
There is a significant, positive, moderate correlation between the average access to foundational infrastructures
and socio-economic status in Vienna, meaning that people of higher status tend to enjoy higher access than
people with lower status. In the discussion, we contextualize our results, critically reflect our approach and draw
implications for retrofitting foundational infrastructures. We conclude by highlighting the broader implications
of our findings for accessibility research for living well within planetary limits.