In collaboration with Mobiel 21 and Een Nieuwe Kijk, DSH is working on the Viona project for the Flemish government regarding job accessibility.

The societal role of mobility revolves around accessibility, as individuals need to reach a variety of activities and destinations to fully participate in society. Work is a significant activity, and research has shown that limited transportation options can be a barrier to accessing workplaces.

Studies in Flanders have also highlighted how factors affecting accessibility can decrease the likelihood of finding employment. The goal of this project is to develop a model that maps the differences in job accessibility for Flanders and its subregions and evaluates policy measures. In recent years, a methodology called the Integral View on Accessibility “Integrale kijk op bereikbaarheid” (IKOB) has been developed in the Netherlands for this purpose and applied to various areas and policy measures.
The IKOB approach utilizes neighborhood-level data on the location of jobs and where individuals reside. It distinguishes between types of jobs, considering, for example, that some activity sectors employ more individuals with lower levels of education than others. Additionally, it takes into account characteristics on the employee side, such as car ownership and income. By using data on travel time and costs, IKOB identifies which jobs are effectively accessible for different target groups.