theconversation

The elephant in the planning scheme: how cities still work around the dominance of parking space

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/leslie-a-martin-418334">Leslie A. Martin</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722">University of Melbourne</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sam-thornton-420234">Sam Thornton</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722">University of Melbourne</a>

Road congestion in large Australian cities is estimated to cost <a href="https://bitre.gov.au/publications/2015/is_074.aspx">more than A$16 billion a year</a>. Economists have <a href="http://www.vtpi.org/vickrey.htm">long argued</a> the best way to improve traffic flow is to charge drivers for their contribution to road congestion. We have now analysed data collected from 1,400 drivers across Melbourne to see whether road user charging can change their behaviour in ways that ease congestion. And the answer is yes.

Because the obstacle to adopting this approach has been concern about its fairness, we also looked at driver incomes. Would congestion-based charges price the poor off the road for the benefit of those who can pay? We calculated how different systems of road use charges affected households on different incomes, and how driving patterns changed under different prices.

The evidence does not support other common policy responses to traffic congestion. Building new roads <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.101.6.2616">does little to relieve congestion</a>. Placing tolls on roads can push traffic onto others.

However, even small reductions in congestion can produce large benefits. On congested roads, reducing traffic by 5% can increase traffic speeds <a href="https://sitwww.mynrma.com.au/media/NRMA_Decongestion_Strategy.pdf">by up to 50%</a>.

The question is: what would the optimal charges be? Drivers often plan their travel ahead of time, so <a href="https://help.uber.com/h/e9375d5e-917b-4bc5-8142-23b89a440eec">Uber-like surge pricing</a> is not necessarily the best way to go. Could simpler fixed charges, based perhaps on time of day or location, be effective?

In 2015-2016, Transurban Group implemented the <a href="https://changedconditionsahead.com/">Melbourne Road Usage Study</a> (MRUS) to answer these questions. More than 1,400 drivers across greater Melbourne installed GPS devices in their vehicles for eight to ten months. After a period to establish baseline use, a randomly selected subset faced a series of road use charges via a system of virtual accounts. Every month participants accumulated real money from reduced charges as a result of their decisions about driving.

<figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194284/original/file-20171113-27616-ca2bn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194284/original/file-20171113-27616-ca2bn1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>

<figcaption>A congestion-charging zone in central London. <a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/congestion-charge-zone-sign-introduced-2003-722719189">Bikeworldtravel/Shutterstock</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Well-targeted charges ease congestion</h2>

The Melbourne Road Usage Study tested three simple charges:

<ul>
<li>a flat distance-based charge of 10 cents per kilometre</li>
	<li>a time-of-day charge of 15 cents per kilometre at peak times and 8 cents at other times</li>
	<li>a distance-plus-cordon charge where drivers were charged 8 cents per kilometre at all times plus A$8 if they entered the inner city.</li>
</ul>
Our working paper, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3055522">Can Road Charges Alleviate Congestion?</a>, evaluates the raw data.

Charges that vary by time of day were most effective at reducing driving at congested times. Drivers subjected to a higher cost of driving in the weekday peak hours of 7am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm reduced travel by 10% during these periods.

While a simple 10 cent charge on distance travelled did reduce driving, this was mainly outside the congested inner city and at off-peak times – mostly in the middle of the day and on weekday evenings. Most freeway congestion occurs around morning and late afternoon commutes.

<a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge">London</a> and <a href="https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/roads-and-motoring/managing-traffic-and-congestion/electronic-road-pricing-erp">Singapore</a> have charges to enter the congested city centre. Further research is needed to assess the effects on inner-city traffic in Australian cities.

The evidence points towards most drivers who enter the CBD being willing to pay higher weekday charges. But few drivers entered the cordon zone during the study. Less than 5% of the drivers made over half of the trips into the area.

<h2>Access to reliable public transport matters</h2>

Public transit has a key role in getting cars off the road. Our data showed households located far from the CBD and from public transport drive more. Living 500 metres closer to a tram or train station has the same effect on kilometres driven each day as living 5km closer to the CBD.

Households within a 10-minute walk from public transport drive least. The largest reductions in driving from time-of-day and cordon charges come from households living 10 to 20 minutes’ walk away.

<h2>Road use charges could be fairer</h2>

Congestion-based charges can be a more progressive way to fund roads than the existing system of registration fees and fuel taxes.

The fuel excise makes up <a href="http://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/sites/default/files/images/The%20road%20ahead%20final%20web.pdf">almost half of the average annual road bill in Australia</a>. It’s essentially a distance-based fee, but more fuel-efficient vehicles pay less per kilometre travelled. Hybrid vehicle drivers, for example, contribute much less to fuel tax revenue.

Yet, although hybrids contribute less to air pollution, they increase congestion just as much as their petrol-guzzling counterparts. And congestion <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/0002828054825510">is a much greater shared economic cost</a> than vehicle air pollution.

Annual vehicle registration fees make up most of the remaining road bill. These provide no incentive to reduce congestion.

Fuel taxes and registration fees put a disproportionate burden on low-income households in the outer suburbs. Our research shows these households would be better off if roads were funded more by congestion charges.

<h2>Field experiments help get the settings right</h2>

So what is the optimal congestion charge? Economic theory (<a href="http://www.econlib.org/library/NPDBooks/Pigou/pgEWCover">Pigou 1920</a>) tells us to price at the cost that each extra user imposes on the system.

With road use, though, the calculation is difficult. To fix rates in advance, we would need to know exactly how much longer everyone’s trip is when each extra driver joins each system. And we’d need to cost that slowdown for each individual on the road at that time (i.e. value their time and, potentially, the cost to them of being late). <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://economics.mit.edu/files/13619">New research</a> has been using clever experimental designs to identify these values.

That said, maybe it is not too important to get the price just right. For electricity, we are <a href="http://jamesgillan.info/s/JMP_Gillan_most_recent_draft.pdf">starting to see</a> that households respond to there being a price, not its specific level.

Before widespread road use charges are implemented, we would like to see more field experiments like the MRUS to find answers to other questions. Would it be better to combine a time-of-day charge with targeted locations? How effective would it be to charge more for using highly congested arterial roads at peak times? Would this simply push congestion onto nearby local roads? How large a gap between peak and off-peak prices is needed to produce a strong response?

Another interesting option is the <a href="https://www.arec.umd.edu/sites/arec.umd.edu/files/_docs/events/Antonio%20Bento-Avoiding%20Traffic%20Congestion%20Externalities.pdf">i10 model</a> outside Los Angeles. Two lanes are for traffic willing to pay more to get to their destination faster.

Dynamic pricing ensures traffic in these lanes flows freely – if too many use these lanes and traffic slows, the price increases. Drivers can decide every few kilometres if they want to pay more to stay in the express lanes. Those who must get somewhere on time are able to, and the fee revenue can be used to reduce road costs for others.

The Melbourne Road Usage Study (MRUS) shows field experiments can help us design better road use charges. By all appearances, households took it seriously and <a href="https://changedconditionsahead.com/">were positive about their involvement</a>.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86324/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1">The MRUS provides evidence that well-designed road use charges could help reduce congestion by encouraging people to drive at different times, take other routes or use other transport. This could lead to better use of existing infrastructure, thereby reducing costs, while generating revenue for infrastructure investments. Under such a system, drivers who contribute little to congestion could see substantial gains.

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/leslie-a-martin-418334">Leslie A. Martin</a>, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Economics, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722">University of Melbourne</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/sam-thornton-420234">Sam Thornton</a>, Master of Economics candidate, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722">University of Melbourne</a>

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/city-wide-trial-shows-how-road-use-charges-can-reduce-traffic-jams-86324">original article</a>.
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City-wide trial shows how road use charges can reduce traffic jams

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dorina-pojani-413644">Dorina Pojani</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/iderlina-mateo-babiano-106523">Iderlina Mateo-Babiano</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722">University of Melbourne</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jonathan-corcoran-413910">Jonathan Corcoran</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/neil-sipe-346144">Neil Sipe</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>

Parking may seem like a “pedestrian” topic (pun intended). However, parking is of increasing importance in metropolitan areas worldwide. On average, motor vehicles are <a href="http://www.reinventingparking.org/2013/02/cars-are-parked-95-of-time-lets-check">parked 95% of the time</a>. Yet most transport analysis focuses on vehicles when they are moving.

Substantial amounts of land and buildings are set aside to accommodate “immobile” vehicles. In <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://trid.trb.org/view/1357499">Australia</a>, Brisbane provides 25,633 parking spaces in the CBD, Sydney 28,939 and Melbourne 41,687. In high-demand areas, car parks can cost far more than the <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/kirribilli-car-spot-sells-for-120000-at-auction-20150613-ghn50z/">vehicle itself</a>.

However, parking is not just an Australian problem. By <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212012214000562">some estimates</a>, 30,000 square kilometres of land is devoted to parking in Europe and 27,000 km² in the US. This parking <a href="https://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch6en/conc6en/ch6c1en">takes up a large part of city space</a>, much of it highly valued, centrally located land.

<hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/end-of-the-road-why-it-might-be-time-to-ditch-your-car-72097">End of the road? Why it might be time to ditch your car</a>

<hr>
Traditionally, transport planners believed that generous parking allocations provided substantial benefits to users. In reality, excessive parking is known to <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=5vzKYgEACAAJ&amp;source=gbs_book_other_versions">adversely affect</a> both transport and land use. These impacts, along with recent land-use, socioeconomic and technological trends, are prompting cities to start <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/sep/27/cities-eliminating-car-parks-parking">asking some important questions</a> about parking.

Australian planners must engage with emerging trends to help cities work out the best way to reclaim and repurpose parking space in ways that enhance efficiency and liveability while minimising disruption.

Here we chart likely challenges and opportunities created by these trends over coming decades.

<figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190958/original/file-20171019-30534-9x1evf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=3%2C96%2C822%2C540&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190958/original/file-20171019-30534-9x1evf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=3%2C96%2C822%2C540&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>

<figcaption>Key trends affecting parking space in cities. Diagram by authors</figcaption></figure><h2>Land use</h2>

All Australian cities have policies to encourage densification, consolidation and infill development in their centres. In conjunction, some cities are setting <a href="http://eplan.brisbane.qld.gov.au/CP/TransportAccessParkingPSP">maximum limits on parking</a> to prevent it taking over valuable inner-city properties.

Transit-oriented development (TOD) has also become popular, <a href="http://rsa.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08111146.2017.1294537">at least on paper</a>. This is another form of urban consolidation around transit nodes and corridors. It is known to benefit from <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0739456X15573263">high-quality urban design</a>, “walkability”, “cyclability” and a mix of functions.

These developments mean that people who live in CBDs, inner-ring suburbs and near public transport stops will use cars less. Consequently, demand for parking will decrease.

<hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/make-housing-affordable-and-cut-road-congestion-all-at-once-heres-a-way-71071">Make housing affordable and cut road congestion all at once? Here’s a way</a>

<hr>
Some non-TOD suburbs are trying to replicate inner-city features as well. For example, some suburban shopping centres have introduced paid parking. This is a significant shift from previous eras, when malls guaranteed ample free parking.

Suburbanites who lack easy public transport access will continue to rely on cars. But rather than driving all the way to a CBD, commuters will increasingly opt for park-and-ride at suburban stations, thereby increasing demand for park-and-ride lots at public transport interchanges. However, excessive capacity might <a href="https://www.ptua.org.au/myths/parkride/">hurt rather than help</a> patronage.

<h2>Social trends</h2>

In addition to land use, several social trends will affect the need for parking.

First, young people are <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-young-australians-turning-their-back-on-the-car-35468">delaying getting drivers’ licences</a> because driving is culturally less important to them than in previous generations.

Second, people of all ages are <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/07/millennials-will-live-in-cities-unlike-anything-weve-seen-before/">moving from outer suburbs to inner cities</a>. For many, this means less driving because walking, cycling and public transport are more convenient in inner cities.

<figure class="align-left zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191762/original/file-20171025-5866-i0bit5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191762/original/file-20171025-5866-i0bit5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>

<figcaption>If each car share vehicle replaces roughly a dozen individually owned cars, that’s a big cut in demand for parking. <a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoGet#/media/File:GoGet_cars_at_Central_Park.jpg">By Kako/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></figcaption></figure>Finally, the emergence of Uber, Lyft and vehicle-sharing arrangements means that <a href="http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/AUTOS-RIDESERVICES/0100419J2RP/index">people are not buying cars</a>. Research suggests that each car-sharing vehicle removes <a href="http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5951778/?reload=true">nine to 13 individually owned vehicles</a> from the road.

Together, these trends point to a reduced need for parking because there will be fewer cars overall.

<h2>Technology</h2>

The importance of technology in parking is rising – paving the way for “smarter” parking.

The emergence of a host of <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/03/mobile-parking-application/1946323/">smartphone apps</a>, such as ParkMe, Kerb, ParkHound and ParkWhiz, has begun to reshape the parking landscape. For the first time, users can identify and reserve parking according to price and location before starting their journeys.

Apps also make available a host of car parks that previously went unused – such as spaces in a residential driveway. This is because there was no mechanism for letting people know these were available.

In addition, smart pricing programs, such as <a href="http://sfpark.org/">SFPark in San Francisco</a>, periodically adjust meter and garage pricing to match demand. This encourages drivers to park in underused areas and garages and reduces demand in overused areas.

The advent of autonomous vehicles promises to have <a href="https://theconversation.com/driverless-vehicles-could-bring-out-the-best-or-worst-in-our-cities-by-transforming-land-use-84127">dramatic impacts on transport and land use</a>, including parking.

According to one school of thought, mobility services will <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-coming-transport-revolution-could-deal-a-death-blow-to-car-ownership-85547">own most autonomous vehicles</a>, rather than individuals, due to insurance and liability issues. If this happens, far fewer vehicles and parking spaces will be needed as most will be “in motion” rather than parked most of the time.

<hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/driverless-vehicles-could-bring-out-the-best-or-worst-in-our-cities-by-transforming-land-use-84127">Driverless vehicles could bring out the best – or worst – in our cities by transforming land use</a>

<hr>
<h2>More space for people and places</h2>

<figure class="align-right zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191785/original/file-20171025-5863-djakks.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191785/original/file-20171025-5863-djakks.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>

<figcaption>The Tikku (Finnish for ‘stick’), by architect Marco Casagrande, is a house with a footprint of just 2.5x5m, the size of a car parking space. <a class="source" href="https://www.casagrandelaboratory.com/portfolio/tikku/">Casagrande Laboratory</a></figcaption></figure>The next decade promises much change as emerging land-use, socioeconomic and technological trends reshape the need for, and use of, parking. Cities will devote less space to parking and more space to people and places.

Parking lanes will likely be repurposed as cycling lanes, <a href="https://www.citylab.com/solutions/2015/03/6-places-where-cars-bikes-and-pedestrians-all-share-the-road-as-equals/388351/">shared streets</a>, <a href="http://pavementtoparks.org/parklets/">parklets</a>, community gardens and <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40482921/this-three-story-tiny-house-fits-in-the-footprint-of-a-parking-space">even housing</a>. Concrete parking lots, and faceless garages will likely be converted to much-needed residential, commercial and light industrial use.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85331/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1">By transforming parking, much urban land can turn from wasteland into vibrant activity space.

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dorina-pojani-413644">Dorina Pojani</a>, Lecturer in Urban Planning, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/iderlina-mateo-babiano-106523">Iderlina Mateo-Babiano</a>, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722">University of Melbourne</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jonathan-corcoran-413910">Jonathan Corcoran</a>, Professor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/neil-sipe-346144">Neil Sipe</a>, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/freeing-up-the-huge-areas-set-aside-for-parking-can-transform-our-cities-85331">original article</a>.
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Freeing up the huge areas set aside for parking can transform our cities

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-newton-2278">Peter Newton</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a>

Australia is increasingly linked to a <a href="http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/2015-report">fast-growing global population</a>. The populations of Sydney and Melbourne are both expected to <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/property/australian-cities-face-great-growth-challenge/news-story/a89da2e7a566bd2c6d03cde4ed377bc7">exceed 8.5 million by 2061</a>. What will Australia’s cities look like then? Will they still be among the world’s <a href="https://chartingtransport.com/2015/11/26/comparing-the-densities-of-australian-and-european-cities/">lowest-density cities</a>?

Such sprawling cities result in economic (productivity), social (spatial disadvantage) and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877705817316685">environmental weaknesses</a> (including a very big ecological footprint). Can our cities transform themselves to become more competitive, sustainable, liveable, resilient and inclusive?

Australian governments at all levels aspire to these goals, but they require <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/book/5854/">multiple transitions</a>. The prospects of success depend on the transformative capacity of four groups of stakeholders: state government, local government, the property development industry, and community residents.

Our <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1718">newly published research</a> has found such capacity is lacking, so transformation on the scale required <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/ITC/DevelopmentofCities">remains a major challenge</a>. Our research included a survey in Sydney and Melbourne of suburban residents’ attitudes to medium-density living and neighbourhood change – essentially “sounding out” community capacity for change. This article explores some of the findings.

So why do community attitudes in the suburbs matter? The key change involves the form and fabric of Australian cities: from a low-density suburban city to a more compact form characteristic of Europe. This requires regenerative redevelopment: redirecting population and property investment inwards to brownfields and <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/2018/AHURI_Final_Report_No171_Towards_a_new_development_model_for_housing_regeneration_in_greyfield_residential_precincts.pdf">greyfields redevelopment</a>, rather than outwards to greenfields development, and increasing the supply of medium-density housing – the “<a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Policy-and-Legislation/Housing/Medium-Density-Housing">missing middle</a>”.

Unlike greenfields and brownfields, however, greyfields are occupied. More intensive urban infill represents a challenge to residents of established suburbs to share their higher-amenity, low-density space. And elected local councillors tend to align with their residents’ resistance to “overdevelopment” and changes in “neighbourhood character”.

<h2>Are attitudes changing?</h2>

In September 2016, the <a href="http://www.swinburne.edu.au/research/urban-transitions/about/">Centre for Urban Transitions</a> surveyed 2,000 Sydney and Melbourne households in established middle-ring suburbs.

Asked “What type of dwelling would you want to live in?”, nearly 60% of residents in both cities favoured a detached house and yard. This is down from 90% in the early 1990s. So, in the space of one generation, attitudes have shifted significantly toward embracing higher-density living.

However, living arrangements extend beyond the dwelling. They include the neighbourhood and wider suburban context. Our survey explored three distinctive living environments:

<ol>
<li>
	a separate dwelling with a garden in a suburb with poor public transport
	</li>
	<li>
	a medium-density dwelling with no garden but close to public transport
	</li>
	<li>
	a high-rise apartment in the CBD or surrounding areas.
	</li>
</ol>
Responses revealed that when location was combined with housing type, this significantly increased preference for medium-density housing when located in established suburbs with good public transport and access to jobs and services. In both Sydney and Melbourne, 46% favoured this. That was the same proportion as preferred a separate dwelling and garden in a car-dependent suburb. Just 8% opted for apartments.

The question is whether these shifts in preference are reflected in residents’ attitudes to higher-density housing in their own neighbourhoods.

The survey found 71% of respondents were “aware of neighbourhood change in their locality”. This figure was identical for renters and property owners.

Fewer than 10% of residents in both cities think such change is a good thing, but almost 40% understand it has to happen. Just over 10% are neutral. Preference for less or no change sits around 45%.

This suggests capacity to accept change is growing, but it is grudging and not strongly endorsed.

The survey’s final stage probed the extent to which property owners contemplating a move were aware of, or open to, options of selling as a consortium of neighbours. While not common, examples are being reported with value uplifts resulting from lot consolidation ranging from 10% to 100%.

One-quarter of Sydney respondents were open to consolidating property for sale with neighbours. This number was even higher (39%) for investment properties.

<h2>What needs to be done?</h2>

Consolidated lot sales are not part of the business model of most real estate agencies, local government, or property developers.

It’s an area where the property development industry lacks capacity and is still failing to respond to the medium-density urban infill challenge. And state governments are reluctant to extend mid-rise medium-density zones in the big cities beyond designated activity centres and transport corridors.

Supply of well-designed medium-density housing needs to be greatly increased in the well-located, established, low-density, middle-ring suburbs. And it needs to happen at a precinct scale of redevelopment beyond that of knock-down-rebuild. This would enable more innovative, sustainable and aesthetically attractive development.

Infill targets for new housing in Australia’s largest cities range from 65% (Brisbane) to 85% (Adelaide), with Melbourne and Sydney in between. But these targets are not being achieved (not even Perth’s 47%). Greenfield development is still the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://apo.org.au/node/75359">main demographic absorber</a>.

The Victorian government’s <a href="http://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/377206/Plan_Melbourne_2017-2050_Strategy_.pdf">latest metro strategy</a> introduced a new policy direction to “provide support and guidance for greyfield areas to deliver more housing choice and diversity”. That doesn’t alter many residents of these areas remaining resistant to change.

State and local governments need to introduce new statutory planning instruments and guidelines to enable greyfield precinct redevelopment. These are the focus of research in three Commonwealth Co-operative Research Centres (see <a href="http://www.crcsi.com.au/">here</a>, <a href="http://www.lowcarbonlivingcrc.com.au/">here</a> and <a href="https://watersensitivecities.org.au/">here</a>).

In an urban planning system that remains strongly top-down, local government serves as the main interface with local communities and property developers due to its role in planning approvals. Often this is reflected in local government’s gaming of the state government’s residential zoning schemes to ensure housing is “locked up” in minimal change zones. This effectively indicates that more intensive infill housing should happen “somewhere else” (the NIMBY syndrome).

<a href="http://www.constructionedge.com.au/about/">David Chandler</a>, a leading figure in Australia’s building and construction industry, <a href="https://sourceable.net/shutting-the-garage-door-after-the-car-has-bolted/">sums up the challenges</a>:

<blockquote>
The capabilities needed to design and build small-scaled medium-density housing projects of three to ten dwellings up to three storeys atop below-grade parking have yet to be developed. If medium-density dwellings of the type described here are to make up a third of the housing landscape, a new marketing platform and delivery model will be required.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84693/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1">If governments are seriously minded to harvest the potential of greyfield sites and the urban middle, they will not only need to bring the community along in support of these more modest densification initiatives, they will need to be proactive in making sure the housing industry has the capabilities to deliver them.
</blockquote>

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/peter-newton-2278">Peter Newton</a>, Research Professor in Sustainable Urbanism, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/swinburne-university-of-technology-767">Swinburne University of Technology</a>

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/becoming-more-urban-attitudes-to-medium-density-living-are-changing-in-sydney-and-melbourne-84693">original article</a>.
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Becoming more urban: attitudes to medium-density living are changing in Sydney and Melbourne

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jerome-n-rachele-251972">Jerome N Rachele</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/aislinn-healy-412166">Aislinn Healy</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jim-sallis-407885">Jim Sallis</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-california-san-diego-1314">University of California, San Diego</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/takemi-sugiyama-412440">Takemi Sugiyama</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a>

This article is one in a series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/healthy-liveable-cities-44685">Healthy Liveable Cities</a>, in the lead-up to the <a href="http://liveable-cities.aomevents.com.au/">Designing Healthy Liveable Cities Conference</a> in Melbourne on October 19 and 20.

<hr>
Large health inequalities <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjv3O3vo-rWAhXHsJQKHXi1BNUQFggmMAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.adelaidenow.com.au%2Flifestyle%2Fhealth%2Faustralias-frightening-healthwealth-gap%2Fnews-story%2F7f30190e661c978537720a1db3b49188&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Qf8w9seRsCEc9KfPJlSUc">exist</a> in Australia. Car ownership and its costs add to the health inequalities between low-income and high-income households. The physical characteristics of neighbourhoods influence our transport use and, in turn, make health inequalities better or worse.

Rising housing prices have forced many low-income families <a href="https://theconversation.com/density-sprawl-growth-how-australian-cities-have-changed-in-the-last-30-years-65870">to live on the fringes</a> of Australian capital cities. Residents of these sprawling outer suburbs often have <a href="http://theconversation.com/some-suburbs-are-being-short-changed-on-services-and-liveability-which-ones-and-whats-the-solution-83966">worse access</a> to public transport, employment, shops and services. They need one or more motor vehicles simply to get to work and take children to school.

Buying and maintaining vehicles in Australia is expensive. These costs have a large impact on household budgets. Household finances then affect health in two main ways:

<ul>
<li>
	through the ability to access health-related resources, such as healthy foods, health care and high-quality living conditions (like heating and cooling)
	</li>
	<li>
	through stress caused by financial difficulties, insecure incomes and exposure to poorer environments such as crowding, crime and noise pollution.
	</li>
</ul>
Living in the car-dependent urban fringes also often dooms residents to <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743515003655">long sedentary</a> commutes.

<h2>Four scenarios of transport costs</h2>

The following four hypothetical households demonstrate the costs of varying levels of car ownership and transport behaviours.

Scenario 1: A household with two cars that are 15,000km and 10,000km, respectively, per year. The car that is driven 15,000km is assumed to be less than three years old, bought new and financed with a loan. The other car is assumed to be 10 years old and owned outright. This household aligns with estimates by the <a href="http://www.aaa.asn.au/storage/aaa-transport-affordability-index-june-2017.pdf">Australian Automobile Association</a>.

Scenario 2: Scenario one, minus the used car and substituting five return public transport trips a week to the Melbourne central business district from the outer suburbs.

Scenario 3: No cars, substituting 10 return trips to the CBD from the outer suburbs.

Scenario 4: No cars, substituting three return trips to the CBD (i.e. occasional public transport use), with walking and cycling as the main forms of transport.

Table 1 shows how reducing household car ownership, even after adding the cost of public transport, can improve household finances.

<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="600" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" msallowfullscreen="msallowfullscreen" oallowfullscreen="oallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/7y0Zn/2/" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="100%"></iframe>

Moving from a two-car household to a one-car household cuts weekly costs by as much as A$41, even after increased public transport use adds a A$41-a-week cost.

Moving from a two-car household to having no cars can improve weekly finances by as much as A$237, after adding 10 return trips to the CBD.

The fourth scenario, emphasising walking and cycling, shows the greatest improvement in household finances. These families are $294 per week better off.

The impacts on households of each of these car ownership and transport scenarios differ depending on their incomes. To illustrate this, we’ve taken the median disposable household income from the lowest, middle and highest quintiles from the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/6523.0Main+Features12015-16?OpenDocument">ABS in 2015-16</a>.

<figure class="align-center "><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190506/original/file-20171016-22304-10xttga.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"><figcaption>Figure 1. Proportion of disposable household income remaining after transport costs for four scenarios of car ownership.</figcaption></figure>Although becoming car-free will increase disposable household income after paying for transport, the largest proportional differences are for the lowest-income households. This means these households will benefit most from reducing car ownership and switching to more active and affordable forms of transport.

<h2>Urban design can boost household health and wealth</h2>

So how do we help households make the transition from private car ownership? The answer lies in the environments we live in.

The <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30066-6/abstract">evidence from research</a> suggests several strategies to improve uptake of active and affordable transport, while reducing car dependence and related health inequities. These include local urban design features such as:

<ul>
<li>connected and safe street networks (including pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure) that reduce exposure to traffic</li>
	<li>
	residential areas mixed with commercial, public service and recreational opportunities
	</li>
	<li>
	public transport that is convenient, affordable, frequent, safe and comfortable
	</li>
	<li>
	higher residential density with different types of housing (including affordable housing) to support the viability of local businesses and high-frequency public transport services
	</li>
	<li>
	cycling education and promotion
	</li>
	<li>
	car-free pedestrian zones, traffic calming measures, signage and accessibility for all (including wheelchair and pram access).
	</li>
</ul>
Australia has yet to fully realise the potential of promoting active transport and reducing car dependency as a way to reduce health inequities.

For example, the Victorian government <a href="http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/unlocking-new-communities-and-affordable-housing/">recently announced</a> 17 new low-density suburbs for Melbourne’s outer fringes (up to 50 kilometres from the CBD). It did so with a goal of creating more affordable housing. But urban planning experts have <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/buying/victorian-government-to-unlock-17-new-suburbs-in-melbourne-to-tackle-housing-affordability/news-story/1fdfbcc12261365d7c4c910d39268a60">criticised</a> these plans for increasing car dependence and commute times – due to the lack of nearby destinations and amenities – <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140517300154">which have been shown</a> to be bad for health.

In another case, the Planning Institute of Australia <a href="https://architectureau.com/articles/retrograde-solution-west-gate-tunnel-project-a-permanent-blight-says-pia/">described</a> the proposed A$5.5 billion West Gate Tunnel as a “retrograde solution”. The institute expressed concern about “entrenched inequality for those in the outer suburbs”.

Changes to city transport environments can take <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01441647.2016.1177799">years or even decades</a>, and funding is often limited. Phased interventions that target lower-income neighbourhoods should be considered first as these are likely to produce the greatest gains in health equity.

This approach does have some caveats. Urban renewal projects carry a risk of gentrification, whereby higher and middle-income households displace those on lower incomes. Place-based government investment, such as improvements to public transport, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-6229.2012.00339.x/full">has been shown</a> to increase local housing prices. That could force lower-income households to relocate, often to car-dependent neighbourhoods on the urban fringes.

In these scenarios, a lack of government policies that safeguard against displacement of low-income residents can make health inequities worse.

<hr>
You can read other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/healthy-liveable-cities-44685">here</a>.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83961/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1">The <a href="http://liveable-cities.aomevents.com.au/">Designing Healthy Liveable Cities Conference</a> is being hosted by the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Liveable Communities in Melbourne on October 19-20. You can register <a href="https://aomevents.eventsair.com/nhmrc-cre-2017/wrp/Site/Register">here</a>.

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jerome-n-rachele-251972">Jerome N Rachele</a>, Research Fellow in Social Epidemiology, Institute for Health and Ageing, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/aislinn-healy-412166">Aislinn Healy</a>, PhD Candidate, Institute for Health and Ageing, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jim-sallis-407885">Jim Sallis</a>, Professorial Fellow, Institute for Health and Ageing, Australian Catholic University, and Emeritus Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-california-san-diego-1314">University of California, San Diego</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/takemi-sugiyama-412440">Takemi Sugiyama</a>, Professor of Built Environment, Institute for Health &amp; Ageing, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a>

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/designing-suburbs-to-cut-car-use-closes-gaps-in-health-and-wealth-83961">original article</a>.

Lead image credit: <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Coolaroo_Meadow_Heights_aerial.jpg">wikipedia</a>
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Designing suburbs to cut car use closes gaps in health and wealth

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/marion-terrill-169480">Marion Terrill</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hugh-batrouney-318476">Hugh Batrouney</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a>

The equation doesn’t look pretty. Traffic congestion costs us <a href="https://bitre.gov.au/publications/2015/files/is_074.pdf">billions of dollars</a> each year – so we are told – and population growth is not letting up. When road rage meets large economic costs, it’s little wonder our politicians are desperate to do something.

The trouble is, too often that “something” is a great big new freeway. Building more roads <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-more-roads-really-mean-less-congestion-for-commuters-39508">isn’t the best answer</a>, because the roads we have are mostly up to the job – if only we could make better use of them by spreading traffic out beyond the morning and evening peaks.

Instead of focusing on freeways, governments should change the way we pay for urban roads and public transport. To work out how best to do this, the Grattan Institute <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/892-Road-congestion.pdf">has looked at</a> several million Google Maps estimates of travel times in Australia’s largest cities. This analysis reveals both the extent of the problem in Sydney and Melbourne and its city-specific characteristics.

<h2>For many, the problem is minor</h2>

The truth is, for a lot of people, road congestion doesn’t matter much. This is because most people work in a suburb close to where they live.

Chart 1 shows congestion delays for Sydney’s 146 most-common commuting trips.

Chart 1: For many Sydney commuters, congestion is very modest

Additional minutes compared to free flow

<figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/188305/area14mp/file-20171002-12155-1detu38.png"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/188305/width754/file-20171002-12155-1detu38.png"></a>

<figcaption>The horizontal black line in the coloured bar is the median of all journey-to-work routes, weighted by the number of people who used a car to travel to work on those routes in the 2011 Census reference week. Trip times were estimated by assuming all travel between suburbs was between representative addresses for each suburb. Routes with fewer than 400 such commuters are not included. Grattan analysis of Google Maps, and ABS (2011)</figcaption></figure>The average delay is small: an average commute at the busiest time of day takes around three minutes longer than the same trip in the middle of the night.

While some commutes are delayed for much longer, it is unusual for trips to take more than ten minutes extra in peak periods.

<h2>Congestion is a problem in the CBD and inner suburbs</h2>

Unsurprisingly, the story is different, and worse, in and around central Sydney and Melbourne. Add in all the trucks and vans, students and tradies, shoppers and people going to appointments, and typical delays for travel on CBD-bound journeys are substantially greater (Chart 2).

Chart 2: On commutes into Sydney’s CBD, the average morning-peak delay is 11 minutes

<figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/188306/area14mp/file-20171002-12163-u7fwz0.png"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/188306/width754/file-20171002-12163-u7fwz0.png"></a>

<figcaption>The horizontal black line in the coloured bar is the median of all journey-to- work routes, weighted by the number of people who used a car to travel to work on those routes in the 2011 Census reference week. Trip times were estimated by assuming all travel between suburbs was between representative addresses for each suburb. Routes with fewer than 400 such commuters are not included. Grattan analysis of Google Maps, and ABS (2011)</figcaption></figure>The trends are similar in Melbourne. Travel on CBD-bound journeys is much more delayed than to non-CBD locations.

Chart 3 also shows that delays are noticeably larger in the suburbs that immediately surround Melbourne’s CBD.

Chart 3: Travel in suburbs surrounding the Melbourne CBD is highly delayed

Increase in travel time relative to free flow travel time

<figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/188307/area14mp/file-20171002-12132-ps1pb5.png"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/188307/width754/file-20171002-12132-ps1pb5.png"></a>

<figcaption>Average delay is calculated as the ratio of trip duration at each point throughout the day to the minimum trip duration observed for that route over the sample period. Based on travel. time of representative route samples collected via Google Maps. Weekends and public holidays excluded. Grattan analysis of Google Maps</figcaption></figure><h2>Some commutes are frustratingly unpredictable</h2>

Most travellers don’t just care about how long a trip usually takes. How long it could take also matters.

Chart 4 shows that Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway/Hoddle Street corridor has not only some of city’s worst delays, but also some of the least-predictable travel times. Motorists from suburbs to the north-east have to juggle these less-reliable travel times more than those travelling similar distances from other directions.

Chart 4: Travel on routes to Melbourne’s CBD that rely on Eastern Freeway and Hoddle Street are noticeably delayed and unreliable

Increase in travel time as a proportion of free-flow travel time, weekday morning peak, commutes into Melbourne CBD

<figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/188308/area14mp/file-20171002-12115-g3b13o.png"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/188308/width754/file-20171002-12115-g3b13o.png"></a>

<figcaption>For travel departing between 7am and 9 am. Excludes weekends and public holidays. The boxes cover the 25th to 75th percentiles. The vertical line in each box lies at the median for each city. The ‘whiskers’ on each side of the boxes extend no further than plus or minus 1.5w where ‘w’ is the box width. Observations beyond the lines are plotted as dots. Grattan analysis of Google Maps</figcaption></figure><h2>New roads are not the whole answer</h2>

Congestion tends to be worst in the most built-up parts of Sydney and Melbourne, where it would be most costly to construct new roads. This means that even crippling levels of congestion might not justify the construction of astronomically expensive infrastructure.

In any case, new roads often take years to build and can fill up with new traffic of their own.

New roads are important, however, in new suburbs.

The rule for our policymakers should be: build a road whenever the community will gain more from the new road than it will cost, and whenever the new road is a better option for the community than extracting more from the roads we’ve already got. But do not think of new roads as congestion-busting.

<h2>So what should be done?</h2>

Changing the way we use our existing infrastructure through pricing needs to be at the top of the agenda. This mean charging motorists for the congestion they cause.

Sydney and Melbourne need to consider introducing a congestion charge. That doesn’t mean more toll roads – it means charging people who drive at peak times on congested roads a small fee.

<hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/road-user-charging-belongs-on-the-political-agenda-as-the-best-answer-for-congestion-management-65027">Road user charging belongs on the political agenda as the best answer for congestion management</a>

<hr>
Because some people wouldn’t think it worth paying the charge at the busiest times of day, those who did pay would get a quicker and more reliable trip. People who can travel outside of the peaks would not have to pay, because there would be no congestion charge when the roads are not congested.

The increased cost to drivers could be offset by cuts to car registration fees. And any extra money raised by the congestion charge could be spent improving train, tram, bus and ferry services.

International examples show that introducing a congestion charge need not amount to political suicide. An initially sceptical public came quickly to accept, value, the reform when it was introduced in <a href="http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.20.4.157">London</a> and <a href="http://www.transportportal.se/swopec/cts2014-7.pdf">Stockholm</a>.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84774/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1">The congestion equation for Sydney and Melbourne is only going to get more ugly as both cities continue to grow. We need more sophisticated policymaking to ease drivers’ road rage and frustrations.

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/marion-terrill-169480">Marion Terrill</a>, Transport Program Director, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/hugh-batrouney-318476">Hugh Batrouney</a>, Senior Associate, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/grattan-institute-1168">Grattan Institute</a>

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/stuck-in-traffic-we-need-a-smarter-approach-to-congestion-than-building-more-roads-84774">original article</a>.

Lead image credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Z3_161_on_route_55_next_to_Melbourne_Bus_Link_number_354_(0354AO)_Scania_on_route_220,_with_Metro_Alstom_X%27trapolis_10M,_2013.JPG">wikipedia</a>
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Stuck in traffic: we need a smarter approach to congestion than building more roads

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andreanne-doyon-305144">Andréanne Doyon</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joe-hurley-157161">Joe Hurley</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/susie-moloney-103498">Susie Moloney</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/trivess-moore-12580">Trivess Moore</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>

Australia’s building and land-use policy settings fall well short of what’s needed to make meaningful progress toward creating sustainable cities. 

You will find environmental sustainability goals and objectives in government strategy documents. But <a href="http://cur.org.au/cms/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/implementing-sustainability-in-the-built-environment.pdf">our newly released review</a> of building and land-use planning policies around Australia has found New South Wales is the only state without serious gaps in legislation and enforcement. 

Research <a href="http://dpc.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/17159/NEEBP-final-report-November-2014.pdf">shows</a> a large percentage of new dwellings in Australia fail to meet even minimum building requirements when checked after construction. 

There is little legislation and enforcement, with the notable exception of NSW’s Building and Sustainability Index (<a href="https://www.basix.nsw.gov.au/iframe/about-basix">BASIX</a>). This means neither building codes nor state planning systems are achieving sustainability goals <a href="https://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/view/rmit:160284">required for a low-carbon future</a> for cities and buildings. 

<hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/affordable-sustainable-high-quality-urban-housing-its-not-an-impossible-dream-57958">Affordable, sustainable, high-quality urban housing? It’s not an impossible dream</a>

<hr>
Sustainable cities are among the UN <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. At present, <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-ranks-20th-on-progress-towards-the-sustainable-development-goals-62820">Australia ranks 20th</a> on progress toward these goals.

So how important is the built environment to Australia’s ability to achieve these goals? In fact, it’s a significant contributor to anthropogenic climate change. 

The built environment accounts for around <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0038092X10002847">40% of worldwide energy use</a> and <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://www.tandfebooks.com/isbn/9781849775380">one-third of greenhouse gas emissions</a>. In Australia, the residential sector is responsible for <a href="https://industry.gov.au/Office-of-the-Chief-Economist/Publications/Documents/aes/energyupdate_2011_report.pdf">12% of final energy use</a> and <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036013231000034X">13% of emissions</a>. 

<h2>Stepping into the breach locally</h2>

As the national building code is failing to improve sustainability, efforts to do this through local planning systems are emerging. 

The Council Alliance for Sustainable Built Environments (<a href="http://www.mav.asn.au/policy-services/planning-building/sustainable-buildings/council-alliance-sustainable-built-environment/Pages/default.aspx">CASBE</a>) in Victoria is one example. This involves local governments working with design and planning professionals to create environmentally sustainable built environments.

In Victoria, there has been debate about the need for <a href="https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/policy-and-strategy/planning-reform/betterapartments">better building design</a> and <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/articles/aia-enters-debate-on-minimum-apartment-size/65192">performance</a> over the past few years. However, our analysis of appeal cases before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) reveals significant inconsistencies in decision-making. We found tensions between the state planning framework and local government efforts to achieve environmental sustainability design through planning.


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Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/nightingales-sustainability-song-falls-on-deaf-ears-as-car-centric-planning-rules-hold-sway-50187">Nightingale’s sustainability song falls on deaf ears as car-centric planning rules hold sway</a>

<hr>
The work of CASBE highlights the important role of networks in building capacity across councils and mobilising support for achieving sustainable outcomes in our built environments. Over time, CASBE and other advocates have developed and implemented a range of assessment tools, local policies and decision-making processes.

This is one way to overcome gaps and weaknesses in the planning system. The CASBE network has grown as a result of its members’ persistence in the face of state government reluctance to change. 

In a growing number of local government areas, Victoria now has strong local planning policies that promote designing for environmental sustainability.

<h2>Enforceable standards are essential</h2>

The systemic and political obstacles to achieving environmentally sustainable design in our cities are clear and persistent. The voluntary use of tools to assess sustainability as a guide to decision-making is important, but can only go so far. Clear and enforceable standards for environmentally sustainable design are needed in both building and planning regulations. 

Our analysis of VCAT data and key cases since 2003 found a continual passing of responsibility between building and planning systems. This problem must be overcome to embed and normalise sustainable design in the built environment. The BASIX system – a sustainability scorecard developed by the NSW government – offers a good starting point for other states.

We also found that where state governments fail to deliver frameworks to improve outcomes, there are other avenues to change and improve the system. Coalitions and networks, including committed local governments and non-state actors, can organise and act to innovate, build capacities and bring about regulatory change. 

We must transform our built environments to reduce the impacts of environmental and climate change. This requires a building and planning system that delivers consistently higher standards of decision-making. And for that to happen all levels of government must be committed. 

<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84263/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">The work of improving the sustainability of our cities is too important to be left to the local groups now working tirelessly to overcome current systemic shortcomings.

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/andreanne-doyon-305144">Andréanne Doyon</a>, Lecturer, School of Global, Urban &amp; Social Studies, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joe-hurley-157161">Joe Hurley</a>, Senior Lecturer, Sustainability and Urban Planning, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/susie-moloney-103498">Susie Moloney</a>, Senior Lecturer, School of Global Urban and Social Studies, Sustainability and Urban Planning Program, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/trivess-moore-12580">Trivess Moore</a>, Research Fellow, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a>

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-cities-australias-building-and-planning-rules-stand-in-the-way-of-getting-there-84263">original article</a>.
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Sustainable cities? Australia's building and planning rules stand in the way of getting there

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/di-winkler-8828">Di Winkler</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/george-taleporos-287224">George Taleporos</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/luke-bosher-255941">Luke Bo'sher</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/new-york-university-1016">New York University</a>

Housing for people with disability is being transformed from grants-based funding to a market-based system where people with disabilities control their own funding. This market has the potential to grow in size by around A$5 billion over the next five years in the <a href="https://www.ndis.gov.au">National Disability Insurance Scheme</a> (NDIS).

PwC and the Summer Foundation recently released a paper called <a href="http://summerfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3f9eee4b8e462fdd840ad66bf&amp;id=b3a0d7b2e8&amp;e=19a36260a3">NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation: Pathway to a mature market</a>. The paper provides a vision of a mature, properly functioning disability housing market and outlines the pathway to reach it.

<hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/ndis-housing-rules-for-people-with-a-disability-could-be-life-changing-74692">NDIS housing rules for people with a disability could be life-changing</a>

<hr>
<h2>The importance of getting this market to work</h2>

Creating housing is one of the most important tasks for the NDIS. It’s especially important for the young people living in aged care and the adults with disability living with ageing parents.

More than <a href="https://www.summerfoundation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Position-Statement-NDIS-access-Oct2016-final.pdf">6,200 young people</a> are living in aged care, with 2,000 young people entering aged care annually. In some parts of the country, young people occupy more than 20% of all aged care places.

The NDIS has the resources and mandate to fix this problem through the <a href="https://www.ndis.gov.au/specialist-disability-accommodation">Specialist Disability Accommodation</a> (SDA) payment policy. The NDIS has an annual recurrent budget of $700 million for SDA. This housing funding is designed only for people under 65 with very high disability support needs. This equates to around 6% of NDIS participants – <a href="https://theconversation.com/ndis-housing-rules-for-people-with-a-disability-could-be-life-changing-74692">28,000 people</a>.

<figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/184141/area14mp/file-20170831-24237-n4n7nt.jpg"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/184141/width754/file-20170831-24237-n4n7nt.jpg"></a>

<figcaption>Author provided</figcaption></figure><hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-get-young-people-out-of-nursing-homes-we-need-to-back-up-the-ndis-with-housing-heres-how-57124">To get young people out of nursing homes, we need to back up the NDIS with housing – here’s how</a>

<hr>
The SDA policy is ambitious. The value of all SDA properties across Australia is expected to total around $11.5 billion. The breakdown would be:

<ul>
<li>
	$2.5 billion to create housing for the 6,000 young people in aged care;
	</li>
	<li>
	$2.5 billion to create housing for others with unmet needs for SDA; and
	</li>
	<li>
	$6.5 billion to replace, refurbish and manage disability housing stock that existed prior to the NDIS.
	</li>
</ul>
<h2>How this market works</h2>

The <a href="http://summerfoundation.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3f9eee4b8e462fdd840ad66bf&amp;id=b3a0d7b2e8&amp;e=19a36260a3">PwC and Summer Foundation paper</a> provides a vision for how this market will operate once it is mature.

The report shows how funding for housing provided directly to people with disability creates a user-driven market. People with disability will be empowered to decide where they live and who they live with.

NDIS participants with high support needs will receive annual funding to pay for the cost of their housing. The SDA payment is calculated based on the dwelling’s location, size and level of accessibility. The housing payments are designed to cover the costs incurred in providing the bricks and mortar and offer a return on investment at market rates (5-12%).

Critically, the provider bears the vacancy risk should they fail to find a tenant – only when the dwelling is occupied are SDA payments made. In this competitive SDA market, housing providers will compete to deliver the best outcomes for tenants, which include being close to shops and transport.

<h2>Progress over the past year</h2>

The government and the National Disability Insurance Agency (<a href="https://www.ndis.gov.au/about-us">NDIA</a>), which oversees the NDIS, have done a tremendous job in setting up this new funding stream. The <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2017L00209">new SDA rules</a> under the NDIS Act took effect in March 2017. We are moving from policy design to implementation.

We now need to make sure that this well-funded and well-designed SDA payment delivers new housing on the ground.

The market is responding, with NDIS housing being built in cities across Australia. Large retail banks and superannuation funds are reviewing SDA transactions. Large developers are including SDA builds in some new developments.

Summer Housing (Summer Foundation’s sister entity) opened ten new SDA apartments in the Hunter Region of New South Wales in mid-2016. Contracts were recently signed for another ten apartments designed for people with disability throughout a 77-apartment development built by <a href="http://summerhousing.org.au/projects/fairfield-housing-project/">Grocon</a> in Fairfield, Melbourne.

Summer Housing aims to build 300 apartments through SDA – meeting the needs of less than 5% of all young people in aged care.

<figure><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i_Z-wzw0r04?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440"></iframe>

<figcaption>Summer Housing has opened ten new SDA apartments in the Hunter region.</figcaption></figure><h2>What will it take to meet the need more quickly?</h2>

Over the next five years, <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0ahUKEwihrKHJ0YXWAhVFyrwKHaykCpIQFggmMAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aph.gov.au%2FDocumentStore.ashx%3Fid%3Db711bce2-be45-4c65-a6c8-89e44cf6a158&amp;usg=AFQjCNFuPkxeJcN_zdfdJ7-OV_oRarbtpg">16,000</a> new or refurbished SDA places are needed. Around 650-700 new SDA places were created or commissioned in the past 12 months. Only 250-300 of these are for unmet demand. The remaining 400 are to rebuild existing, outdated government disability housing stock.

The market needs to reach scale more quickly. The NDIA and government need to listen to and actively steward this fledgling market.

The government sector can do three things to accelerate progress toward a mature market:

<ol>
<li>
	The federal government can provide certainty to the market about how long these prices are guaranteed for and how any price reviews occur.
	</li>
	<li>
	The NDIA can provide regular and good-quality information on demand for SDA.
	</li>
	<li>
	Local and state governments can mandate targets for SDA in major developments.
	</li>
</ol>
Beyond these actions, there is the potential to link SDA with the federal government’s commitment to support a strong <a href="https://christianporter.dss.gov.au/media-releases/developing-australia-s-social-impact-investing-market">Social Impact Investing market</a> in Australia. Social impact investments generate measurable social outcomes, while delivering a financial return to the investor.

<a href="https://www.treasury.gov.au/%7E/media/Treasury/Consultations%20and%20Reviews/Consultations/2017/Social%20Impact%20Investing/Key%20Documents/PDF/Social_Impact_Investing_DP.ashx">Robust evaluation and evidence-based decision-making</a> are integral to social impact investing. The NDIS approach will provide solid evidence that well-located housing with accessible design and technology will increase the quality of life and independence of NDIS participants, thereby reducing the NDIS’s lifetime care costs and liability.

The SDA market has the potential to demonstrate how government can leverage large amounts of capital from superannuation to fund other forms of affordable housing.

<hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-forgotten-660-000-locked-out-of-home-ownership-74926">The forgotten 660,000 locked out of home ownership</a>

<hr>
<h2>Laying the foundation for a revolution</h2>

For people with the highest levels of disability, the NDIS housing payment will bridge the gap between what people with disability can reasonably afford and the cost of building highly accessible housing.

This policy lays the foundation for developing the range and scale of housing needed to resolve the issue of young people in nursing homes in Australia.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/83144/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1">The next step is for government to work with stakeholders in the market — including investors and the housing sector — to create the revolution in housing that Australians with a disability and their families have been waiting for.

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/di-winkler-8828">Di Winkler</a>, Adjunct Associate Professor, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/george-taleporos-287224">George Taleporos</a>, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Living with Disability Research Centre, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/luke-bosher-255941">Luke Bo'sher</a>, Fulbright Scholar, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/new-york-university-1016">New York University</a>

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-ndis-is-using-the-market-to-create-housing-for-people-with-disability-83144">original article</a>.
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How the NDIS is using the market to create housing for people with disability

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/matthew-palm-399340">Matthew Palm</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722">University of Melbourne</a>

Australia’s state governments, as well as some ambitious local councils, community housing providers and forward-looking private developers, are finally taking note of the housing affordability crisis in our cities. One proposed solution is to provide relief to cash-strapped households that cannot afford <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-03/40-years-to-save-for-a-home-in-sydney/8585358">skyrocketing deposits</a> by incentivising a new “<a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/buildtorent-schemes-could-help-affordability/news-story/6e13e7d770c2d37886facc6dc4056690">build-to-rent</a>” affordable housing sector.

<a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/renting/buildtorent-properties-the-panacea-australias-outofcontrol-market-needs/news-story/9168d6094996a8a7c2b0a2c30dd4e46a">Build to rent</a> simply means developers build housing with the intent of retaining the building and renting it out to lower-income families at prices affordable for those families.

Australia has almost everything it needs to kick-start this sector. These efforts could not come soon enough: failing to tackle the situation will cost us <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/robert-pradolin-society-suffers-if-were-idle-on-public-housing/news-story/2e8d095299466130d7dc376ed017fff5">billions of dollars</a>. However, state and local efforts cannot reach their full potential unless the federal government steps in with something only it has: cash.

<hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/budget-2017-charts-new-social-and-affordable-housing-agenda-76794">Budget 2017 charts new social and affordable housing agenda</a>

<hr>
<h2>US model shows the way</h2>

The federal government has tried build-to-rent schemes before, with the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/housing-support/programs-services/national-rental-affordability-scheme/national-rental-affordability-scheme-frequently-asked-questions-1">National Rental Affordability Scheme</a>. Built off a similar US model, the program rewarded investors in affordable housing with tax credits.

The program’s US counterpart, known as “<a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/lihtc">tax credit housing</a>”, is so popular that a bipartisan group of senators are working to expand its funding by 50%. Australia’s super funds <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-31/super-funds-investing-one-billion-in-us-affordable-housing/8759290">have even invested</a> in US tax credit housing.

However, Australia abandoned the National Rental Affordability Scheme in 2013. The government is instead <a href="http://www.budget.gov.au/2017-18/content/glossies/factsheets/html/HA_18.htm">creating</a> a “<a href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/policy/ahuri-briefs/bond-aggregator-model">bond aggregator</a>” agency to support build-to-rent affordable housing. This agency will issue government-backed bonds to provide cheap loans to housing associations to build affordable housing.

<hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/bond-aggregator-helps-build-a-more-virtuous-circle-of-housing-investment-76793">Bond aggregator helps build a more virtuous circle of housing investment</a>

<hr>
<h2>Mind the gap</h2>

But truly affordable rents for Australia’s low-income households cannot cover the combined cost of building and operating apartment buildings, even with cheap loans. US housing experts call this problem the “housing finance gap”, and many of their Australian counterparts have <a href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0033/9996/Subsidised-affordable-rental-housing-lessons-from-Australia-and-overseas-Executive-summary.pdf">called on the federal government</a> to help fund it.

To illustrate, below is a rough example of the breakdown of tax credit housing funding sources, based on real numbers out of several Californian tax credit housing projects.

<figure class="align-center "><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/183269/width754/file-20170824-11307-h0erto.jpg"><figcaption>How California’s affordable housing projects fill the gap.</figcaption></figure>In Victoria, most of the pieces are being set up for the middle band of funding (in purple) as part of <a href="http://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/implementation">Plan Melbourne</a> and other local government initiatives. Similar efforts are under way in New South Wales and Queensland.

The federal government’s bond aggregator will be in place to maximise revenue of the project (plotted in green). Victoria is set to soon join NSW in providing a regulatory framework defining “affordable rents”. This will enable estimates to be made of how large this segment of funding can realistically be.

What Australia lacks is federal support to cover the remaining gap (shaded in orange).

This is a rough sketch based on US numbers, which will not translate exactly. But so long as the project contains any truly affordable housing, as NSW <a href="http://www.aho.nsw.gov.au/-ASSETS/media-publications/publications/factsheets/general-aho-fact-sheets/NSWAffordableHousingGuidelines.pdf">defines it</a> and as Victoria is looking to define it, projects will need more cash to close the gap.

<hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-reboot-affordable-housing-funding-not-scrap-it-72861">Australia needs to reboot affordable housing funding, not scrap it</a>

<hr>
<h2>Filling the gap while keeping things simple</h2>

Capital gains tax deductions and <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/head-of-grattan-institute-thinks-negative-gearing-costs-could-be-cut-in-half/news-story/25f604f9de5052d8f6a0fb4b934de663">negative gearing</a>, cost the federal government A$11 billion per year, even if the houses are vacant. It spends roughly half as much on <a href="http://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2017/housing-and-homelessness/rogs-2017-volumeg.pdf">public housing and rental assistance</a>.

A modest rebalancing of federal tax policy toward affordable housing could fill the funding gaps in build-to-rent housing. This would enable the bond aggregator to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in matching private capital.

The federal government should set a goal of shifting 20% of the tax dollars currently written off on negative gearing into a gap-financing fund managed by the bond aggregator. Unlike the National Affordable Housing Agreement schemes of the recent past, these funds should be dedicated exclusively to building new housing.

<hr>
Further reading: <a href="https://theconversation.com/scrap-or-preserve-negative-gearing-heres-six-other-options-worth-debating-55293">Scrap or preserve negative gearing? Here’s six other options worth debating</a>

<hr>
Alternatively, Treasury could issue cash vouchers to affordable developers to fill the gap. To keep this simple, the value of the voucher could be pro-rated, on a per affordable unit basis, using up-to-date construction cost data.

The government could also offer this funding to private developers that are willing to set aside 30% of their units for low-income families, in exchange for gap financing of that 30% of units and the certainty the bond aggregator provides for the entire project.

<h2>It can be done</h2>

Asking the federal government to cover around $90,000 per affordable unit may sound like a lot. But a decent apartment can last for 30 years before requiring substantial rehabilitation. That translates to just $60 per week.

Although Australian construction costs are higher than in the US, even if we double it we are still spending only $120 per week. This amount is paltry compared to how much money the low-income family living in such an apartment will save if the apartment is located in inner Melbourne or Sydney.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/82320/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1">Add the long-term <a href="https://www.sgsep.com.au/application/files/4514/8962/4355/MSSI-IssuesPaper-10_Last-Resort-Housing_2017.pdf">healthcare</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/housing-the-hidden-health-intervention-65465">social service</a> and <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/3008/AHURI_RAP_Issue_54_The_health_employment_and_education_benefits_of_public_housing.pdf">educational</a> benefits and cost savings into the mix, and this is one smart investment.

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/matthew-palm-399340">Matthew Palm</a>, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Transforming Housing Research Network, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-melbourne-722">University of Melbourne</a>

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/build-to-rent-could-be-the-missing-piece-of-the-affordable-housing-puzzle-82320">original article</a>.
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‘Build to rent’ could be the missing piece of the affordable housing puzzle

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jon-coaffee-349440">Jon Coaffee</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-warwick-1238">University of Warwick</a>

The Australian government’s new strategy for <a href="https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Securityandyourcommunity/Pages/australias-strategy-for-protecting-crowded-places-from-terrorism.aspx">protecting crowded places from terrorism</a> draws heavily on other countries’ experiences of implementing similar strategies as part of a broader national counter-terrorism agenda.

The US and UK have had similar crowded places policies for a number of years due to persistently high threat levels. Places such as Abu Dhabi have adopted versions of such approaches and embedded security within large buildings and place-promotion programs.

Terrorists have significantly changed their modus operandi in the new millennium. Until 2001, vehicle-borne devices targeting major financial or political centres used to be the hallmarks of international urban terrorism. These have more recently been superseded by person-borne devices – especially suicide attacks – and subsequently Fedayeen-style mass shootings, targeting of crowds with fast-moving vehicles, as well as low-tech, difficult-to-defend knife attacks.

Consequently, traditional counter-terrorism approaches – the construction of defensive cordons to protect valuable and vulnerable assets – are seen as largely inadequate. Our defences have had to be rethought. Terror groups are adopting increasingly innovative methods and tactics aimed at soft targets and more generally crowded places, which cannot be altered without radically changing how citizens experience the city.

Like similar strategies elsewhere, the Australian government strongly emphasises partnerships between a range of stakeholders in providing protective security. Countering terrorism, the strategy notes, is “a responsibility shared by all Australian governments, the community and the private sector”.

<blockquote>
A resilient crowded place has trusted relationships with government, other crowded places, and the public. It has access to accurate, contemporary threat information and has a means of translating this threat information into effective, proportionate protective security measures commensurate with the level of risk they face.
</blockquote>

<h2>Learning from elsewhere – bollards are not enough</h2>

Given the nature of the areas being defended, authorities have had to consider issues that previous attempts have paid limited attention to. Security stakeholders in Australia should bear these issues in mind as their program is rolled out.

First, traditional security approaches may be of limited use against many types of possible attack and offer false comfort.

Many have advocated the use of crime-prevention ideas for dealing with the terrorist threat. These manipulate the built environment to reduce the attractiveness and physical access to target places while increasing the likelihood of being caught. In essence this means the mass use of security bollards and high-visibility policing.

While this might reassure many citizens, the emphasis on structures and deterrence models has limited use. Terrorists seeking martyrdom could simply move to other locations that are not as well defended.

Second, issues of risk and timing are really important. Here the Australian guidance has done something that other guidance often fails to do. It has provided a self-assessment tool.

This tool enables owners and managers of public spaces to assess their own risk (or pay a security consultant to do so). This is broadly a positive development, although it does raise the issue of whether or not such non-trained stakeholders feel comfortable doing this or have adequate skills and experience to do it effectively. Appropriate training courses and public awareness campaigns will be vital.

Third, a clear implementation gap is emerging in many countries in the prioritisation of locations that are protected. It is incredibly difficult to cost accurately for designed-in security. Hence a business case for measures that are solely associated with terrorism can be hard to build.

Developers are, in most cases, not legally obliged to adopt counter-terrorism measures. More often than not they will do so immediately after an attack. The cost and who pays for it is a huge issue.

Equally, who is responsible for implementation can be politically sensitive. Is it the government? Is it the owners of the crowded place? Is it the planning and urban design community?

The fourth issue relates to aesthetics. Over recent decades, urban revitalisation has increasingly emphasised inclusivity, liveability and accessibility. These “quality of life” values sit uneasily beside concerns to “design out terrorism” as security becomes part of the design process.

In the aftermath of attacks, or amid fear of imminent attack, obtrusive security features – notably temporary concrete or steel blocks – are commonly “thrown” around key sites to stop vehicle attacks. These are not necessarily aesthetically pleasing.

In the last decade the initial swathe of security bollards and defensive barriers that littered the landscape of many cities after 9/11 has slowly given way to subtler landscape alteration, although in many cases bollard-type solutions still prevail. The predominant view is that security features should be as unobtrusive as possible. This has led to security features being increasingly camouflaged and subtlety embedded within the cityscape.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
A new beauty in Bourke St Mall. For those sewing at home the cubes have an edge length of 80-81 cms. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BollArt?src=hash">#BollArt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Melbourne?src=hash">#Melbourne</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StreetArt?src=hash">#StreetArt</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ce1AGT4apE">pic.twitter.com/Ce1AGT4apE</a>
— Grant Taylor (@GrantKTaylor) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/GrantKTaylor/status/880241335935975424">June 29, 2017</a>
</blockquote>

<h2>What can we live with?</h2>

How our public places are designed tells us a lot about the type of society we are and the one we wish to live in. In this sense, providing guidelines on protecting against terrorism in crowded places is a difficult task, especially in societies that value freedom of movement and expression but are seen as under threat of attack.

In Melbourne in June, concrete blocks were artistically decorated in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/03/melbournes-security-bollards-prettied-up-and-dubbed-bollart">#bollart protest</a> against what many saw as an unnecessary eyesore. The temporary security measures were put in place to prevent vehicle attacks following the <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-10/police-shut-parts-of-melbourne-to-map-bourke-street-scene/8695374">Bourke Street incident</a> and the <a href="http://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/london-attacks-how-do-you-protect-people-from-terrorism-through-urban-design-1-4944853">London Bridge terror attack</a>. In time, permanent steel barriers will replace the blocks.

More broadly, counter-terrorism measures deployed in crowded public places must seek to balance security effectiveness with social and political acceptability. We live in dangerous times, but how we react to the risk of terrorism will have impacts on our public realm for many years. In many ways the threat to cities comes as much from our policy responses as the actual act of terrorism. Both have the potential to harm the freedom of movement and expression that define a vibrant city.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/82755/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1">Experience tells us that, once permitted, hyper-security tends to become permanent. If we want a humane and accessible public realm and a genuinely open society, we should not let the exceptional become the norm as we seek more adaptable and effective ways of coping, in a calm and measured way, with urban terrorism.

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jon-coaffee-349440">Jon Coaffee</a>, Professor of Urban Geography, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-warwick-1238">University of Warwick</a>

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/beyond-bollards-protecting-crowded-places-means-not-letting-the-exceptional-become-the-norm-82755">original article</a>.

Lead image credit: <a href="https://twitter.com/CBD_News_3000">CBD News on twitter</a>
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Beyond bollards: protecting crowded places means not letting the exceptional become the norm

The residential transformation of St Kilda Road is set to continue into with more new apartment plans for the sought-after boulevard.

Wing Tai Asia has lodged plans for a major residential tower at 464-466 St Kilda Road, replacing the former VACC House with an 18-storey mixed-use development designed around a retained heritage podium and a sculpted contemporary tower.

The proposal, prepared under Victoria’s Significant Residential Development with Affordable Housing pathway, would deliver 325 apartments and ground-floor retail across the prominent 4,653 sqm boulevard site in Melbourne’s St Kilda Road North Precinct.

The project centres on the adaptive reuse of the site’s heritage-listed VACC Building, an eight-storey office designed by Bernard Evans that has occupied the address for decades. Planning documents state the development would involve “carefully dismantling and conserving off-site the original metal fabric of the podium visible from St Kilda Road,” before reinstating it as the defining frontage of the new scheme.

Above the restored podium, Wing Tai is proposing a curvilinear residential tower. The scheme includes 172 one-bedroom apartments, 63 two-bedroom apartments, 66 three-bedroom apartments, and 24 four-bedroom apartments, alongside two ground-floor food and beverage tenancies fronting St Kilda Road.

The tower has been designed with substantial articulation and variable setbacks to minimise perceived bulk and maintain view corridors along the boulevard. Urbis, which prepared the planning report, said the design “has been significantly articulated through a curvilinear design” with “an interplay with materials, façade expression and depth” to create visual separation and visual interest.

The proposal also includes 254 basement car spaces, landscaped pedestrian links connecting St Kilda Road and Queens Lane, and a biophilic landscape strategy featuring canopy trees, raised planters, cascading greenery and a glass oculus pool overlooking the eastern frontage.

Planning documents confirm the $270.1 million development will contribute 3 per cent of project costs to the Social Housing Growth Fund as part of the application process.

Wing Tai acquired the St Kilda Road property in 2018 alongside Abacus Property Group for $95.38 million, before later consolidating ownership of the site. The property previously served as the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce headquarters for around 60 years.

The transformation of the St Kilda Rd boulevard is already beginning to materialise, with a number of high-profile projects recently completed, launched, or approaching launch as developers continue to back the long-term appeal of the precinct.

Among the most notable recent completions is Louise by Samuel Property Group, just off the strip on Queens Lane, the same pocket Hirsch &amp; Faigen recently launched The Queensbury. Mirvac is too on the same street with The Albertine, which is approaching completion.

Dexus recently secured approval for its slice of St Kilda Road, while Gurner also has approved plans for the precinct.

Joel Robinson

Wing Tai unveils 325-apartment St Kilda Road tower on former VACC House site

Malaysian developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/s-p-setia">SP Setia</a> is the latest to jump into St Leonards booming Transport Oriented Development precinct.

The developer, which has previously delivered Sapphire by the Gardens apartment development in Melbourne, identified the Atchison Street site in 2023. It filed a Scoping Report around 12 months ago, and now has revealed the designs for the new&nbsp;40-storey mixed-use tower.

The State Significant Development Application covers <a href="https://next-portal.urban.com.au/projects/14650/summary">20-22 Atchison Street</a>, a 1,374 sqm site positioned between St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, the project would deliver 181 apartments, above a four-storey commercial podium, five basement levels, and new public domain works along Mitchell Street. The apartment mix comprises 35 one-bedroom apartments, 39 one-bedroom-plus-study apartments, 85 two-bedroom apartments, and 22 three-bedroom residences.

The proposal has been lodged as a shop-top housing development under the NSW Government’s TOD planning pathway, which allows increased density around key transport infrastructure. The site sits within the recently rezoned Crows Nest Accelerated TOD Precinct.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b799673d-48e2-46b0-801a-0e33a9330100" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20site.png?VersionId=dPh0UfwfaHpbFL1R7H1cbZNbIW0CHbCC" />

SP Setia acquired the Atchison Street site as part of its continued expansion into the Australian apartment market. In comments made to City &amp; Country (The Edge Malaysia) in 2023, SP Setia President and CEO Datuk Choong Kai Wai described the acquisition as “a strategic move” aligned with the group’s post-pandemic market recovery strategy.

“Our target for this exceptional development is local and overseas buyers, including first-home buyers, downsizers and investors,” Choong said.

The tower has been designed as a slender vertical form rising from a mixed-use podium, with COX Architecture positioning the development as a response to the evolving St Leonards and Crows Nest skyline.

“The purpose of the project is to facilitate the delivery of high-quality housing at a strategically located site and deliver a built tower outcome that is consistent with the desired future character of St Leonards and aligns with the TOD controls,” the design report stated.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1a85eee-76f7-436c-a6da-73ba827b9b13" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20entry.png?VersionId=dA9jHGPMcm.dDbwk4QfxqWiY5bfh3UVt" />

The podium would incorporate retail uses fronting Atchison Street, commercial tenancies, landscaped communal areas, and pedestrian improvements along Mitchell Street. Vehicle access and loading would be consolidated via Atchison Lane.

Residents would have access to more than 665 sqm of communal indoor and outdoor spaces, while the development proposes 96 parking spaces across five basement levels.

The proposal also includes a commitment for 10 per cent of residential floor space to be allocated toward affordable housing through a monetary contribution.

COX said the tower form responds directly to the emerging high-density character of the precinct while seeking to maximise solar access, cross ventilation, and outlook from apartments.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2163f85c-f63b-4be3-aafa-f8763976cec5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Article%20Feature%20Image%20%28Grid%29_5.png?VersionId=WiAmtIKJ6.ZQ41EtYEQ1fol7AeorKBlL" />

“The building is orientated towards north,” the Apartment Design Guide compliance report noted, adding that the tower’s slim form was driven by the constrained inner-urban site dimensions.

The design also incorporates landscaped setbacks and communal open space at podium level, intended to soften the interface with surrounding streets and improve pedestrian amenity.

The project adds to a growing wave of redevelopment proposals reshaping St Leonards and Crows Nest following the opening of the Sydney Metro City line and the NSW Government’s push for higher-density housing around major transport nodes.

Last week Stockland filed plans just down the road. They want to build a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/601-pacific-highway-st-leonards-nsw-2065">52-storey tower on Pacific Highway</a>.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">First look: Stockland plans 52-storey, 538-apartment St Leonards tower&nbsp;</a>

First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> has revealed plans for a new mixed-use tower at 10 Dangar Street, Wickham, advancing a proposal that would reshape the southern gateway to Newcastle’s city centre with one of the city’s tallest residential buildings.

The State Significant Development proposal, now on exhibition, seeks approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/bowline-10-dangar-street-wickham-nsw-2293">43-storey tower</a> immediately adjacent to the Newcastle Interchange. The project would deliver around 200 apartments, including 42 affordable housing dwellings, alongside 99 co-living units, a 171-room hotel, retail space, and new public domain integrated through the site.

The scheme marks a significant escalation of plans previously approved for the site. Urban Property Group took over the prominent 2,904 sqm parcel, where excavation and demolition had already commenced under an earlier consent for a 14-storey mixed-use development.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="58a96dd9-407f-4d20-86b4-94e4bfeef74b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20podium.png?VersionId=LGlf08pdFGAZDzvx_CXC4XakHNZRuEE0" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, the tower has been conceived as a landmark transit-oriented development anchored to the Newcastle Interchange precinct. The proposal includes 245 build-to-sell apartments across a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom residences, as well as two penthouses. Fifteen apartments and one operational unit are earmarked for NDIS housing. The co-living component would add a further 99 units, while the podium would accommodate retail uses and hotel facilities.

SJB said the site presents “a valuable opportunity to anchor the precinct by setting the standard for design, active ground planes and character at the key southern gateway.”

The architecture responds directly to the site’s position beside major transport infrastructure and within one of Newcastle’s fastest-evolving urban renewal precincts. The tower form sits above a sculpted podium designed to frame new public spaces, including a through-site pedestrian link connecting Station Street to Hannell Street, landscaped plazas, and activated retail edges.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a7bd6ff0-f7db-4ce8-a6dc-ea56e72c6149" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20lanne.png?VersionId=xzf39VADyhj7zBQY2I9fx9vI62u2tuSb" />

The design report describes the project as part of the broader transition of Wickham into “a vibrant, high-quality mixed-use urban precinct” that leverages proximity to the station, open space, and regional connectivity.

A detailed public art strategy has also been prepared for the development. The strategy positions the project as “a transit-oriented development of state significance at the gateway to Newcastle’s city centre” and outlines a series of integrated artworks responding to Newcastle’s industrial and transport heritage.

Creative Road’s curatorial framework for the project, titled Unveil, draws on “stratified surfaces, carved volumes, and light-filled apertures” while referencing Newcastle’s transformation from an industrial city into a contemporary education and technology hub.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="77a882bb-14b1-4d28-99ff-9438e39508c0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20site.png?VersionId=cevgo_vN0eKPK78P8YcEu3mKPLkpFqE7" />

The proposal is being advanced through the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway after being declared State Significant Development in June 2025. The accompanying scoping report states the development aims to “maximise the site’s proximity to the Newcastle Interchange by delivering transit-oriented development” while increasing housing supply and affordable housing provision within the Newcastle LGA.

Urban Property Group’s plans align with the long-term strategic vision established under the Wickham Master Plan, which identified the interchange precinct as suitable for substantial uplift in height and density. The current proposal would significantly intensify that vision, positioning the tower among the tallest developments proposed for Newcastle.

The site sits immediately north of the Newcastle Interchange, bounded by Dangar Street, Hannell Street, and Charles Street. It is surrounded by a rapidly growing cluster of residential towers and mixed-use projects that have emerged following the completion of the light rail and transport interchange.

First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s latest tower at Wickham interchange

Bottega House has completed settlement of a landmark riverfront site in Macquarie Street, St Lucia, representing its first major Brisbane development.&nbsp;

Positioned on the banks of the Brisbane River, the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/180-macquarie-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">premium site at 180 Macquarie Street</a> features uninterrupted river frontage in one of Brisbane’s most tightly held residential precincts.&nbsp;

The proposed development, currently under assessment with Brisbane City Council, has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/mim-design">Mim Design</a> and will deliver a boutique collection of premium residences positioned specifically for owner occupiers and downsizers.&nbsp;

The residences are set to redefine luxury apartment living in the area, with a focus on architectural quality, refined finishes, landscape integration and elevated amenities including curated wellness facilities, resort-style pools and recreation spaces rarely seen in the local market.&nbsp;

Exclusive sales for the project will be led by Keenan &amp; Byrne, ahead of an anticipated launch later this year.&nbsp;

Bottega House Managing Director Nick Malloch said the project reflects the group’s ambition to deliver a highly curated residential offering within one of Brisbane’s most tightly held precincts.&nbsp;

“This is an incredibly rare riverfront opportunity and one we have approached with a long-term perspective,” Malloch said.&nbsp;

“Our vision from the outset was to create a boutique collection of residences that feel more like private homes than traditional apartments, with generous proportions, refined finishes and exceptional amenity throughout."

Malloch says there is a&nbsp;lack of premium owner-occupier stock of this quality in the market, particularly for downsizers wanting space, privacy and a true lifestyle offering without compromise.&nbsp;

"Demand is expected to be strong given the scarcity of premium riverfront opportunities of this nature within Brisbane’s inner-west."&nbsp;

Bottega House secures landmark riverfront site in St Lucia 

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The arrival of the first piling rig officially marks the commencement of construction at SIERA’s new beachside apartment development, Exhale, in Northcliffe.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/exhale-surfers-paradise-8-enderley-avenue-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Exhale</a>, a glass-encased tower featuring 54 large-scale apartments at 8 Enderley Avenue, is SIERA’s third Gold Coast development. It follows the recently completed PIPIS Bilinga beachfront project, which achieved suburb-record prices, and the soon-to-be-completed Chevron Island development, Tapestry.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359603]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/siera">SIERA</a> Founder and Managing Director Brent Thompson said the arrival of the piling rig represented a significant milestone for the development, which is scheduled for completion in late 2028.

Over the next month, around 260 piles are expected to be installed as work progresses on the basement structure. The building is anticipated to rise above ground level early next year, before unveiling its sculptural glass curtain wall, developed in collaboration with specialist façade engineers.

“The façade was designed to maximise panoramic coastal views while creating a distinctive architectural identity,” Thompson said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=355935]

Designed by BDA Architecture, Exhale will comprise just 54 two- and three-bedroom residences across 26 levels, a level of low-density living rarely delivered in this beachside pocket between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

The project has been conceived as a resident-only building, with no short-stay accommodation permitted. SIERA says the model is intended to appeal to long-term owner-occupiers rather than transient holiday demand.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=361052]

Residences have been designed with large-format layouts and expansive glazing, with most apartments featuring more than 30 metres of glass frontage to maximise natural light and ocean views.

The amenity offering spans two levels and centres on wellness and lifestyle, including a heated magnesium pool, sauna, yoga and Pilates studio, gymnasium, private dining facilities, cinema lounge, and dedicated surfcraft storage.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359607]

More than half of the apartments have already sold. SIERA has also opened a sales gallery for Exhale at its Chevron Island commercial premises, near its Tapestry tower and the site of its second Chevron Island apartment development, which is slated to launch in early 2027.
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[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112661]

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