Accessibility evaluation of urban basic public service facilities for persons with disabilities: a case study of central Beijing

In urban planning practice, urban basic public service facilities are essential spatial carriers for advancing social fairness and public wellbeing. Traditional methods of resource allocation that are primarily motivated by supply efficiency are facing new difficulties as China's urban spatial structure shifts from incremental expansion to stock optimization. As fundamental tenets of modern urban planning, equity and justice demand a more inclusive reevaluation of facility allocation, especially with regard to service accessibility and equitable for vulnerable populations. Beijing was chosen as the study region for this investigation, and information on public service facilities for people with disabilities was gathered from 6,080 residential neighborhoods. Accessibility was assessed using an integrated GIS-based analytical framework that combined kernel density analysis, surface-based hotspot detection, network analysis, and inverse distance weighting. This framework was based on the 15-minute living-circle concept and the actual walking speed of people with disabilities. A gap in previous research, which frequently depends on aggregated administrative units and ignores fine-scale spatial inequalities, is filled by the inclusion of surface-based hotspot detection, which enables accurate identification of high-accessibility clusters and peak areas. With high-value clusters concentrated in particular districts and obvious spatial mismatches between facility layouts and anticipated service needs, the results show notable differences in accessibility and facility distribution across service categories. This study suggests methods to increase facility coverage, optimize spatial organization, and improve street-level accessibility in order to overcome unequal facility distribution and insufficient street-network support. The results highlight a change from basic coverage to user-centered service quality and structural adaptability, which supports inclusive urban growth and the sustainable use of land resources.