Regional Accessibility Trends in Europe: Road Infrastructure, 1957–2012

Stelder D. Regional accessibility trends in Europe: road infrastructure, 1957–2012, Regional Studies. This paper describes the construction and analysis of a historical database of European road networks over the period 1957–2012 covering the whole European continent. Road accessibility is analysed over time for cities, regions and countries using a high-resolution population grid. The results show that many peripheral regions have lost accessibility relative to the centre during the first periods, but have been catching up after 1990. The general result of road infrastructure investment policy has been a spreading effect on accessibility since 1970.