Abstract
Multidimensional accessibility shapes both housing markets and the socio-economic composition of neighbourhoods, yet fine-grained evidence from rapidly urbanising contexts remains limited. This study examines how pedestrian accessibility to 88 urban services relates to listed housing prices and socio-economic status across 816 Istanbul neighbourhoods with at least 1,000 residents. Indicators from the municipal 34dakika.istanbul platform, measured as the population share reaching each service within a 17-minute walk, are aggregated into ten equally weighted categories and a Combined Accessibility Index. Least squares residuals display pronounced spatial dependence (Moran's I = 0.340, p = 0.001), so spatial lag and spatial error models are estimated and selected on robust Lagrange multiplier tests and information criteria. In the preferred spatial lag specification, only Transport and Mobility accessibility remains associated with higher prices after Holm correction (β = 0.397, p = 0.001); a 0.10 increase corresponds to a 4.4 per cent direct and a 9.1 per cent total price difference. For socio-economic status, transport (β = 13.35), health (β = 11.74) and economy (β = 11.51) accessibility are positive, whereas basic-needs coverage is negative (β = −20.28). A paired bootstrap shows that economy and basic-needs services are spread more evenly than education, health and transport services. This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY). Publisher’s Note: The Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY URBAN AFFAIRS (2026), 10(2), 465-483. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2026.v10n2-9 www.ijcua.com Copyright © 2026 by the author(s). Highlights: Contribution to the field statement: - Transport access is the only category linked to higher housing prices - Spatial lag models remove residual autocorrelation in the price equation - Basic-needs services are spread more evenly than health and education - Composite accessibility predicts status but not prices in Istanbul The study builds a ten-domain pedestrian accessibility index for 816 Istanbul neighbourhoods from 88 service indicators and tests it against housing prices and socio-economic status, separating capitalised transport advantage from the wider geography of everyday service provision. * Corresponding Author: Arif Saldanlı Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Economics, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Türkiye Email address: saldanli@istanbul.edu.tr How to cite this article? (APA Style) Şeker, M., & Saldanlı, A. (2026). Urban accessibility, housing prices and socio-economic status: A spatial analysis of Istanbul neighbourhoods. Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs, 10(2), 465-483. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2026.v10n2-9
Keywords
Urban accessibility; Spatial inequality; Housing prices; Socio-economic status; Spatial econometrics; Istanbul neighbourhoods
Topics
Urban economics / Kentsel iktisat Spatial econometrics / Mekânsal ekonometri Housing prices / Konut fiyatları JEL C2 · Single Equation Models • Single Variables / Tek Denklem Modelleri • Tek Değişkenler JEL R3 · Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location / Gayrimenkul Piyasaları, Mekânsal Üretim Analizi ve Firma Yer Seçimi Socio-Economic Status Urban Accessibility Spatial Inequality Istanbul Neighbourhoods
JEL classification / JEL sınıflaması
- C21 Cross-Sectional Models • Spatial Models • Treatment Effect Models • Quantile Regressions
Yatay Kesit Modelleri • Mekânsal Modeller • Müdahale Etkisi Modelleri • Kantil Regresyonlar - R31 Housing Supply and Markets
Konut Arzı ve Piyasaları
JEL codes: American Economic Association classification. Turkish descriptions are an unofficial translation. Türkçe açıklamalar gayriresmî çeviridir.
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- APA 7
Şeker, M., & Saldanlı, A. (2026). Urban Accessibility, Housing Prices and Socio-Economic Status: A Spatial Analysis of Istanbul Neighbourhoods. Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs, 10(2), 465–483. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2026.v10n2-9
- MLA 9
Şeker, M., and A. Saldanlı. "Urban Accessibility, Housing Prices and Socio-Economic Status: A Spatial Analysis of Istanbul Neighbourhoods." Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs, vol. 10, no. 2, 2026, pp. 465–483. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2026.v10n2-9.
- Chicago 17 (author-date)
Şeker, M., and A. Saldanlı. 2026. "Urban Accessibility, Housing Prices and Socio-Economic Status: A Spatial Analysis of Istanbul Neighbourhoods." Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs 10 (2): 465–483. https://doi.org/10.25034/ijcua.2026.v10n2-9.
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@article{seker2026urban,
title = {Urban Accessibility, Housing Prices and Socio-Economic Status: A Spatial Analysis of Istanbul Neighbourhoods},
author = {Şeker M. and Saldanlı A.},
year = {2026},
journal = {Journal of Contemporary Urban Affairs},
volume = {10},
number = {2},
pages = {465-483},
doi = {10.25034/ijcua.2026.v10n2-9}
}