tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/urban-development-7271/articlesUrban development – The Conversation2024-01-17T21:08:01Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2183342024-01-17T21:08:01Z2024-01-17T21:08:01ZAnnual rankings don’t always tell us what it’s really like to live in a city<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568293/original/file-20240108-27-dzn9ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C0%2C2751%2C1553&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rankings often focus on economic and developmental factors that overlook sustainability. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every year various indices are released which rank the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/article-most-livable-cities-canada-2023/">livability</a>, <a href="https://www.arcadis.com/en/knowledge-hub/perspectives/global/sustainable-cities-index">sustainability</a>, <a href="https://innovation-cities.com/worlds-most-innovative-cities-2022-2023-city-rankings/26453/">innovation</a> and general quality of life in cities around the world. Canada’s major cities like Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto <a href="https://www.cicnews.com/2023/12/3-canadian-cities-ranked-among-the-most-liveable-in-the-world-1241721.html">frequently</a> top <a href="https://www.cicnews.com/2023/12/3-canadian-cities-ranked-among-the-most-liveable-in-the-world-1241721.html">these lists</a>, despite being some of the <a href="https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/vancouver-ranks-3rd-most-expensive-city-in-north-america-5490661">most costly</a> places to live. </p>
<p><em>Maclean’s</em> magazine’s ranking of “<a href="https://macleans.ca/canadas-best-communities-in-2021-full-ranking/">Canada’s best communities</a>” evaluated 415 communities according to various indicators, including economic prosperity, housing affordability, taxation, sustainable mobility, public safety as well as access to health services and cultural and leisure activities.</p>
<p>Quality of life indicators and indices can be useful for comparing cities or when deciding where to live. However, if cities base their policymaking on such metrics, it could lead to unsustainable development.</p>
<h2>Differences between sustainability and quality of life</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106879">recent study</a> highlighted the commonly used environmental and socio-economic criteria, using indicators such as green spaces, recycling, the use of public transport, unemployment and crime rates.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.espon.eu/programme/projects/espon-2020/applied-research/quality-of-life">international review</a> by the European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion evaluated cities based on criteria like employment, housing, access to health care and safety. Indicators included, among others, the cost of living, household income and the quality of public services.</p>
<p>Many of the indicators in these rankings are used to measure both the sustainability and the quality of life in a city. This convergence can be explained by the <a href="https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/pathways-sustainable-cities">common basis of these two concepts</a>: they are essentially about how a city satisfies the essential needs of its residents, such as housing, transport, health, education and leisure.</p>
<p>The ability to meet these needs is closely linked to economic factors, which play a key role in assessing both the sustainability and quality of life of cities. These factors include income, wealth and cost of living.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An elderly couple walking in a park with a bicycle" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568733/original/file-20240110-21-uisy1i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Development aimed at improving city life can sometimes come at the expense of sustainability.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Despite these commonalities, they also present <a href="https://researcharchive.lincoln.ac.nz/server/api/core/bitstreams/81da68e3-f4cb-4b2c-a67b-506d41bd84e4/content">contradictions</a>. For example, initiatives aimed at improving city life, such as infrastructure expansion, can sometimes come at the expense of the environment, which goes against the principles of sustainable development.</p>
<p>Furthermore, an emphasis on sustainability does not necessarily guarantee improved living conditions. Indeed, sustainability may involve reducing the consumption of certain goods and services, reducing the size of housing to promote denser neighborhoods, or implementing taxes to reduce pollution. </p>
<p>These measures, although beneficial for the environment, can lower individual comfort and increase living costs, which affects the quality of life of residents.</p>
<h2>Traits of sustainable and livable cities</h2>
<p>We recently conducted a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275123004201">study aimed at answering the following question</a>: What are the characteristics of cities that perform better in terms of quality of life and sustainability?</p>
<p>To answer this question, we analyzed the similarities and differences between the factors underlying sustainability and quality of life rankings for 171 Canadian cities with more than 25,000 inhabitants.</p>
<p>Our results reveal a positive and statistically significant correlation between urban quality of life and sustainability indicators in Canadian cities. However, our findings also highlight important contradictions regarding sustainable living in the three main dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.</p>
<p>Wood Buffalo, Alta. ranked in the top 20 per cent for sustainability, mainly due to its high-income and educated population, despite its low environmental performances. However, it is in the bottom 20 per cent for quality of life due to high living costs and limited cultural amenities. </p>
<p>Kamloops, B.C. performed well in quality of life, thanks to affordability, strong education and health care, and cultural richness. Yet it falls in the bottom 20 per cent for sustainability because of waste, greening and energy management challenges.</p>
<p>Evaluations of quality of life are mainly based on economic dimensions and take into account indicators such as the unemployment rate and average income. Some indicators also concern the social dimension of sustainable development, including crime, housing affordability, health and the arts.</p>
<p>However, some fundamental social aspects of sustainable development, like wealth distribution and education, are not addressed directly.</p>
<p>The environmental dimension is also largely neglected, with the exception of sustainable mobility (for example, how many people use public transport). For instance, there were no direct measurements of greenhouse gas emissions, the quality of green spaces or the quality of a city’s water.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A busy city sidewalk" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/568734/original/file-20240110-21-au3gwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Quality of life indices can be useful for comparing cities, however, if cities base their policymaking on such metrics, it could lead to unsustainable development.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<h2>Cities should put sustainability first</h2>
<p>These differences between quality of life and sustainable development are concerning for two main reasons. Firstly, because people might use these rankings when deciding where to live, it can make cities with high rankings but poor sustainability appear attractive. </p>
<p>Second, as cities generally seek to attract residents, they may be tempted to make decisions based on variables that increase their quality of life ranking to the detriment of sustainable development. </p>
<p>The most highly ranked cities are likely to maintain the status quo with regard to their development strategy in order to stay at the top of the list. Moreover, lower ranked cities are likely to mimic the urban conditions that characterize the most successful cities.</p>
<p>However, these objectives are not always compatible with urban sustainability, which takes into account broader environmental and collective concerns, such as preserving environmental quality and reducing pressure on natural resources and green spaces.</p>
<p>This means quality of life becomes unsustainable if it does not take into account environmental impacts such as waste management and car use. The same goes for how wealth is distributed. </p>
<p>Prioritizing sustainability, even if it means a lower quality of life ranking in the short term, ensures cities remain viable in the future. Integrating sustainability measures into public policies, such as improving public transportation and maintaining green spaces, is essential to meet current needs and anticipate future challenges, ensuring long-term well-being.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218334/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Focusing on metrics that measure a city’s quality of life could be detrimental to its long-term sustainable development.Georges A. Tanguay, Full Professor, School of Management, Department of Urban Studies and Tourism, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Juste Rajaonson, Professor, School of Management, Department of Urban Studies and Tourism, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2193132024-01-17T19:07:24Z2024-01-17T19:07:24ZThe YIMBY movement is spreading around the world. What does it mean for Australia’s housing crisis?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569700/original/file-20240116-29-trp1q6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C0%2C4977%2C2994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">San Francisco skyline.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marti Bug Catcher/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>2024 looks set to be another year of rising rents, stalling supply and intense debate over how to respond to the housing crisis. </p>
<p>Occupying an increasingly prominent place in that debate is the YIMBY movement. Short for “Yes, In My Backyard”, YIMBY is a play on the well-known pejorative NIMBY, which has long been applied to residents opposed to change in their local area.</p>
<p>Where did YIMBYism come from? Who are the YIMBYs? How are they reshaping the politics of housing in the 21st century? </p>
<p>These are the questions tackled in sociologist Max Holleran’s book <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691200224/yes-to-the-city">Yes to the City: Millennials and the Fight for Affordable Housing</a>. It is, to date, the most authoritative study of the rise of YIMBYism and its spread throughout the United States and beyond.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Yes to the City: Millennials and the Fight for Affordable Housing – Max Holleran (Princeton University Press)</em></p>
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<h2>What is YIMBYism?</h2>
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<p>YIMBYism focuses on increasing housing supply, particularly higher-density infill housing, as the solution to housing affordability. It does so by targeting barriers to new construction, such as zoning, <a href="https://theconversation.com/yimbys-and-nimbys-unite-you-can-have-both-heritage-protection-and-more-housing-206765">heritage protections</a> and design standards. </p>
<p>The development and construction industries have long targeted such restrictions. Grassroots organisations and non-profit housing advocates, on the other hand, have focused on measures like social and affordable housing, ending tax concessions for property investors and rent regulation. </p>
<p>YIMBYs take a different approach. They argue that building more housing – even at the upper end of the property market – will improve affordability overall through the process of “<a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/387">filtering</a>” by freeing up more affordable, lower-quality housing.</p>
<p>Thus, Holleran writes, YIMBYs are </p>
<blockquote>
<p>promoting a new framing within the housing debate: concentrating on supply-side mechanisms, working with (not against) developers, and emphasising the rights of middle-class newcomers to wealthy cities. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Who are the YIMBYs?</h2>
<p>Holleran depicts YIMBYism as a mostly white, middle-class movement. It has arisen in cities like San Francisco, Boulder and Austin, where young professionals earn good salaries but face soaring housing costs. </p>
<p>Many YIMBYs work in the booming tech industry, which has helped drive population growth in those cities and contributed to housing pressures. As one of Halloran’s interviewees puts it, YIMBYs </p>
<blockquote>
<p>are often the ones who have done everything right […] the university grads with knowledge-sector jobs, but the prices are so high now they feel like they’ve done something wrong with their lives. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The tech industry has played significant financial, cultural and ideological roles in the growth of YIMBYism – particularly in San Francisco, where the movement originated. Holleran sees a “tech-oriented practicality” among YIMBYs. They pursue a “technocratic insider’s game for the highly educated”. They believe their “ideological flexibility is useful for getting things done”. </p>
<p>Tech corporations have also made <a href="https://www.housingisahumanright.org/inside-game-california-yimby-scott-wiener-and-big-tech-troubling-housing-push/">significant financial contributions</a> to a range of YIMBY organisations and aligned politicians. </p>
<h2>The politics of YIMBY</h2>
<p>YIMBYs often see housing affordability as a conflict between wealthy “baby boomer” homeowners, who purchased property when it was cheaper and often aided by government subsidies, and millennials, who can’t afford to buy due to opposition to new development from those boomer homeowners. </p>
<p>Yet, framing the issue of housing affordability as a conflict between generations can elide its class and race dimensions. This elision has been a source of tension between YIMBY groups and established, racially diverse and working-class anti-gentrification organisations.</p>
<p>The YIMBYs’ call to “build more of everything” has led them to support projects that have replaced cheaper housing with more expensive housing, and displaced existing residents in the process. </p>
<p>San Francisco YIMBYs, for example, initially agreed with anti-gentrification activists to concentrate their efforts on middle- and high-income parts of the city. But they later betrayed this agreement, supporting projects opposed by local activists in the Mission District. </p>
<p>This “showdown” between YIMBYs and anti-gentrification activists is at the heart of Holleran’s book: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The former see themselves as expanding the struggle; the latter think the new focus is missing the crucial goal: helping those in most need. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This conflict is a useful jumping-off point to consider the implications of the rise of YIMBYism in Australia. </p>
<h2>YIMBYism in Australia</h2>
<p>Yes to the City was written before the establishment of <a href="https://www.greatercanberra.org/">Greater Canberra</a>, <a href="https://www.yimbymelbourne.org.au/">YIMBY Melbourne</a>, <a href="https://www.sydney.yimby.au/">Sydney YIMBY</a>, and the <a href="https://www.housingnow.com.au/">Housing Now!</a> coalition – organisations that have experienced a rapid rise to prominence. Judging by recent reforms in <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/policy-and-legislation/housing/housing-supply">New South Wales, especially</a>, they can claim some success in influencing government policies. </p>
<p>Holleran’s book does, however, discuss the work of <a href="https://thewestsider.com.au/two-sides-of-the-coin-the-launch-housing-project-debate-part-two/">HousingAIM</a> in western Melbourne (AIM stands for “Affordable Inclusive Maribyrnong”). Active in the 2010s, the group was originally named “Yes in Maribyrnong’s Backyard”. </p>
<p>Unlike its US counterparts, HousingAIM concentrated on affordable housing developments. It strove to protect the diverse working-class character of the Melbourne suburb of Footscray, with <a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/building-more-social-housing-melbournes-west">some success</a>. </p>
<p>There are some practical difficulties with the YIMBY formula. Rezoning urban areas for higher density development might increase housing supply and improve affordability eventually. But it will take a long time to have even a <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/387">relatively modest effect</a> and risks <a href="https://theconversation.com/sydney-metros-sydenham-to-bankstown-line-nirvana-or-nightmare-65247">displacing lower-income households</a> into worse housing in the meantime. </p>
<p>Targeting higher-income areas involves fewer displacement risks, but it means focusing on areas where <a href="https://theconversation.com/nimbyism-in-sydney-is-leading-to-racist-outcomes-207204">opposition to new development is strongest</a>.</p>
<p>The popularisation of YIMBYism also carries the risk that governments will present up-zoning as a panacea and continue to ignore other solutions, such as legal protections against evictions and <a href="https://theconversation.com/rent-regulations-are-no-silver-bullet-but-they-would-help-make-renting-fairer-218579">rent increases</a>, ending landlord tax concessions and <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-the-1-5-million-australians-getting-rent-assistance-need-an-increase-but-more-public-housing-is-the-lasting-fix-for-the-crisis-200908">investment in public housing</a>. </p>
<p>Politicians, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns, have repeatedly argued that the key to solving the housing crisis is planning reform to increase supply, by way of fending off these more contentious or costly proposals. </p>
<p>How YIMBY organisations approach these other solutions, and the question of gentrification more broadly, will shape their reception and determine the possibilities for collaboration and alliance building. </p>
<p>Australia’s housing problems show no sign of abating, and the political capital of YIMBYism looks set to grow. How that political capital is expended will have important implications for housing reform and urban life.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alistair Sisson has received funding from the Tenants' Union of NSW, Australian Council of Social Service, Shelter NSW, QShelter, National Shelter, Mission Australia and Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. He is a member of Shelter NSW. </span></em></p>Australia’s housing crisis shows no sign of abating, but planning reforms to increase supply is only part of the solution.Alistair Sisson, Macquarie University Research Fellow, School of Social Sciences, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2144772023-12-26T20:29:43Z2023-12-26T20:29:43ZHow the retailing contest between CBDs, shopping centres and online will reshape our cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560940/original/file-20231122-15-dign1s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C2652&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul J. Maginn/@Planographer</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Retail activity has been a defining facet of cities since antiquity. The Greek Agora and Roman Forum may be viewed as the original CBDs – central business districts, or what urban planners call activity centres.</p>
<p>Retail spaces have <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Managing-the-Marketplace-Reinventing-Shopping-Centres-in-Post-War-Australia/Bailey/p/book/9780367500559">evolved</a> over time. Urbanisation, mass production and the rise of conspicuous consumption led to the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00049182.2019.1682317">high street</a> and CBD dominating the retail landscape across the Western world from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century.</p>
<p>The 21st-century retail landscape has become more diverse and competitive. The range of physical and virtual retail spaces, retailers, products and prices leaves consumers spoilt for choice. </p>
<p>Retailing is more than just about consumption. It’s Australia’s fourth-largest employment sector and plays a major role in shaping our cities. Retail helps define a city’s identity and brand and thus attract visitors. But the retail landscape and consumer behaviour are changing, and changing fast!</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-an-ideal-main-street-this-is-what-shoppers-told-us-214554">What makes an ideal main street? This is what shoppers told us</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<h2>The place to be and be seen</h2>
<p>In Australia (and elsewhere), the CBD was at the epicentre of the evolution of discrete retail spaces. It offered a smorgasbord of independently owned shops, national and international chain stores and department stores. These were located in laneways, shopping arcades, main streets and multistorey shopping centres. </p>
<p>Centrality, easy public transport access and a largely suburban-based commuter workforce explain the dominance of the CBD in the 20th century. </p>
<p>A visit to the CBD on a Saturday was <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/the-karrinyup-creep-how-mega-malls-took-over-retail-and-changed-perth-20230913-p5e4do.html">more than just a utilitarian shopping trip</a>. It could be an urban exploration, a leisure pursuit, a pleasure-seeking adventure, a social event. </p>
<p>Children accompanying their parents were mesmerised by the intensity of urbanism and retail choice. Teenagers and young people, much like 19th-century <a href="https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/10/17/in-praise-of-the-flaneur/">flaneurs</a>, paraded with their peers, their fashion denoting their subcultural affiliation.</p>
<p>For adults, the CBD offered a chance to indulge in retail therapy via window shopping and pleasurable consumption. For others a trip to the CBD allowed them to treat themselves and meet friends at the department store cafe. </p>
<p>In short, the CBD was the place to see and be seen.</p>
<h2>CBD’s retail crown slips</h2>
<p>The dominance of the CBD began to slip with the emergence of suburban shopping centres in the late 1950s – thank you, <a href="https://theconversation.com/triumph-of-the-mall-how-victor-gruens-grand-urban-vision-became-our-suburban-shopping-reality-172393">Victor Gruen</a>. Rapid suburban growth, social mobility and increased car use drove an explosion in suburban shopping centres from the 1960s through to the 1980s. </p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://scca.org.au/industry-information/australian-shopping-centre-industry/#:%7E:text=The%20first%20modern%20shopping%20centre,in%20a%20lake%20of%20parking%E2%80%9D.">Shopping Centre Council of Australia</a>, an average of 22 shopping centres a year have been built since the first centre, Brisbane’s Chermside, appeared in 1957.</p>
<p>Competition between CBD retailers and shopping centres intensified in the 1980s and 1990s. With the rise of online retailing in the past decade or so, these bricks-and-mortar retailers have had to lift their game again. </p>
<p>Retailing matters. Aussie consumers spent a whopping <a href="https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/ecommerce-industry-report-2023.pdf">A$353 billion on retail goods in 2022</a> compared with <a href="https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/inside-australian-online-shopping-ecommerce-report.pdf">$275.3 billion in 2018</a> – a 28.2% increase. </p>
<p>Over the same period, online retail spending increased by 132% from $27.5 billion to $63.8 billion. It now accounts for just over 18% of retail spending in Australia, up from 10% in 2018.</p>
<p>The “4 Cs” underpin the rise of online shopping: convenience, choice, competitive prices and COVID-19 (which ramped up the shift). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/big-bigger-biggest-black-friday-cyber-monday-and-singles-day-107492">Big, bigger, biggest: Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Singles Day</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>COVID and working from home led to Australian CBDs, especially Melbourne and Sydney, losing considerable ground, while suburban shopping centres gained in terms of shopper numbers and spending.</p>
<p>Although <a href="https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/zombified-business-districts-are-getting-their-lives-back-20210408-p57hk1">zombified CBDs</a> at the height of pandemic restrictions are in the rear-view mirror, working from home lingers. This is especially true for Melbourne where <a href="https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/only-just-over-half-of-melbourne-has-returned-to-the-office-20231121-p5elk3">office occupancy averages 53%</a> – way behind Perth (91%), Adelaide (85%), Sydney and Brisbane (both 75%).</p>
<p><a href="https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/about-melbourne/melbourne-is-open/Pages/covid-19-recovery.aspx#:%7E:text=Melbourne%20City%20Recovery%20Fund,-%E2%80%8BIn%20partnership&text=It%20will%20invest%20in%20programs,visitors%20back%20to%20the%20city.">Capital city councils</a>, <a href="https://www.dlgsc.wa.gov.au/funding/cbd-revitalisation-grant-program">state governments</a> and bodies such as the <a href="https://sydney.org.au/FutureSydneyCBD/findings/">Committee for Sydney</a>, <a href="https://udiavic.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/200924-Revive-Melbourne-CBD-Final.pdf">Urban Development Institute of Australia</a> and the <a href="https://www.propertycouncil.com.au/submissions/cbd-vip">Property Council of Australia</a> have taken or advocated action to draw people back to the CBD. </p>
<p>Actions include everything from free parking and public transport, <a href="https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/informal-urbanism/projects/temporary-and-tactical-urbanism">tactical urbanism</a> or temporary changes to the streetscape such as pedestrian plazas, pop-up bike lanes, and parklets, outdoor dining, public events and vouchers, through to changes in planning regulations to speed up high-density residential development.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-covid-all-but-killed-the-australian-cbd-147848">How COVID all but killed the Australian CBD</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Cathedrals of consumption … and then some</h2>
<p>Before and since COVID-19 major shopping centres across Australia have undergone multi-million-dollar refurbishments and redesign. They include centres in Adelaide (<a href="http://westfield.com.au/marion/">Marion</a>), Brisbane (<a href="https://www.westfield.com.au/chermside">Chermside</a>, <a href="http://pacificfair.com.au/">Pacific Fair</a>), Melbourne (<a href="https://www.chadstone.com.au/,">Chadstone</a>, <a href="http://westfield.com.au/fountaingate">Fountain Gate</a>), Perth (<a href="https://www.westfield.com.au/carousel">Carousel</a>, <a href="https://www.karrinyupcentre.com.au/">Karrinyup</a>) and Sydney (<a href="http://westfield.com.au/">Parramatta</a>, <a href="http://macquariecentre.com.au/">Macquarie Centre</a>). The centres have increased floorspace and diversified retail, entertainment and food and beverage offerings.</p>
<p>Suburban shopping centres are more than <a href="https://sk.sagepub.com/books/enchanting-a-disenchanted-world-3e">cathedrals of consumption</a>. Mega-malls such as Chadstone (215,000m²), Fountain Gate (178,000m²) and Chermside (177,000m²) <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00420980221135418">stand out as major hubs</a> of economic activity and employment, tourist attractions and social and community spaces. </p>
<p>To help secure a ready customer base, <a href="https://www.chadstone.com.au/hotel-chadstone">upmarket hotels</a> and <a href="https://www.blackburne.com.au/collection/west-village/">luxury residential developments</a> have been built, or are earmarked for development, as part of major shopping centres. Many more such <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2017/12/04/why-malls-should-add-residential-to-their-repurposing-plans/">residential developments</a> in Australia (and the US) are likely over the next decade or so.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-suburbs-are-the-future-of-post-covid-retail-148802">The suburbs are the future of post-COVID retail</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565917/original/file-20231214-23-8rfikh.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A proposed luxury apartment development, West Village, next to Karrinyup Shopping Centre in Perth, WA.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul J. Maginn/@Planographer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Devil in the retail</h2>
<p>The competition between bricks-and-mortar retailers in CBDs, suburban shopping centres and online retailers peaks each year with the onset of Black Friday and Cyber Monday in late November, closely followed by the Christmas shopping season and New Year sales.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/really-need-those-new-shoes-why-you-might-spend-up-big-at-the-black-friday-sales-218241">Really need those new shoes? Why you might spend up big at the Black Friday sales</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Whatever big changes come next – in terms of what we buy, where and how – will have implications well beyond the retail sector. The structure and function of cities, plus our relationship with the city and retail spaces, are likely to change. </p>
<p>With the rise of online shopping and on-demand delivery, can we, for example, expect to see our streets and skies soon filled with autonomous robots and drones?</p>
<p>Autonomous delivery raises major questions about retail, urban and residential design, infrastructure provision, employment, human behaviour and, ultimately, regulation. Therein lies the devil in the retail.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214477/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The four Cs – convenience, choice, competitive prices and COVID-19 – will decide the retail battle and how it affects the structure and function of our cities.Paul J. Maginn, Interim Director, UWA Public Policy Institute; Associate Professor & Programme Co-ordinator (Masters of Public Policy), The University of Western AustraliaLouise Grimmer, Senior Lecturer in Retail Marketing, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2157062023-11-13T01:11:49Z2023-11-13T01:11:49ZGrowing NZ cities eat up fertile land – but housing and food production can co-exist<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558498/original/file-20231108-17-5s15y9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C513%2C5232%2C2450&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Donald Royds</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Auckland Council recently voted to <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/501557/auckland-council-adopts-plan-to-intensify-housing-in-existing-suburbs">decrease the amount of city fringe land available for development</a>, citing flood risks and infrastructure costs. </p>
<p>Meanwhile in Christchurch, plans for an 850-home development north of the city have been <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-democracy-reporting/301004121/council-backs-call-to-reject-850home-ohoka-development">rejected</a> because of the area’s “existing rural nature and the lack of public transport and local jobs”.</p>
<p>Cities around the world face a similar dilemma: population growth and housing shortages mean urban expansion often encroaches on rural productive land.</p>
<p>Fertile soil is one of the reasons why many cites were originally set up in certain sites, but now the loss of these food-producing landscapes to urban growth is widely recognised as a <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1606036114">concern to local food security</a>.</p>
<p>The edges of cities – the “peri-urban” zone – are critically important for urban resilience. Apart from food, they supply ecosystem services such as flood and stormwater mitigation, cooling and climate regulation, carbon storage, waste treatment and recreation.</p>
<p>It could be said that the conversion of peri-urban agricultural land for urban expansion unwittingly undermines the very <a href="https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/assets/Publications/Ecosystem-services-in-New-Zealand/1_18_Meurk.pdf">life support on which city dwellers depend</a>. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://ourlandandwater.nz/news/rethinking-the-whenua-around-our-cities-could-help-turn-the-table-on-our-food-crisis/">research</a> explores possible solutions that allow food production and housing to co-exist within peri-urban zones. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-sustainable-liveable-and-resilient-housing-can-help-us-adapt-to-a-changing-future-212412">How sustainable, liveable and resilient housing can help us adapt to a changing future</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The housing-agriculture conundrum</h2>
<p>In Aotearoa New Zealand, the competition for land for either housing or food production within the peri-urban zone is intense. Local and regional councils
have to attempt to mediate between two recently gazetted national policy statements that seem at odds. </p>
<p>The 2020 <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/acts-and-regulations/national-policy-statements/national-policy-statement-urban-development/">National Policy Statement for Urban Development</a> requires councils to remove barriers to urban expansion, both up and out. The 2022 <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/publications/national-policy-statement-for-highly-productive-land/">National Policy Statement on Highly Productive Land</a> requires councils to avoid urban encroachment and protect highly productive land for agriculture. </p>
<p>A recent Ministry for the Environment <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/assets/Publications/our-land-2021.pdf">report</a> states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The area of highly productive land that was unavailable for agriculture (because it had a house on it) increased by 54% from 2002 to 2019.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Rows of new houses being built on productive farm land." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558496/original/file-20231108-15-w8cqbu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558496/original/file-20231108-15-w8cqbu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558496/original/file-20231108-15-w8cqbu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558496/original/file-20231108-15-w8cqbu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558496/original/file-20231108-15-w8cqbu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558496/original/file-20231108-15-w8cqbu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558496/original/file-20231108-15-w8cqbu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This drone image shows a farm in Rolleston awaiting further suburban conversion, with roads starting and stopping on either side of the farm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Donald Royds</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Urban resilience and food production</h2>
<p>Peri-urban zones have an important role in supplying locally produced food. This helps reduce transport emissions to meet New Zealand’s <a href="https://environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/areas-of-work/climate-change/emissions-reduction-plan/">emissions reduction targets</a>. But there is a growing disconnect between where New Zealand’s food is produced and where the majority of New Zealanders live. </p>
<p>The dominant approach to urban growth is through greenfield development (building on undeveloped land), and this ultimately compromises the productive land belt around many cities and settlements. This can result in the irreversible loss of some of our most fertile soils.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nationals-housing-u-turn-promotes-urban-sprawl-cities-and-ratepayers-will-pick-up-the-bill-206762">National’s housing u-turn promotes urban sprawl – cities and ratepayers will pick up the bill</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Multiple factors affect where food can be produced within the peri-urban zone. This includes policy, land value, soil versatility, natural resources such as water and, increasingly, the level of “reverse sensitivity” – a term used to describe, in this instance, the impacts of newer land uses (such as housing) on prior activities (agriculture) in mixed-use areas.</p>
<p>Planning policy often <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1745-5871.12266">fails to keep up with changes</a> in housing markets, agricultural practice and lifestyle choices. This then results in reactive planning approaches, putting high-value soil and other land suitable for food production at continued risk of development and fragmentation. </p>
<p>This is compounded by public and political pressures that can lead to tensions between food producers and their residential neighbours.</p>
<h2>Combined land use</h2>
<p>Our team has surveyed households and food producers living and operating within the peri-urban zone of Ōtautahi Christchurch to better understand the issues. We also wanted to explore opportunities arising from food production and housing co-existing within peri-urban zones. </p>
<p>Based on the views of surveyed participants, we developed five land-use design concepts, which were then evaluated by participants during a public workshop. </p>
<p>Of these five options, a multi-functional green belt (below) was most favoured. This green belt is a publicly accessible buffer between urban areas and conventional farms, including public open spaces, community gardens, sports fields, walking tracks, native plantings, stormwater management zones and playgrounds.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graphic showing a multi-function green belt between residential and rural lands." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558503/original/file-20231108-19-gues8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558503/original/file-20231108-19-gues8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=139&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558503/original/file-20231108-19-gues8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=139&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558503/original/file-20231108-19-gues8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=139&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558503/original/file-20231108-19-gues8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=175&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558503/original/file-20231108-19-gues8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=175&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/558503/original/file-20231108-19-gues8b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=175&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The green belt between houses and farms provides many uses, including playgrounds and community gardens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shannon Davis and Hanley Chen</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other scenarios included different options of either separating or integrating urban and rural land uses.</p>
<h2>What did peri-urban residents and food producers say?</h2>
<p>Our research reveals that residents like having food-producing landscapes close to where they live. More than 60% of respondents felt “extremely positive” and 32% “mostly positive” towards these landscapes. </p>
<p>One of our key findings suggests residents were mostly happy to accept the day-to-day nuisances of farm operations, but they wanted their household to benefit by being able to access food produced locally. </p>
<p>Food producers expressed more neutral feelings towards operating in the peri-urban zone. For them, being close to their potential customers, as well as benefiting from urban infrastructure such as high-speed internet, was important. </p>
<p>But our survey also highlights that peri-urban residents are concerned about possible negative impacts of nearby intensive farming, and producers fear facing complaints from their urban neighbours. Both groups called for greater agricultural literacy for urban New Zealanders. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-on-the-greenbelt-is-central-to-solving-the-housing-crisis-just-look-at-how-the-edges-of-cities-have-changed-212217">Building on the greenbelt is central to solving the housing crisis – just look at how the edges of cities have changed</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Integrating people and production</h2>
<p>How should we prioritise peri-urban food production alongside strategic urban expansion? </p>
<p>The loss of agricultural land to urban development, the disconnect between local farms and their urban markets, and the recent drive to create more sustainable infrastructure within and around cities, have all engendered planning and urban design programmes that aim to protect and reconnect cities with their food. </p>
<p>Redesigning peri-urban land-use patterns to integrate housing with productive land uses has the potential to connect New Zealanders with the land while mitigating the current rural-urban dichotomy approach to planning. </p>
<p>Embedding mana whenua values of connectedness with the environment offers significant opportunities to nourish both the land and communities that reside within. The reintegration of mahinga kai (food-gathering sites) and māra kai (food gardens) principles would support the health and resilience of both people and the land connected to cities.</p>
<p>Accessible local food production is an <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204621000189">essential component of long-term urban resilience</a>. To achieve this, we argue that we need a new approach to peri-urban land-use planning for Aotearoa New Zealand in which landscapes for both people and production are integrated and mutually beneficial.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>We are grateful for the significant contribution to this research made by Guanyu Hanley Chen and Naomi Darvill from Lincoln University, and John Blyth, Sara Hodgson and Lydia Shirely from BECA.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215706/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was funded by the National Science Challenge: Our Land and Water. Shannon is a member of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects.</span></em></p>New Zealand cities grow mostly through building houses on undeveloped land. But this removes fertile soil and undermines the food production and other ecological functions city dwellers depend on.Shannon Davis, Lecturer in Landscape Planning, Lincoln University, New ZealandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2122172023-10-10T11:25:59Z2023-10-10T11:25:59ZBuilding on the greenbelt is central to solving the housing crisis – just look at how the edges of cities have changed<p>Amid <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/08/labour-keir-starmer-new-homes-target-green-belt">new targets</a> of 1.5m new <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67058848">homes</a> over five years, the Labour party has pledged to review the planning rules which dictate where housing in England can be built. The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has said that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/08/labour-keir-starmer-new-homes-target-green-belt">“a common-sense approach”</a> to deciding quite what land is worth protecting and what can sensibly be used to create more housing was crucial. </p>
<p>This may put Labour at odds with many Conservative politicians in the UK, who have long defended the greenbelt, the protected land that encircles the country’s largest cities, including London, Newcastle and Manchester. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’s latest long-term plans for housing <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/long-term-plan-for-housing-secretary-of-states-speech">prioritise</a> urban development of brownfield sites (abandoned or underutilised industrial land) over so-called greenbelt “erosion.”</p>
<p>The notion of “concreting over the countryside,” as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rishi-sunak-housing-plan-uk-michael-gove-b2380605.html">has put it</a>, is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/oct/19/is-it-time-to-rethink-the-green-belt">politically loaded</a>. Yet, elements of the Conservative party itself are beginning to see that this oversimplifies the issue. As former housing minister Brandon Lewis <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66998512">has said</a> at a fringe event at the Tory conference, the concept “needs to be reviewed and changed”.</p>
<p>It no longer makes sense to prioritise the city centre over its peripheries because quite what is in the city, and what is outside it, is no longer clear. Multiple factors have seen the city extend into a continuous periphery. These include uneven urbanisation and geo-engineered landscapes, changing working patterns and locations and the perceived conflation of nature with culture. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://counterintuitivetypologies.com/Peripheries-Peripherocene">research looks at</a> how to rethink the urban-nature divide. We have found that design that focuses on <a href="https://punctumbooks.com/titles/analogical-city/">urban peripheries</a> in socially diverse and sustainable ways <a href="https://www.park-books.com/en/product/thinking-design/115">can benefit residents</a>, combat climate change and tackle the housing crisis. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graphic showing suburban town planning." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548777/original/file-20230918-29-9wssmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1065&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Anthropocene has blurred the city’s boundaries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joe Wojewoda | Cameron McEwan</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The politics of ‘urban sprawl’</h2>
<p>In his long-term housing policy, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Michael Gove has made the connection between urban planning, aesthetic standards and climate change. He argues against what he and <a href="https://lirias.kuleuven.be/1684573?limo=0">many before</a> him have termed “urban sprawl”. Instead, making the city centre more dense, he says, will “enhance economic efficiency, free up leisure time and also help with climate change”. </p>
<p>In city planning terms, <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_698#:%7E:text=Definition,a%20defined%20unit%20of%20area.">“density”</a> refers to the degree of human activity and occupation in a defined unit of urban space. It is, of course, an important measure. Our research shows, however, that what matters most is not the numbers of people and businesses in a city, but the quality of the space in which they operate. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="Map of England's greenbelts" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=677&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/551814/original/file-20231003-25-afdgj0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=850&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">England’s greenbelts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26130819">Hellerick|Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Housing is an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/25/the-guardian-view-on-housebuilding-michael-goves-urban-visions-cant-erase-his-partys-record">inherently political issue</a>. <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/what_we_do/our_strategy_2022-2025">Shelter</a>, the housing charity, states that 17.5 million people are trapped by the housing emergency. According to the <a href="https://www.centreforcities.org/publication/the-housebuilding-crisis/">Centre for Cities</a> thinktank, Britain has a backlog of 4.3 million homes missing from the national housing stock. This analysis shows that it would take at least 50 years to fill this deficit, if the government’s current target to build 300,000 homes a year in England is met. And it won’t be: homes are being built at approximately half this rate.</p>
<p>However, in 2013, the economist Paul Cheshire <a href="https://theconversation.com/greenbelt-myth-is-the-driving-force-behind-housing-crisis-17802">wrote</a> that what he termed “the greenbelt myth” was, in fact, driving the housing crisis. “Contrary to popular perception,” he said, “less than 10% of England is developed. And of what is developed much less than half is ‘covered by concrete’.” </p>
<p>Instead, Cheshire proposed that there be selective building on what he termed “the least attractive and lowest amenity parts of greenbelts.” Not only are these areas close to cities where people want to live, but building on brownfield land in the greenbelt or repurposing derelict buildings might begin to alleviate the housing crisis, including problems of affordability, for generations to come.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A graphic illustration of an interior." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548775/original/file-20230918-17-p7l0vx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=943&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Building reuse has great potential.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthias Guger|Mihael Vecchiet|Andreas Lechner, Studio Counterintuitive Typologies, TU Graz</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How urban peripheries can work for people and the environment</h2>
<p>To combat climate change and tackle the housing crisis, cities need to be allowed to expand with coherent planning – that includes good public transport, well-designed public spaces and high-quality housing. </p>
<p>In Italy, the post-war district of <a href="https://www.archdaily.com/867165/ad-classics-gallaratese-quarter-milan-aldo-rossi-carlo-aymonino">Gallaratese</a>, which lies 7km north-west of the centre of Milan, features medium-scale apartment blocks, good social amenities and high-quality, well-connected public transport. People living there have access to small parks and public gardens, places to sit and shop. </p>
<p>This affords the public realm a certain dignity that is often lacking in in Britain. People benefit from better infrastructure for commuting into the city centres – not just traffic lanes for cars, but metro, tram and train connections, with coherently designed outdoor public space. </p>
<p>In Austria, <a href="https://www.aspern-seestadt.at/en/about_us/organisation">Seestadt Aspern</a>, a newly developed extension of Vienna, has been characterised as a “city within a city.” It is compact, yet full of public spaces. The project is conceived with job creation, housing and metro-line extension as priorities. </p>
<p>Our research suggests introducing, to <a href="https://counterintuitivetypologies.com/Studios">periphery design</a>, the kind of buildings more associated with inner-city design. To date, housing in suburban planning in England has largely revolved around the detached single-family home. This ultra-low density building type uses lots of land and is firmly reliant on fossil-fuel heavy private transport. </p>
<p>Focusing instead on what we have called the urban villa might be an alternative. The urban villa aims for a synthesis between the city apartment and the single-family home. Think, a number of apartments in a freestanding house, no more than five storeys, surrounded by a garden. </p>
<p>Suburban planning that centred on this type of housing – which combines urban density with a connection to green space and the public realm – could create a denser, more attractive and, crucially, more sustainable alternative to the way city outskirts are currently planned.</p>
<p>The housing crisis is <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/climate/climate-publications/built-environment/the-green-belt-sustainability-and-england's-housing-crisis.aspx">inextricable</a> from the climate crisis. The environment is <a href="https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/3554/JBA-9s9-00-FULL.pdf">most demonstrably in crisis</a> in urban peripheries. It is where the collapse of a coherent urban order takes place, where big bits of transport infrastructure meet fields and suburbs. It’s often where marginalised communities are pushed. </p>
<p>Ultimately, Cheshire was right. The dual housing and climate crises are exasperated by the failure to resolve the greenbelt argument. </p>
<p>What is built around urban cores is crucial to a truly sustainable and equitable solution – for both people and the environment. But, doing so in a way that is beneficial to both residents and the environment requires a shift in government policy and public imagination. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204614001522">more and more people</a> cluster around cities in search of work, or a better balance between home and work life, those areas that are now peripheral will become central. Quite under what conditions they live and work there is a matter that demands urgent attention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The way we develop urban peripheries is central to tackling both the housing crisis and the climate emergency.Cameron McEwan, Associate Professor in Architecture, Northumbria University, NewcastleAndreas Lechner, Associate Professor, Graz University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2144262023-10-04T17:07:47Z2023-10-04T17:07:47Z‘La France moche’: French artists rally to celebrate the country’s much-snubbed commercial zones<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550304/original/file-20230926-25-1l1pk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5176%2C3872&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Heir to the Trente glorieuses, commercial zones in city suburbs generally suffer from a poor image.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elodie Bitsindou</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>On 11 September, France’s Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, Christopher Béchu, and Olivia Grégoire, the Minister Delegate for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Trade, Crafts, and Tourism, announced a <a href="https://www.gouvernement.fr/upload/media/content/0001/07/2dc90efc2c1a0e97572bf027240fac63e4dc9d75.pdf">national programme to rethink the country’s commercial zones</a>.</p>
<p>Often situated at the edge of towns, these zones are major consumer hubs. France counts no less than 1,500 of them, equivalent to an area of 500 km<sup>2</sup>, or 5 times the size of Paris. 72% of spending by French households takes place within them, according to the <a href="https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1283665">country’s economy ministry</a>.</p>
<p>Associated with the rule of the car and overconsumption, a way of life now judged obsolete by urban and district planning professionals, these zones are also an inheritance of the <em>Trente Glorieuses</em>, the thirty-year period of economic growth between 1945 and 1975, and so form a collective memory.</p>
<p>However, the climate crisis is increasingly putting their existence into question, as calls grow to stop building new zones and to transform existing ones, including for residential purposes. If that is to happen, we French people will have to learn to look at what are now often commercial ghettos under a new light. Luckily, the country’s artists and writers have started that job for us.</p>
<h2>“Ugly France”: a subjective perspective</h2>
<p>Since the government announcement, the expression “Ugly France” has <a href="https://www.liberation.fr/idees-et-debats/tribunes/a-quoi-bon-embellir-la-france-moche-20230920_RUJYQZAV6JANXNY7ZPXOIFXNWA/">reappeared in public discourse</a>. First used in the pages of <a href="https://www.telerama.fr/monde/comment-la-france-est-devenue-moche,52457.php">the cultural magazine <em>Télérama</em> in 2010</a>, the expression encapsulates the forms that urban spread takes: road infrastructure, commercial zones and housing developments.</p>
<p>Critics see ugliness, banality, boredom, and unhappiness. Their residents are seen as exiles. Never mind that a third of the population resides in these districts, in a mosaic of different socio-economic classes and diverse and changing living arrangements. What is more, the <a href="https://www.eyrolles.com/BTP/Livre/la-ville-franchisee-9782903539757/">“franchised town”</a>, as the sociologist David Mangin put it in 2003, is a reality that concerns the suburbs as much as historic towns. <a href="https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/podcasts/histoires-economiques/histoires-economiques-du-lundi-24-janvier-2022-8956659">The sheer number of ads</a> in all forms in the central areas of the capital constitute the perfect example.</p>
<p>But other authors are also asking us to consider these spaces anew. In 2011, Éric Chauvier opposed these criticisms by publishing the essay <a href="https://www.editions-allia.com/fr/livre/489/contre-telerama"><em>Against Télérama</em></a>, taking aim at the “class judgement” of the Parisian magazine. The writer Annie Ernaux, for her part, wrote an account of her sensorial experience of large supermarkets in the opus <a href="https://www.seuil.com/ouvrage/regarde-les-lumieres-mon-amour-annie-ernaux/9782370210371"><em>Look at the lights my love</em></a>. She has since been awarded the <a href="https://www.seuil.com/ouvrage/regarde-les-lumieres-mon-amour-annie-ernaux/9782370210371">Nobel Prize for Literature</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://editions.flammarion.com/nus-et-paysages/9782700734133">The philosopher Alain Roger informs us</a> that we can appreciate a landscape with art as an intermediary. Artists, and photographers in particular, have produced much work that can enable us to appreciate this aspect of commercial zones. Just as <a href="https://archive.org/details/RobertVenturiStevenIzenourDeniseScottBrownLearningFromLasVegasTheForgottenSymbol">Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown</a> became aware of the visual and cultural qualities of the commercial boulevards of Las Vegas, are we not also able to change our perception of those commercial zones on the outskirts of French towns?</p>
<h2>When artistic production meets town planning</h2>
<p>The fascination of photographers for suburban spaces first manifested itself during the <a href="https://missionphotodatar.anct.gouv.fr/accueil">Photographic Project of DATAR</a> (Interministerial Delegation for Urban Planning and Regional Attractivity). DATAR was created in 1963 with the aim of documenting the national politics of urban planning. In 1984, Bernard Latarjet and François Hers founded the project in order to “represent the French landscape of the 1980s” and to “recreate a culture of landscapes”.</p>
<p>Photographers captured the transformation of coastal areas, rural and provincial zones; they bore witness to the effects of spreading urbanisation; and captured a disappearing countryside, or at least, one that had been irremediably transformed; they explored infrastructure and landscapes that did not cease to change and showed the men and women who occupied these spaces.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550207/original/file-20230926-23-py161m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550207/original/file-20230926-23-py161m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550207/original/file-20230926-23-py161m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550207/original/file-20230926-23-py161m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=796&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550207/original/file-20230926-23-py161m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550207/original/file-20230926-23-py161m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550207/original/file-20230926-23-py161m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1000&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Series: Commercial zones in Southern France.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Albert Giordan, Mission photographique de la Datar</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unveiled to the public for the first time at the end of 1985, the photography of DATAR were <a href="https://www.ina.fr/recherche?q=Territoires+photographiques&espace=1&sort=pertinence&order=desc">published widely in the press</a>. However, the philosopher Michel Gerrin’s opinion that <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1986/01/13/miracle-on-a-retrouve-des-paysages-en-france_2938819_1819218.html">“Miracle! We have rediscovered French landscapes!”</a>, was an exception. The public at the time did not see in these photographs the desire for renewal but rather a testament to these landscapes’ changing nature.</p>
<p>These images tell the story of France as a country undergoing profound change: the story of a territory conquered by a flux of circulation and energy; where nature (never wildlife), habitat, and industry are superimposed and intertwined; where the functionality of the State that delivered the <em>Trente Glorieuses</em> coexists with the proliferation of the individual habitat, and where the public space is peopled by images and signs.</p>
<h2>New stories</h2>
<p>Following the DATAR model, photography projects and independent commissions – <a href="https://www.archive-arn.fr/">such as ARN, the Atlas of Natural Regions</a> – show portraits of landscapes where the sensorial aspect never comes at the cost of the urban realities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550208/original/file-20230926-19-w4cu54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550208/original/file-20230926-19-w4cu54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550208/original/file-20230926-19-w4cu54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550208/original/file-20230926-19-w4cu54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550208/original/file-20230926-19-w4cu54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550208/original/file-20230926-19-w4cu54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550208/original/file-20230926-19-w4cu54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Montchanin. Atlas des Région Naturelles (ARN).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nelly Monnier et Éric Tabuchi</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Initiated by the Forum Vies Mobiles (a mobility research unit), <a href="https://www.citedesartsparis.net/fr/exposition-les-vies-quon-mene-cite-x-tendance-floue-x-forum-vies-mobiles">“The lives we lead”</a> seeks to capture the diversity of contemporary ways of life in France. The photography series capture stories, following individuals from all backgrounds, in different regions. In particular, they examine the vital role of the car in everyday life, the main method of transport, an instrument of work, or an object of pride, and reveal <a href="https://www.librairie-gallimard.com/livre/9782367441627-les-vies-qu-on-mene-tendance-floue-nicolas-mathieu/">“our dependence on carbon energy”</a>. Exhibited at the International City of the Arts in 2022, these images were displayed side by side statistics, underlining the fact that today 70% of journeys in France are done by car and that, in 2018, 85% of households had a car.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550209/original/file-20230926-29-w4cu54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550209/original/file-20230926-29-w4cu54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550209/original/file-20230926-29-w4cu54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550209/original/file-20230926-29-w4cu54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=748&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550209/original/file-20230926-29-w4cu54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550209/original/file-20230926-29-w4cu54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550209/original/file-20230926-29-w4cu54.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=940&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Série</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Antoine Séguin</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another independent project, launched in 2020, <a href="http://www.francesterritoireliquide.fr/">“France(s), a fluid land”</a> is set apart by its ambition to take up the baton of DATAR, and at the same time liberate itself from the constraints of a commission. It is about exploring a territory in metamorphosis, from different aspects, at once material and emotional. Far from simply documenting, the project focuses on narration, featuring the inhabitants of suburban zones with vivid evocative power.</p>
<h2>The aesthetic of contrast</h2>
<p>It is difficult to establish an exhaustive list of photographers who have been inspired by the suburban. Like Raymond Depardon who participated in the DATAR mission <a href="https://www.imageandnarrative.be/index.php/imagenarrative/article/view/203">and captured the effects of urban spread on the countryside</a>, then published a book <a href="https://www.seuil.com/ouvrage/la-france-de-raymond-depardon-raymond-depardon/9782021009941"><em>The of Raymond Depardon</em></a> nearly twenty years later, many photographers have engaged in a contemplation of <a href="https://editions.flammarion.com/la-france-peripherique/9782081312579">“Suburban France.”</a></p>
<p>Their choice of subjects and the framing influences our perception of these spaces. Their gaze is never neutral. They are animated by nostalgia, off-beat humour, or are inspired by cinematic influences. Commercial zones become stories, and their visual qualities, full of contrasts, are sublimated by the art.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.galignani.fr/livre/9782916774008-hexagone-t-1-le-paysage-fabrique-jurgen-nefzger/">“Hexagone : le paysage fabriqué”</a> de Jurgen Nefzger montre des paysages périurbains dotés points de repères et de monumentalité. Les chefs-d’œuvre de l’architecture post-moderne, structurent l'espace au même titre que les fameux pastiches d’architecture vernaculaire délivrés partout à l’identique par les chaînes de restauration.</p>
<p>Jurgen Nefzger’s <a href="https://www.galignani.fr/livre/9782916774008-hexagone-t-1-le-paysage-fabrique-jurgen-nefzger/">“The Hexagon : a manufactured landscape”</a> shows suburban landscapes endowed with landmarks and given a monumental quality. Structure is given either to the space by the masterpieces of post-modern architecture or similarly by the famous pastiches of vernacular architecture, seen in restaurant chains that are always identical wherever you are.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550210/original/file-20230926-23-r93gm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550210/original/file-20230926-23-r93gm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550210/original/file-20230926-23-r93gm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550210/original/file-20230926-23-r93gm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550210/original/file-20230926-23-r93gm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550210/original/file-20230926-23-r93gm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550210/original/file-20230926-23-r93gm5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Series: Motorways of the Sun.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Raphaël Bourelly</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Julien Roche’s photo series <a href="http://www.julienrochephotography.com/gallery/paradise-lost/">“Paradise Lost”</a> plays with repetition, while in the series <a href="https://antoineseguin.com/Sur-la-piste-des-derniers-hommes-sauvages">“On the Hunt for the Last of the Wild Men”</a>, Antoine Séguin focuses on the differences in scale between the <em>Homo suburbianus</em> and his environment.</p>
<p><a href="https://xavierlours.bigcartel.com/product/rodeo">“Rodeo 3”</a> by Xavier Lours lingers over the nocturnal life of <a href="https://www.revue-urbanites.fr/vu-rodeo/">Plan-de-Campagne</a>, a commercial zone created in 1960 in the suburbs of Marseille, the biggest in France, and that has been the focus of many photographers since the DATAR project.</p>
<p>While Raphaël Bourelly’s <a href="http://www.raphaelbourelly.com/autoroute.html">“Motorway in the Sun” series</a> celebrates the neons and the play of light.</p>
<p>Public bodies have been interested in representing commercial zones as landscapes; these photography projects have won prizes in the competition <a href="https://www.urbanisme-puca.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/puca-27042021allegecorrige.pdf">“A look at these zones of economic activity”</a> sponsored <a href="https://www.urbanisme-puca.gouv.fr/">by PUCA</a> (Plan Urbanisme Construction Architecture) – an interministerial service created in 1998 to raise awareness about these regions and the towns and to shine a light on public policy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550212/original/file-20230926-15-bm5p19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550212/original/file-20230926-15-bm5p19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550212/original/file-20230926-15-bm5p19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550212/original/file-20230926-15-bm5p19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550212/original/file-20230926-15-bm5p19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550212/original/file-20230926-15-bm5p19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550212/original/file-20230926-15-bm5p19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Series: Hyperlife, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stéphanie Lacombe</span>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The photography of Stéphanie Lacombe, for her part, involves a change of scale and focus, She looks less at the landscape of these commercial zones and more at its appropriation by individuals. Her series <a href="https://lacombestephanie91e7.myportfolio.com/hyper-life">‘Hyperlife’</a> reveal the social relationships that play out on the carpark of the Intermarché supermarket of Saint-Erme (Hauts-de-France). The exhibition of the work in the carpark in question was a fascinating subversion of the zone’s function and a way to value it differently and validate it fully as a space for the living.</p>
<p>Through this body of work, commercial zones are not simply seen as functional spaces or hubs for consumption, but reveal themselves as zones where different layers superimpose on themselves, as do borders and gaps. Starting with these representations, it is vital to recognise and preserve these existing practices that may not conform to a consumerist outlook. They must not be erased.</p>
<hr>
<p>Translation from French into English by <a href="https://www.fleurmacdonald.co.uk/">Fleur Macdonald</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elodie Bitsindou ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>French artists and intellectuals attempt to salvage the spirit of an era, as French government reveals plans to transform the country’s commercial zones.Elodie Bitsindou, Doctorante en histoire de l'architecture contemporaine, Centre Chastel, Sorbonne UniversitéLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2141782023-09-25T21:14:55Z2023-09-25T21:14:55ZOntario’s Greenbelt is safe for now, but will the scandal alter Doug Ford’s course?<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/ontarios-greenbelt-is-safe-for-now-but-will-the-scandal-alter-doug-fords-course" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-stag-and-doe-integrity-commissioner-1.6974058">extraordinary reversal</a> on his decision to <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-to-cut-greenbelt-land-to-make-way-for-at-least-50-000-new-homes-1.6139646">open the Greater Toronto Area’s Greenbelt for housing development</a> flows from two colossal political miscalculations. </p>
<p>The first was failing to recognize the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontarios-greenbelt">Greenbelt, established by the previous Liberal government in 2005</a>, had acquired an iconic status in the minds of residents of the region. </p>
<p>The Greenbelt was based on earlier <a href="https://escarpment.org/planning/niagara-escarpment-plan/">Niagara Escarpment</a> and <a href="https://files.ontario.ca/oak-ridges-moraine-conservation-plan-2017.pdf">Oak Ridges Moraine conservation plans</a>, both adopted by Progressive Conservative governments. It was deeply embedded in municipal plans throughout the region.</p>
<p>Over time, the Greenbelt <a href="https://www.greenbelt.ca/learn">became a symbol</a> in Ontario of efforts to protect prime farmland and key natural heritage sites from the region’s sprawling urban growth. </p>
<p>The government, however, refused to let go of the idea of opening the Greenbelt to development despite a <a href="https://www.auditor.on.ca/en/content/specialreports/specialreports/Greenbelt_en.pdf">complete lack of evidence</a> that the land was required to meet the region’s housing needs. </p>
<p>According to the province’s integrity commissioner, it then allowed a “<a href="https://www.oico.on.ca/web/default/files/public/Commissioners%20Reports/Report%20Re%20Minister%20Clark%20-%20August%2030%2C%202023.pdf">madcap process</a>” to unfold around the actual removal of lands, which turned out to offer the potential for billions in profits to well-connected developers.</p>
<h2>Ford’s future now in doubt?</h2>
<p>The second blunder was to try to <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-doug-ford-doubling-down-amid-ontarios-greenbelt-scandal-212917">double down</a> on the Greenbelt removal decision in the aftermath of harshly critical reports from both the province’s auditor general and integrity commissioner.</p>
<p>Even after the resignations of the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/steve-clark-resigns-greenbelt-1.6956402">housing minister</a> and his <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-housing-amato-resigns-1.6944225">chief of staff</a> at the height of the scandal, Ford wouldn’t back down. </p>
<p>It took more than a month of a series of damning and embarrassing news reports — leading to the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/kaleed-rasheed-resigns-greenbelt-ford-1.6973107">resignation of yet another cabinet minister</a>, Public and Business Service Delivery Minister Kaleed Rasheed — for Ford to relent.</p>
<p>But the political damage suffered by the government through this period is starting <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/pc-support-is-sliding-as-greenbelt-fallout-continues-poll-suggests/article_7911f9cc-a1ae-5a45-bc57-e4838747e306.html">to seem profound</a> and the fallout is certain to continue:</p>
<ol>
<li> <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/rcmp-probing-ford-government-s-handling-of-the-greenbelt-1.6530698">The RCMP</a> is considering an investigation into the Greenbelt deal-making;</li>
<li> Rasheed has <a href="https://www.thetrillium.ca/news/politics/cabinet-minister-resigns-exits-pc-caucus-after-giving-watchdog-wrong-info-about-vegas-trip-with-developer-7575532">admitted to misleading</a> the integrity commissioner under oath during inquiries into the Greenbelt decision; </li>
<li> The auditor general is planning a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-82-here-and-now-toronto/clip/16002583-auditor-general-bonnie-lysyk-breaks-findings-greenbelt-report">follow-up</a> audit on the whole episode;</li>
<li> Freedom-of-information requests from the media, and leaks from other sources, are likely to lead to further revelations in the weeks and months to come.</li>
</ol>
<p>Although the next provincial election is nearly three years away, the Greenbelt scandal has raised <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/doug-ford-can-t-save-himself-even-by-sparing-the-greenbelt/article_23efd9de-cef6-53b9-a591-bcbaeeca340f.html">serious questions about the viability</a> of Ford’s own future as premier.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/doug-fords-greenbelt-scandal-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-his-years-in-power-211629">Doug Ford's Greenbelt scandal: The beginning of the end of his years in power?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Greenbelt is out of the woods</h2>
<p>Ironically, one almost certain outcome of the entire episode is that it’s probably ended any possibility of Ford’s intention to dismantle the Greenbelt.</p>
<p>The political fallout so far almost ensures no politician in Ontario will make similar moves against the Greenbelt for a generation or more. </p>
<p>The Greenbelt scandal has also vividly illustrated how badly the province has mishandled <a href="https://thepointer.com/article/2023-04-24/experts-say-pcs-proposed-bill-97-is-a-sprawl-inducing-full-frontal-assault-on-ontario-agriculture">housing and development issues</a>. </p>
<p>The province’s land-use planning system — including the Greenbelt and growth plans for the Greater Toronto Area — was once the subject of <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/86986/ontario-celebrates-second-major-award-for-growth-plan">international acclaim</a> for how it managed intense growth pressures while protecting farmland, housing affordability and natural heritage areas. </p>
<p>The Greenbelt debacle has demonstrated how that system <a href="https://theconversation.com/doug-ford-at-5-years-selling-out-ontarios-future-to-please-the-well-connected-207194">had degenerated</a> into an instrument wielded by the province to serve the wishes of well-connected developers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/doug-ford-at-5-years-selling-out-ontarios-future-to-please-the-well-connected-207194">Doug Ford at 5 years: Selling out Ontario's future to please the well-connected</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Undoing the damage</h2>
<p>A complete <a href="https://theconversation.com/doug-ford-reverses-greenbelt-plans-construction-would-never-have-provided-affordable-housing-214138">overhaul of the land-use planning system</a> is now needed to undo the damage done by the Ford government, restore the system’s credibility and address the province’s housing needs effectively. <a href="https://theconversation.com/has-ontarios-housing-plan-been-built-on-a-foundation-of-evidentiary-sand-198133">Evidence backed by expert research</a>, reason and basic democratic principles of transparency and accountability all need to be returned to the system. </p>
<p>Although the Greenbelt appears to be safe for the time being, attention now needs to turn to the government’s handling of the redevelopment of existing urban areas, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eft5FOlUZmg">a theme Ford highlighted</a> in his speech reversing the Greenbelt removals. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Eft5FOlUZmg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Doug Ford announces his Greenbelt reversal at a news conference. (CTV News)</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So far the government’s approach to “<a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/transit-oriented-communities">transit-oriented communities</a>” — ideally communities developed within a short distance of transit lines — has been to declare these areas free-for-all zones where the development industry can do as it wishes. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/giving-developers-free-rein-isnt-the-solution-to-the-gtha-housing-challenges-176128">Predictably</a>, the results of that approach in <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-developers-propose-taller-towers-for-torontos-midtown/?utm_medium=Referrer:+Social+Network+/+Media&utm_campaign=Shared+Web+Article+Links">midtown and downtown Toronto</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-ministerial-zoning-orders-1.6421555">Richmond Hill, Markham</a> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/mississauga-lakeview-village-mzo-1.6844018">and Mississauga</a> have been an overwhelming focus on high-rise condominium developments, a lack of infrastructure and services of all forms, no mixing of uses (for example, significant new employment locations) or housing types, no attention paid to affordability and significant losses of existing affordable rental housing to “redevelopment.”</p>
<p>This is the polar opposite of the “complete communities” and urban development centres envisioned in the <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/document/growth-plan-greater-golden-horseshoe-2006">2006 growth plan to guide urban redevelopment</a> that accompanied the announcement of the Greenbelt.</p>
<h2>Challenges ahead</h2>
<p>The province has trampled on efforts by municipalities and communities to support more development along transit lines. The Ford government has apparently been intent on dismantling the <a href="https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-6813">growth plan</a> as well as the Greenbelt.</p>
<p>The challenges facing the Greater Toronto Area are multi-dimensional and complex, including:</p>
<p>— <a href="https://www.torontomu.ca/content/dam/social-innovation/Programs/Affordable_Housing_Visual_Systems_Map_Oxford.pdf">Housing needs</a>, particularly at the lower end of the income scale;</p>
<p>— Structural economic transitions and <a href="https://ppforum.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/JobPolarizationInCanada-PPF-April2021-EN.pdf">increasingly polarized</a> labour markets;</p>
<p>— <a href="https://trca.ca/climate-change-impacts-gta/">The impacts</a> of a changing climate;</p>
<p>— A <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/news/city-of-toronto-staff-report-says-toronto-faces-an-unprecedented-financial-crisis-and-the-time-is-now-for-all-orders-of-government-to-step-up-to-fulfil-their-roles/">fiscal crisis</a>, particularly for the city of Toronto, driven in large part by <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-mayors-slam-ford-download-1.5117718">provincial downloading</a>.</p>
<p>The Greenbelt fiasco has been an enormous distraction from these challenges — and it remains doubtful that the Ford government can significantly change its approach to governance to address them effectively.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214178/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Winfield receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He was involved in the development of the original Greenbelt and Growth Plans, including serving on the Ministerial Advisory Committee on the implementation of the Places to Grow plan. </span></em></p>The Greenbelt fiasco has been an enormous distraction from the challenges facing the Greater Toronto Area — and it’s doubtful the Ford government will significantly change its approach.Mark Winfield, Professor, Environmental and Urban Change, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2139632023-09-25T12:23:39Z2023-09-25T12:23:39ZTraditional downtowns are dead or dying in many US cities − what’s next for these zones?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549791/original/file-20230922-15-jpru1x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C3964%2C2646&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A sign advertises retail spaces for lease at Union Square in San Francisco on June 21, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SanFranciscoDowntownRetailingWoes/60ec81b9b8aa4787869fe1284d6d2303/photo">AP Photo/Eric Risberg</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The hollowing out of U.S. cities’ office and commercial cores is a national trend with serious consequences for millions of Americans. As more people have stayed home following the COVID-19 pandemic, foot traffic has fallen. Major retail chains are closing stores, and even prestigious properties are having a hard time retaining tenants. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/30/us/san-francisco-whole-foods-crime-economy.html">shuttering of a Whole Foods market</a> after only a year in downtown San Francisco in May 2023 received widespread coverage. Even more telling was the high-end department store Nordstrom’s decision to <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/28/business/nordstrom-san-francisco-closure/index.html">close its flagship store there in August</a> after a 35-year run. </p>
<p>In New York City, office vacancy rates have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/business/office-vacancies-gural-gfp.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare">risen by over 70%</a> since 2019. Chicago’s <a href="https://www.themagnificentmile.com/">Magnificent Mile</a>, a stretch of high-end shops and restaurants, had a <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-loop-michigan-avenue-shopping-mag-mile/12968289/">26% vacancy rate</a> in spring 2023. </p>
<p>A recent study from the University of Toronto found that across North America, downtowns are recovering from the pandemic <a href="https://downtownrecovery.com/death_of_downtown_policy_brief.pdf">more slowly than other urban areas</a> and that “older, denser downtowns reliant on professional or tech workers and located within large metros” are struggling the hardest.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G5qBZrj6Rt8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Like many U.S. cities, Portland, Oregon, is losing downtown businesses. This is cutting into urban revenues and creating a perception of decline.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over more than 50 years of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oMPNYhQAAAAJ&hl=en">researching urban policy</a>, I have watched U.S. cities go through many booms and busts. Now, however, I see a more fundamental shift taking place. In my view, traditional downtowns are dead, dying or on life support across the U.S. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jul/05/it-has-lost-its-appeal-canary-wharf-faces-an-uncertain-future">and elsewhere</a>. Local governments and urban residents urgently need to consider <a href="https://www.philosophersmag.com/essays/302-cities-after-covid">what the post-pandemic city will look like</a>. </p>
<h2>Decades of overbuilding</h2>
<p>U.S. downtowns were in trouble <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-office-glut-started-decades-before-pandemic-11661210031">before the COVID-19 pandemic</a>. Today’s overhang of excess commercial space was years in the making. </p>
<p>Urban property markets are speculative enterprises. When the economy is booming, individual developers decide to build more – and the collective result of these rational individual decisions is excess buildings. </p>
<p>In the 1980s, the Reagan administration allowed a <a href="https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/1980s-tax-reform-cost-recovery-and-the-real-estate-industry-lessons-for-today/">quicker depreciation of commercial real estate</a> that effectively lowered tax rates for developers. With financial globalization, foreign money <a href="https://homeabroadinc.com/foreign-home-buyers-statistics/">flowed into the U.S. property sector</a>, especially to very big development projects that could absorb large pools of liquid capital looking for relatively safe long-term investments. </p>
<p>Years of low interest rates meant cheap money for developers to finance their projects. City governments were eager to greenlight projects that would generate tax revenues. In many downtowns, office space now takes up between <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/07/07/upshot/downtown-office-vulnerable-even-before-covid.html">70% and 80%</a> of all real estate.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A construction worker on a movable scaffold in a gutted office building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549793/original/file-20230922-21-nybfcg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A former office building at 160 Water St. in New York City’s financial district undergoing conversion into 600 apartments in March 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-construction-of-the-former-office-building-being-news-photo/1248220271">Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The pandemic push</h2>
<p>COVID-19 finally burst this 40-year bubble. During pandemic lockdowns, many people worked from home and became comfortable with virtual meetings. Telecommuting grew as <a href="https://theconversation.com/still-recovering-from-covid-19-us-public-transit-tries-to-get-back-on-track-193437">conventional commuting declined</a>. Workers with the resources and job flexibility moved from cities to so-called “<a href="https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/zoom-town">zoom towns</a>” where housing was more affordable and parks and outdoor activities were close at hand.</p>
<p>Now, many employers want their staffs to return to the office. However, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/04/14/dc-remote-work-poll-downtown/">workers are pushing back</a>, especially against spending full five-day weeks in the office. New technologies have made it easier to work from home, and a tight labor market has strengthened employees’ bargaining power. </p>
<p>There are significant knock-on effects. A range of businesses, including restaurants, retail stores and services, rely on downtown office workers. <a href="https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2021/10/21/downtowns-are-still-biggest-job-centers-most-regions">At least 17% of all leisure and hospitality sector jobs</a> are in the downtowns of the 100 largest U.S. cities. </p>
<p>In San Francisco, for example, a typical office worker <a href="https://sfbos.org/sites/default/files/BLA.DowntownSF.Economy%20Tax.022423.pdf">used to spend $168 near their office per week</a>. Now, with nearly 150,000 fewer office workers commuting downtown, about 33,000 people in the service and retail sectors have lost their jobs.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CxQwrwOv4fw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u0026igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Terminal decline?</h2>
<p>Today, many cities are confronting the prospect of an <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/breaking-the-urban-doom-loop-the-future-of-downtowns-is-shared-prosperity/">urban doom loop</a>, with a massive oversupply of office and retail space, fewer commuters and a looming urban fiscal crisis. Washington, D.C., is an illustration.</p>
<p>In December 2022, the city had approximately 27,000 fewer jobs than in February 2020, and it faced a growing <a href="https://cfo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ocfo/publication/attachments/February%202023%20Revenue%20Estimate%20Letter_rev%20032723.pdf">financial shortfall</a> from declining property taxes due to downtown business closures and fewer property purchases. The District of Columbia government projects that city revenues will decline by US$81 million in fiscal year 2024, $183 million in 2025 and $200 million in 2026. Washington’s Metropolitan Transit Authority faces a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2023/07/28/dc-metro-funding-money/">$750 million shortfall</a> because of a sharp decline in ridership.</p>
<p>In the Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels famously wrote that under the pressures of dynamic capitalism, “<a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch01.htm">all that is solid melts into air</a>.” They could have been describing the ever-changing built form of the United States, with people and money flowing to Main Street stores through the 1960s, then to suburban malls in the 1970s and 80s, then <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/capturing-americas-fading-shopping-malls-through-a-photographers-lens">abandoning malls</a> for revived downtowns and online shopping. Now, traditional downtowns may be in similar terminal decline. </p>
<h2>Repurposing office space</h2>
<p>What can cities do with their surplus office spaces? In some cities, such as <a href="https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/how-columbus-downtown-skyline-could-soon-change/">Columbus, Ohio</a>, investors are purchasing deeply discounted buildings, demolishing them and finding more profitable uses for the land, such as residential and mixed-use buildings. Other options include <a href="https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/vacant-offices-housing-conversion/">converting commercial space into residences</a> or more specialized applications such as <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23376441/office-real-estate-remote-work-lab-conversions">biotech labs</a>. </p>
<p>But conversion is no panacea. There are many regulatory hurdles, although cities are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/01/upshot/american-cities-office-conversion.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare">changing zoning laws</a> to make the process easier. Many office buildings have large internal floor spaces that makes it expensive to divide them into individual residential units that all receive outdoor light. And glass-sheathed buildings with windows that don’t open are prone to overheating.</p>
<p>Another approach is making downtowns more alluring, through steps such as <a href="https://eu.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2023/05/12/food-vendors-slowly-returning-to-downtown-peoria-illinois/70013015007/">waiving fees for food trucks</a> and small businesses, offering <a href="https://311.sanantonio.gov/kb/docs/articles/transportation/free-downtown-parking">free parking at night and on weekends</a> and promoting events and eateries. The city of Columbus gives out <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2023/08/07/columbus-economic-development.html">lunch coupons</a> for downtown restaurants. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvsvdlGJDAd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\u0026igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Worcester, Massachusetts, offers financial aid for small businesses that <a href="https://www.worcesterma.gov/business-community-development/financial-assistance/ma-vacant-storefront-program">move into vacant storefronts</a>. San Francisco is considering a proposal to convert its downtown Westfield Centre Mall, formerly home to Nordstrom and other retailers, into a <a href="https://sfstandard.com/2023/08/23/downtown-san-francisco-soccer-stadium-plans-for-former-westfield-mall-revealed/">soccer stadium</a>. </p>
<p>In my view, the growth of commercial office complexes that has long been promoted by investors, developers and federal and city governments has probably come to an end. The nation no longer needs so much office space. It will require <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-06-11/los-angeles-cities-downtowns-decline-recovery">more community involvement</a> to find out what people want instead. Some communities may focus on housing, while others opt for more recreational opportunities or green spaces. </p>
<p>The downtown filled with acres of banal office blocks, with accompanying ground-level retail stores and shopping malls, is a relic of the 20th century. It’s daunting but exciting to envision what will take its place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213963/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Rennie Short does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Developers have overbuilt office and commercial space in US cities for decades. Now, in the wake of pandemic shutdowns, many downtowns face hard choices about the future.John Rennie Short, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2054712023-09-20T04:12:14Z2023-09-20T04:12:14ZGovernments are pouring money into housing but materials, land and labour are still in short supply<p>As Australia’s housing affordability crisis worsens, governments are spending more on housing.</p>
<p>Victoria’s Andrews government has <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/housing-statement">announced</a> a suite of <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/kingswood-golf-course-rezoning-among-five-projects-suddenly-approved-by-government-20230920-p5e64c.html">reforms</a> (such as boosting social housing and making planning processes faster) in an effort to get 800,000 extra homes in Victoria over the next decade.</p>
<p>Federally, the Albanese government’s A$10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, or HAFF, has <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-greens-were-right-to-pass-australias-housing-future-fund-bill-the-case-for-further-delay-was-weak-213255">passed the Senate</a> with the help of the Greens, who supported the bill in exchange for another A$1 billion for social housing.</p>
<p>And this year’s federal budget has expanded eligibility for the <a href="https://ministers.dss.gov.au/media-releases/11161#:%7E:text=Helping%20Australians%20with%20the%20cost,%242.7%20billion%20over%20five%20years">Home Guarantee Scheme</a> so more people can buy a home with a smaller deposit. </p>
<p>But is Australia ready for a house construction boom? </p>
<p>Supply chain constraints say no. Ballooning construction costs and labour shortages have already claimed well-known building firms across the country. Delivering thousands of extra new homes in the coming years will not be easy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549027/original/file-20230919-25-o18tcl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Houses like half-constructed in the lanscape." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549027/original/file-20230919-25-o18tcl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549027/original/file-20230919-25-o18tcl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549027/original/file-20230919-25-o18tcl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549027/original/file-20230919-25-o18tcl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549027/original/file-20230919-25-o18tcl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549027/original/file-20230919-25-o18tcl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549027/original/file-20230919-25-o18tcl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Is Australia ready for a house construction boom?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-greens-were-right-to-pass-australias-housing-future-fund-bill-the-case-for-further-delay-was-weak-213255">The Greens were right to pass Australia's Housing Future Fund bill – the case for further delay was weak</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Materials are hard to get</h2>
<p>Building a home requires the right materials at the right time. But many building materials are in short supply.</p>
<p>Timber is a good example. The Master Builders Association <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/timber-shortages-ease-but-reliance-on-overseas-suppliers-leaves-industry-exposed/news-story/50f6012ebbd48d2749a9309b7f9c6f1b">highlights</a> there are still pressures on timber and wood supplies.</p>
<p>This imbalance between supply and demand for construction materials can be traced back to the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/new-homebuilder-package-aims-to-safeguard-jobs-of-a-million-tradies-20200603-p54z7w.html">HomeBuilder</a> program, which saw over 138,000 Australians applying for a <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/homebuilder">grant</a> to build or renovate. </p>
<p>The number of new dwellings commenced went from 41,855 in September 2020 to a <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/building-and-construction/building-activity-australia/mar-2023">peak</a> of 67,306 in July 2021 – an increase of 60% in less than a year. </p>
<p>Typically, a spike in demand is met by imports. But soaring <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2022/03/28/how-soaring-shipping-costs-raise-prices-around-the-world">shipping costs</a> during the pandemic conspired with <a href="https://www.timberbiz.com.au/conflict-timber-comes-into-australia-with-false-origin-labels/#:%7E:text=Australia%20has%20not%20banned%20timber,conflict%20timber%20and%20its%20sustainability">restrictions</a> to timber imports from Russia to send global markets into disarray. </p>
<p>Tim Reardon, Chief Economist for the Housing Industry Association <a href="https://hia.com.au/our-industry/newsroom/economic-research-and-forecasting/2023/04/housing-supply-worsens-as-demand-increases">reckons</a> housing supply issues will not get any better soon. The federal government’s National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation <a href="https://www.nhfic.gov.au/research/state-nations-housing-report-2022-23">expects</a> housing supply will only recover by 2025-26.</p>
<p>Demand pressures will continue. As it is, there are lots of <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/building-and-construction/building-activity-australia/mar-2023">unfinished homes</a> around the country.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549029/original/file-20230919-17-d1u576.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Building frames of houses are seen against an urban background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549029/original/file-20230919-17-d1u576.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549029/original/file-20230919-17-d1u576.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549029/original/file-20230919-17-d1u576.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549029/original/file-20230919-17-d1u576.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549029/original/file-20230919-17-d1u576.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549029/original/file-20230919-17-d1u576.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549029/original/file-20230919-17-d1u576.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">You need materials and energy to build a house.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Labour and land are also in short supply</h2>
<p>Building a home is labour intensive. Finding roofers, bricklayers, carpenters, tilers, landscapers and other construction workers has <a href="https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/download/2289/skills-shortage-quarterly-march-2023/1448/skills-shortage-quarterly-report-march-2023/docx">not been easy</a>. </p>
<p>Australia’s record low unemployment <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/unemployment-rate-falls-34">rates</a> and a global rise in <a href="https://www.oecd.org/publications/the-post-covid-19-rise-in-labour-shortages-e60c2d1c-en.htm">labour shortages</a> have made it hard for builders to find the workers they need to finish jobs. <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/construction-delays-perth-customers-waiting-up-to-four-years-for-new-homes-to-be-built-by-states-largest-builder/fa6334f3-64f9-47c1-9d5a-e0898e9a4a4e">Delays</a> are common.</p>
<p>Some skill sets are in even higher demand, as workers flock to oil and gas, mining, and infrastructure projects. In Western Australia, for example, <a href="https://bcec.edu.au/publications/housing-affordability-in-western-australia-2023-building-for-the-future/">research</a> has shown a shortage of construction managers, handy persons, and civil engineering professionals.</p>
<p>Then, there is the question of land. Greenfield projects (new developments on the city fringes) typically see fast approvals, fast sales, and good profit.</p>
<p>But suburbs alone cannot deliver the demand that is coming, thanks to the Housing Australia Future Fund and the other government initiatives.</p>
<p>There is a growing consensus more has to be done to increase <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-01/four-unique-ways-tokyo-approaches-housing/102784020">urban density</a> (in other words, apartments) next to <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-make-housing-more-affordable-this-is-what-state-governments-need-to-do-105050">mass transit hubs</a>.</p>
<p>But this isn’t easy either. Not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) critics abound and demand for standalone houses remains strong as people pursue the “great Australian dream” of a <a href="https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/amep-subsite/Files/intermediate-housing-housing-worksheet-1-the-great-australian-dream.pdf">large house</a> on a large block of land.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549030/original/file-20230919-20-iklfa4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Construction workers look on as a crane moves a heavy object for a building project." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549030/original/file-20230919-20-iklfa4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549030/original/file-20230919-20-iklfa4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549030/original/file-20230919-20-iklfa4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549030/original/file-20230919-20-iklfa4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549030/original/file-20230919-20-iklfa4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549030/original/file-20230919-20-iklfa4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549030/original/file-20230919-20-iklfa4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Labour is in short supply.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So how can we strengthen supply?</h2>
<p>These issues in materials, labour, and land will not solve themselves. Pouring more money into the housing market without addressing supply shortages will only increase prices. </p>
<p>So, what initiatives can really address the housing supply crisis? Options include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>reducing import taxes on materials like construction timber and steel frames to boost short-term supply (while adhering to long-term strategies to address future demand) </p></li>
<li><p>supporting new technologies in the construction industry (the federal government’s <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/grants-open-for-wood-processing-facilities">Accelerate Adoption of Wood Processing Innovation</a> program, which enables the use of innovative technology for timber production, is one example)</p></li>
<li><p>increasing skilled migration to boost labour supply (Western Australia’s <a href="https://migration.wa.gov.au/news/boosting-was-building-construction-industry-through-skilled-migration">Construction Visa Subsidy Program</a>, which targets skilled migrants to the construction sector, shows what’s possible)</p></li>
<li><p>embracing manufactured homes (<a href="https://www.sbt-durabi.org/articles/article/M9R2/#Information">modular construction</a>, for example, can increase labour productivity, reduce costs and mitigate the effects of weather delays)</p></li>
<li><p>making it easier to release land for development, especially in urban areas (for example, the Victoria government is investing <a href="https://www.budget.vic.gov.au/homes-for-victorians">$40 million in red-tape busting measures</a>).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The housing crisis in Australia is far from over. Without coordinated action to increase supply, government grants will have little practical effect on house affordability anytime soon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205471/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Is Australia ready for a house construction boom? Supply chain constraints say no.Flavio Macau, Associate Dean - School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan UniversityDeepa Bannigidadmath, Lecturer, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2130912023-09-14T16:15:15Z2023-09-14T16:15:15ZAsymmetrical bridges, timber towers and a repurposed gas platform: awards hail 2023’s best structures<p>The 2023 Structural Awards, hosted by the Institution of Structural Engineers, has unveiled <a href="https://www.istructe.org/structural-awards/shortlist/2023-shortlist/">its shortlist</a> of the world’s 35 most outstanding building projects. </p>
<p>Aimed at highlighting technical innovation, the featured structures comprise seven bridges, two footbridges, three stadiums and one football stadium stand, redevelopments, new builds, malls, museums, community hubs, a college and a school. They also include a retired gas platform transformed into an art installation and Stufish Entertainment Architects’ <a href="https://www.archdaily.com/983752/abba-arena-stufish-entertainment-architects">Abba Arena</a>, a venue custom-built in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, to house the Swedish band’s Voyage concert. </p>
<p>The prize has a global remit, featuring entrants from Canada and China to New Zealand, Niger and the Netherlands. Of the 35 shortlisted structures, however, 16 are in London. These include <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/big-ben-is-back-telling-the-time-and-the-bongs-will-soon-ring-out-again-12618628">the £80 million renovation</a> of Big Ben and the redevelopment of the grade-II listed <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2022/10/05/battersea-power-station-opens-wilkinson-eyre/">Battersea power station</a> by the WilkinsonEyre architecture studio. </p>
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<p>Since 2022, the judging process has put ever greater emphasis on the environmental impact of the buildings, the social value they provide and the effect they have on the people who use them. </p>
<p>The need to promote sustainability within architecture and construction is gaining ground, as <a href="https://theconversation.com/lacaton-and-vassal-how-this-years-pritzker-prize-could-spark-an-architectural-revolution-157636">recent</a> Pritzker prize <a href="https://theconversation.com/diebedo-francis-kere-how-first-black-winner-of-architectures-top-prize-is-committed-to-building-peaceful-cities-179483">laureates</a>, among other international accolades, show. </p>
<p>I have spent 20 years <a href="https://eng.ox.ac.uk/people/barbara-rossi/">researching</a> sustainability and resilience within the construction sector. Here are four highlights from the shortlist that show why this matters.</p>
<h2>Battersea power station</h2>
<p>To preserve this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0957-1272(91)90048-J">cultural icon</a>, engineering firm Buro Happold deployed structural engineering prowess and creative solutions. The <a href="https://www.burohappold.com/projects/battersea-power-station-building-works/#">2,495,000 sq ft</a> building has been refurbished to include more than 250 apartments, restaurants, shops, cinemas, offices, and an entertainment venue. </p>
<p>The building posed significant challenges. First, at foundation level, there were obstructions and deep geological scour hollows that created significant risk when combining the new structures with those already in place. The firm also worked hard to restore the external fabric of the building to maximise its reuse. Fire risk management also posed a big challenge – it is always highly complex in this kind of mixed-use building, especially since the Grenfell Tower fire.</p>
<p>Of particular note are the elegant tree structures used to carry an unprecedented load. They are composed of four curved, V-shaped branches. Each weighs 43 tonnes and supports six column lines from the commercial space above, transferring their load into the foundation. This minimises the footprint of the structure, ensuring the impressive space of the north atrium remains open. </p>
<h2>The Black and White Building</h2>
<p>Located in Shoreditch, London, this multi-storey new-build office block is designed by the engineering firm Eckersley O'Callaghan. It is central London’s tallest mass timber office structure and has already netted the firm the Architectural Review Future Projects Award for Best Office in 2022 and been shortlisted for the Construction News Awards low carbon project of the year in 2023. </p>
<p>The building is comprised of a reinforced concrete substructure (below ground level) beneath a timber superstructure. The latter includes the staircases and, most unusually, the core, which enable the designers to achieve a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2022.109320">lower embodied carbon</a> score. Most massive timber buildings have a concrete core, which increases their embodied carbon, thereby defeating the purpose of using timber in the first place. </p>
<p>Eckersley O'Callaghan also created unusually long spans (up to 10 metres between internal columns) and, in the facade, used steel cross-bracing to provide support against what construction specialists term <a href="http://web.mit.edu/4.441/1_lectures/1_lecture18/1_lecture18.html">“lateral loads”</a> (the horizontal forces applied to a structure, by things like wind).</p>
<h2>The Youshui Bridge</h2>
<p>Designed by architect Wen Wanqing and structural designer Yan Aiguo for the China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group, this is an awe-inspiring railway bridge in Furong Town, China. It is essentially a giant, <a href="https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/10.1680/jbren.19.00016">asymmetrical</a> arch, the north foundation of which sits 48.4m higher than the south foundation. </p>
<p>The structure is made of a concrete-filled steel tubular truss and spans 292 meters across the Youshui river valley. This is very rare, especially over a gorge, which only makes construction harder. </p>
<p>Concrete arches will typically span over anything up to 200m. Above that, steel (or concrete combined with steel) has to be employed. The construction process was a feat of engineering: it involved building a 865m highline to transport elements of the truss. </p>
<h2>The Marisfrolg Fashion Apparel Campus</h2>
<p>Designed by the Architecture Van Brandenburg studio for a fashion company in Shenzen, China, this curved building has already garnered awards for lighting design, among other things. It uses a notable mix of materials in an intricate composition of concrete shells, covered with a carapace of bricks, stone and ceramics. It really looks like the feather of a cretaceous bird just landing on the ground. </p>
<p>Structurally speaking, concrete shells are extremely challenging structures, both to calculate and to build. The designers must have used extensive <a href="https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/book/10.1680/fedcs.41899#:%7E:text=Finite%2Delement%20Design%20of%20Concrete%20Structures%2C%20Second%20edition%2C%20is,with%20the%20aid%20of%20computers.">finite element modelling</a> (a numerical approach that involves breaking down a problem into many smaller parts). And they would have needed complex <a href="https://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/research/rethinking-concrete-formwork">“formwork”</a>, that is, moulds, as well as high-quality concrete. </p>
<p>In terms of sustainability, however, despite the studio’s claims that the roof of the pavilion is clad in recycled materials and that bamboo was used for the concrete formwork, in the concrete structure itself, it appears that only Portland cement was used. It is difficult to rule, therefore, on the project’s actual sustainability credentials.</p>
<p>Winners will be announced on November 10 2023. The hope for such awards, of course, is that they will continue to promote sustainability within structural engineering. </p>
<p>The question, though, is whether even more stringent criteria should not be considered. The Institution of Structural Engineers offers a course to design net-zero structures. Imagine the impact this institution might have if it were to restrict the award to net-zero projects only.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213091/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Rossi receives funding from The European Commission (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions). </span></em></p>The 35 shortlisted structures from around the world showcase engineering ingenuity and big ideas for making construction more sustainable.Barbara Rossi, Associate Professor and Tutorial Fellow in Engineering Science (Structures & Mechanics), University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2078782023-09-06T19:11:24Z2023-09-06T19:11:24ZHalifax’s new development projects must not repeat the wrongs done to racialized communities<iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/halifaxs-new-development-projects-must-not-repeat-the-wrongs-done-to-racialized-communities" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The African Nova Scotian community has long struggled with displacement and erasure when it comes to urban planning. In Halifax, <a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781487522728/displacing-blackness/">racism has influenced planning and civic governance</a> decisions. The <a href="https://humanrights.ca/story/story-africville">demolition of Africville</a> in the 1960s and subsequent expropriation without compensation are well-documented examples of injustices. </p>
<p>The Halifax Regional Municipality issued a formal <a href="https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/diversity-inclusion/african-nova-scotian-affairs/africville/apology">apology</a> in 2015, yet <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/9781442686274">racism persists</a>. In the years since, there has been little substantial action to emplace African Nova Scotian residents in Downtown Halifax. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/regional-community-planning/construction-projects/cogswell-district-redevelopment">Cogswell District Project</a> is a new opportunity to heal historic divides. The project is a mixed-use residential district planned on the site of the former Cogswell highway interchange in downtown Halifax.</p>
<p>The elevated interchange was at the epicentre of a <a href="https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/municipal-archives/exhibits/cogswell-interchange">1960s-era urban renewal project</a> to construct a highway system through downtown Halifax. Construction of the infrastructure, including modernist commercial centres and high rises, led to the demolition of entire residential streets and displacement of thousands of vulnerable residents, including many of the city’s poorest citizens. </p>
<p><a href="https://utorontopress.com/9781442674073/the-drama-of-democracy/">As urban planner Jill Grant wrote</a>, “Most Haligonians seemed to view the project as obliterating an obnoxious and embarrassing slum. Neither politicians nor planners took account of the people who lived in the area.” </p>
<p>Even as the Cogswell Interchange was being constructed, some Halifax residents <a href="https://www.halifaxpubliclibraries.ca/blogs/post/halifax-municipal-archives-the-cogswell-interchange-and-the-road-to-nowhere/">began to protest</a> against the destruction of the city’s fabric. In 1970, the highway project was halted, before it destroyed what remained of Halifax’s now beloved harbourfront. It took another half century for civic leaders to unwind this mid-century highway investment and order the deconstruction of the interchange now known as the “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/ns/features/cogswell-interchange/?section=notalone">Road to Nowhere</a>.”</p>
<p>New urban designs for public space, road layouts and development blocks aim to knit physical separations between north and south in this Downtown Halifax area. These are promising, but the project must also seize the opportunity to heal other, more serious divisions with housing, class inequities and racial schisms.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/ehq-production-canada/documents/attachments/245493b156651d492cba4862093e8c5775263e8d/000/014/224/original/90_percent_construction_design_-_Regional_Council_-_Feb_26_2019.pdf?1551271386">vision put forth by urban designers</a> depicts a diverse community, but fostering that diversity in the future Cogswell District requires more than a false nod to inclusion.</p>
<h2>Gentrification and erasure</h2>
<p>Currently, construction of expensive housing developments on sites that were once affordable apartments in the North End is pushing residents out of the city in search of affordable housing, far from their roots and their established communities. This more recent wave of gentrification has been referred to as “<a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-africville-20-in-halifaxs-north-end-black-residents-fear-development/">Africville 2.0</a>.”</p>
<p>Thus far, <a href="https://www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion/no-affordable-housing-for-new-cogswell-district-18129011#:%7E:text=Even%20as%20the%20need%20for,is%20now%2060%20percent%20complete.">city officials have sidestepped important questions</a> about future land divestment, affordable housing and zoning. Without action, this profound chance for housing and community building will be missed.</p>
<p>Halifax Regional Municipality has promised to include some form of affordable housing in the future Cogswell District, but it is unclear what is meant by affordable.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/housing/densely-calculated-density/">density bonusing program</a> has been established to encourage the creation of public benefits including affordable housing by the private sector. But when given the choice, developers often choose to pay fees or provide amenities such as public art rather than build low-income housing. </p>
<p>The municipal government is currently discussing <a href="https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/regional-council/230509rc1518.pdf">new Inclusionary Zoning policies</a>. However, even if implemented, they will not address particular emplacement goals such as housing for racialized people. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A video explaining the issue of affordable housing in Downtown Halifax’s Cogswell area.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>“Blight Removal” in Halifax’s past</h2>
<p>Exploring the connection between historic displacement in the Cogswell neighborhood and the prospects of emplacement for low-income residents today was a focus for a recent <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/620149492896177/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2252%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22%5B%7B%5C%22surface%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22mechanism%5C%22%3A%5C%22share_link%5C%22%2C%5C%22extra_data%5C%22%3A%7B%5C%22invite_link_id%5C%22%3A181488704731651%7D%7D%5D%22%7D">Jane’s Walk</a>, hosted by myself and local resident Treno Morton, in celebration of renowned urbanist Jane Jacobs.</p>
<p>Urban renewal goals in 1960s Halifax were twofold: the creation of a brand new harbourfront highway system and the removal of problematic housing. Cogswell presents a prime example of similar renewal programs criticized by Jacobs in her influential 1961 book, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/86058/the-death-and-life-of-great-american-cities-by-jane-jacobs/9780679644330"><em>The Death and Life of Great American Cities</em></a>.</p>
<p>Our walk toured the original targets of “<a href="https://www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion/cogswell-district-redesign-need-to-know-29848549">blight removal</a>” initiated by architect <a href="https://halifaxbloggers.ca/builthalifax/2015/08/gordon-stephenson-and-the-1957-redevelopment-study-of-halifax/">Gordon Stephenson</a>, who was hired in 1957 to create a strategy for slum clearance in Halifax. </p>
<p>Having trained under Swiss-French architect and revolutionary city planner <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Le-Corbusier">Le Corbusier</a> in the early 1930s, <a href="https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/about-the-city/archives/AboutTheCity_MunicipalArchives_SearchToolsAfricvilleResources_PDF2.pdf">Stephenson brought a modernist’s zeal to his work</a>. He produced maps with oversized dots representing perceived social ills such as households on welfare or children appearing in juvenile court. </p>
<p>This <a href="https://spacing.ca/atlantic/2010/02/22/representing-halifax-4-making-the-case-for-urban-renewal/">skewed mapping exercise</a> led to a sweeping program of erasure. Backed with federal, provincial and civic funds, homes were removed throughout the 1960s. Some people were relocated to new housing projects in the city’s North End. However, rehousing efforts were inadequate and thousands of residents were forced to move away from the district.</p>
<h2>Bridging Divides</h2>
<p>Halifax Regional Municipality’s council opted to redevelop the district in 2013. In the decade since, the municipality has conducted extensive public consultation as a <a href="https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/regional-community-planning/construction-projects/cogswell-district-redevelopment-1">“cornerstone”</a> of the planning process. </p>
<p>Thus far, the planning and design efforts have focused on street shapes and public space design, right down to fountains, bike lanes and benches. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion/cogswell-district-redesign-need-to-know-29848549">However, meaningful dialogue about housing affordability and inclusion has been sidestepped</a> and land divestment remains a sensitive issue that planners and council members say they will address at some point in the future. Funds from the sale of development blocks will be used to pay for the <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3027918/plans-to-demolish-cogswell-interchange-after-decades-of-talk/">cost of the project</a>, but maximizing sale revenues will not create affordable housing.</p>
<p>If the historic displacement of the African Nova Scotian community in Halifax is to be addressed in a genuine way, more substantial measures must be taken with land divestment in Cogswell District.</p>
<p>A targeted housing strategy is needed and must be supported by all orders of government responsible for the interchange debacle in the first place. Without a sincere commitment to these actions, lower-income African Nova Scotian families will continue to struggle with displacement in their city.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207878/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Hempel received funding from MITACS to conduct research on affordable housing. Hempel received funding from Halifax Public Libraries through their Artist-and-Innovator in Residence program to initiate and host community dialogue sessions on a variety of sustainability topics (including the Jane's Walk).</span></em></p>African Nova Scotians have historically suffered the negative consequences of urban redevelopment. New projects in Halifax must involve genuine engagement with racialized communities.Christine Hempel, Post-doctoral researcher, School of Urban and Regional Planning, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2069212023-07-26T12:15:57Z2023-07-26T12:15:57ZTo reclaim downtowns from traffic, require developers to offer strategies for cutting car use<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539081/original/file-20230724-15-y16i04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C5326%2C3468&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parking consumes 20% or more of prime locations in many U.S. downtowns.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/downtown-parking-structure-is-viewed-on-may-20-in-austin-news-photo/1399453450">George Rose/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. has a <a href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780230102194/carjackedthecultureoftheautomobileanditseffectonourlives">car-centric culture</a> that is inseparable from the way its communities are built. One striking example is the presence of parking lots and garages. Across the country, parking takes up an estimated <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akm7ik-H_7U">30% of space in cities</a>. Nationwide, there are eight parking spots for every car. </p>
<p>The dominance of parking has <a href="https://vimeo.com/97196446">devastated once-vibrant downtowns</a> by turning large areas into uninviting paved spaces that contribute to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/reduce-urban-heat-island-effect">urban heating</a> and <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sourcewaterprotection/urbanization-and-stormwater-runoff">stormwater runoff</a>. It has <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2016.1205647">driven up housing costs</a>, since developers pass on the cost of providing parking to tenants and homebuyers. And it has perpetuated people’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.3141/2543-19">reliance on driving</a> by making walking, biking and public transit far less attractive, even for the shortest trips. </p>
<p>Why, then, does the U.S. have so much of it? </p>
<p>For decades, cities have required developers to provide a set number of parking spaces for their tenants or customers. And while many people still rely on parking, the amount required is typically <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0965-8564(99)00007-5">far more than most buildings need</a>.</p>
<p>Columbus, Ohio, pioneered this strategy 100 years ago, and by the middle of the 20th century minimum parking requirements were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0144164032000080485">the norm nationwide</a>. The thinking was straightforward: As driving became more common, buildings without enough parking would clog up the streets and wreak havoc on surrounding communities. </p>
<p>Today, however, more urban planners and policymakers acknowledge that this policy is <a href="https://www.planning.org/planning/2022/spring/a-business-case-for-dropping-parking-minimums/">narrowly focused and shortsighted</a>. As a data scientist who studies urban transportation, I focused my <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ZLNCPe4AAAAJ">earliest research</a> on this topic, and it shaped how I think about cities and towns today. </p>
<p>It’s encouraging to see cities rethinking minimum parking requirements – but while this is an important reform, urban leaders can do even more to loosen parking’s grip on our downtowns.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">From the 1970s through the early 2000s, ample downtown parking was widely viewed as essential for urban growth.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Eliminating parking requirements</h2>
<p>Despite research and guidance from the <a href="https://iteparkgen.org/">Institute of Transportation Engineers</a>, it is extremely <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0965-8564(99)00007-5">difficult to predict parking demand</a>, especially in downtown areas. As a result, for years many cities set the highest possible targets. This led to excess parking that is <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/5/3/034001">vastly underused</a>, even in areas with <a href="https://doi.org/10.3141/2537-19">perceived shortages</a>. </p>
<p>In 2017, Buffalo, New York, became the first large U.S. city to eliminate its minimum parking requirement as part of its first <a href="https://www.buffalogreencode.com/">major overhaul of zoning laws</a> in more than 60 years. This shift has <a href="https://theconversation.com/parking-reform-could-reenergize-downtowns-heres-what-happened-when-buffalo-changed-its-zoning-rules-159683">breathed new life into downtown Buffalo</a> by spurring redevelopment of vacant lots and storefronts. Researchers estimate that more than two-thirds of newly built homes there <a href="https://www.sightline.org/2023/04/13/parking-reform-legalized-most-of-the-new-homes-in-buffalo-and-seattle/">would have been illegal before the policy change</a> because they would not have met the earlier standards.</p>
<p>In the same year, Hartford, Connecticut, followed Buffalo’s lead and eliminated mandatory parking minimums citywide. Communities including <a href="https://www.naiop.org/research-and-publications/magazine/2023/Summer-2023/development-ownership/as-more-cities-eliminate-parking-minimums-what-happens-next/">Minneapolis; Raleigh, North Carolina; and San Jose, California</a>, have since taken similar steps.</p>
<p>Tony Jordan, president of the nonprofit <a href="https://parkingreform.org/">Parking Reform Network</a>, has argued that once cities stop mandating specific levels of private parking, leaders need to be more thoughtful about how they <a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2022/11/22/what-comes-next-after-abolishing-parking-mandates">manage public curbside parking and spend the revenues</a> that it generates. Some communities have implemented <a href="https://www.mapc.org/resource-library/maximum-parking-allowances/">maximum parking allowances</a> to ensure that developers and their investors don’t add to the glut.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539087/original/file-20230724-23-iwcwot.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map with areas used for parking colored" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539087/original/file-20230724-23-iwcwot.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539087/original/file-20230724-23-iwcwot.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539087/original/file-20230724-23-iwcwot.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539087/original/file-20230724-23-iwcwot.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=329&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539087/original/file-20230724-23-iwcwot.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539087/original/file-20230724-23-iwcwot.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539087/original/file-20230724-23-iwcwot.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Tampa, Fla., 30% of the city’s central business district is devoted to parking (shown in red). As of July 2023, the city had not implemented parking reforms.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://parkingreform.org/resources/parking-lot-map/">Parking Reform Network</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reducing reliance on cars</h2>
<p>Parking mandates aren’t the only lever that city officials can use to make their downtowns less car-centric. Some local governments are now asking developers to help reduce overall traffic levels by investing in improvements like sidewalks, bike storage and transit passes. </p>
<p>This approach is typically called <a href="https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/plan4ops/trans_demand.htm">transportation demand management</a>, or modern mitigation. It still leverages private investment to serve the public good but without a singular focus on parking.</p>
<p>And unlike parking requirements, this strategy helps connect buildings to their surrounding communities. As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=KSv7KvMAAAAJ&hl=en">urban planning scholar Kristina Currans</a> explained to me in an interview, traditional parking requirements ask developers to fend for themselves. In contrast, transportation demand management policies require them to consider the surrounding context, integrate their projects into it and help cities function more efficiently. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539169/original/file-20230725-25-dvfcwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic showing that traditional development consumes more land to accommodate drivers, while transportation demand management reduces the need for parking and space for cars." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539169/original/file-20230725-25-dvfcwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539169/original/file-20230725-25-dvfcwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539169/original/file-20230725-25-dvfcwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539169/original/file-20230725-25-dvfcwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=267&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539169/original/file-20230725-25-dvfcwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539169/original/file-20230725-25-dvfcwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539169/original/file-20230725-25-dvfcwg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Traditional development leads to more parking and more traffic, which consumes more space, while transportation demand management encourages less traffic and has a smaller footprint.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.cityofmadison.com/transportation/initiatives/transportation-demand-management">City of Madison, adapted by Chris McCahill</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This approach dates back at least to 1998, when Cambridge, Massachusetts, introduced a policy requiring developers to produce a transportation demand management plan <a href="https://www.cambridgema.gov/cdd/transportation/fordevelopers/ptdm">whenever they add new parking</a>. That policy has now outlived the city’s minimum parking requirements, which Cambridge <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2022/10/25/cambridge-parking/">eliminated for all residential uses</a> in 2022.</p>
<p>Newer policies tend to incorporate point systems or calculators that link different strategies directly to their potential impact on car use. These tools are common in cities across California, where state law now requires city planners to evaluate <a href="https://www.sb743.org/">how much new car use each new development will generate</a> and take steps to limit the impact. Policies such as charging users directly for parking spots or offering employees cash in exchange for giving up their spot are <a href="https://doi.org/10.17226/23415">among the most effective</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539088/original/file-20230724-17-igz132.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman enters metal enclosure to lock her bicycle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539088/original/file-20230724-17-igz132.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/539088/original/file-20230724-17-igz132.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539088/original/file-20230724-17-igz132.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539088/original/file-20230724-17-igz132.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539088/original/file-20230724-17-igz132.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539088/original/file-20230724-17-igz132.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/539088/original/file-20230724-17-igz132.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Denver offers 10 Bike-n-Ride shelters where commuters can store bikes and connect to the city’s mass transit system. Users access the shelters with key cards.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.rtd-denver.com/rider-info/bike-n-ride">Denver Regional Transportation District</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Lessons from Madison</h2>
<p>The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s <a href="https://ssti.us/">State Smart Transportation Initiative</a>, which I direct, along with UW’s <a href="https://mayorsinnovation.org/">Mayors Innovation Project</a>, has outlined policies like these in <a href="https://ssti.us/modernizing-mitigation/">a guide</a> based on our earlier work with the city of Los Angeles. We recently collaborated on <a href="https://www.cityofmadison.com/transportation/initiatives/transportation-demand-management">a new transportation demand management program</a> in Madison.</p>
<p>This program initially faced some <a href="https://madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/less-parking-fewer-cars-madison-city-council-to-weigh-traffic-rules-for-new-developments/article_f95271dc-7303-5b3c-b1b5-1a1f12871a21.html">pushback from developers</a>, but their input ultimately made it better. It passed the city’s Common Council unanimously in December 2022.</p>
<p>For their projects to be approved, developers now must earn a certain number of traffic mitigation points based on how large their project is and how many parking stalls they propose to include with it. For example, providing information to visitors and tenants about different travel options earns one point; providing secure bike storage earns two points; offering on-site child care earns four points; and charging market-rate parking fees is worth 10 points. Scaling back planned parking can reduce the number of points they need to earn in the first place.</p>
<p>While parking is no longer required in many parts of Madison, this new policy adds a layer of accountability to ensure that developers provide access to multiple transportation options in environmentally responsible ways. As urban leaders look for meaningful opportunities to <a href="https://www.surveyofmayors.com/files/2023/01/2022-Menino-Survey-Climate-Report.pdf">reduce their cities’ contributions to climate change</a>, we may soon see other cities following suit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206921/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris McCahill is the managing director of the State Smart Transportation Initative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is affiliated with Smart Growth America, the Wisconsin chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Parking Reform Network. He also serves on the Transportation Commission and the Plan Commission for the City of Madison.</span></em></p>US cities are starting to reform laws that required developers to provide minimum amounts of parking. But there’s more they can do to loosen the auto’s grip on downtowns.Chris McCahill, Managing Director, State Smart Transportation Initiative, University of Wisconsin-MadisonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2072042023-07-18T03:32:29Z2023-07-18T03:32:29ZNIMBYism in Sydney is leading to racist outcomes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537217/original/file-20230713-19-oqfqum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3904%2C2581&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Inner Sydney has near-zero population growth.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Residents of the affluent east and north of Greater Sydney <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/the-suburbs-that-are-home-to-sydney-s-biggest-nimbys-20230308-p5cqam">have strongly resisted</a> housing development in their suburbs. This NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) resistance has led to urban sprawl in areas of Western Sydney with a well-documented lack of <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/content/dam/digital/images/centre-for-western-sydney/WesternSydneyProgressandProspects.pdf">services</a>, <a href="https://mckellinstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/McKell_Super-Funding-Infrastructure.pdf">infrastructure</a> and <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/1782931/where-are-the-jobs-report-part-2.pdf">jobs</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0197397523000115">Recent research</a> showed affluent Sydney communities closer to the city centre are highly influential and organised in resisting development in their neighbourhoods. The result has been a socioeconomically divided city. </p>
<p>Ethnic segregation is a less-talked-about aspect of this divide. Most population growth in Sydney is from non-white new migrants. Dumping them all in the city’s west, when many are suited for and employed in professional jobs, is not only economically unproductive, it also leads to an ethnically segregated city. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jobs-deficit-drives-army-of-daily-commuters-out-of-western-sydney-139384">Jobs deficit drives army of daily commuters out of Western Sydney</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The ethnic divide is growing</h2>
<p>A recent NSW Productivity Commission <a href="https://www.productivity.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-06/202305_01-building-more-homes-where-people-want-to-live.pdf">report</a> shows less than 20% of new dwellings were built within 10 kilometres of the CBD between 2016 and 2021. Unmet demand is greatest in the inner city. As the chart below shows, most residential development has been in the outer suburbs, 30-40km from the city centre. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537190/original/file-20230713-22-axlryx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537190/original/file-20230713-22-axlryx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537190/original/file-20230713-22-axlryx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537190/original/file-20230713-22-axlryx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537190/original/file-20230713-22-axlryx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537190/original/file-20230713-22-axlryx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537190/original/file-20230713-22-axlryx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537190/original/file-20230713-22-axlryx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Net dwelling completions from 2016-17 to 2020-21.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.productivity.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-06/202305_01-building-more-homes-where-people-want-to-live.pdf">Chart: NSW Productivity Commission. Data: DPE; Greater Cities Commission; NSW Productivity Commission</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>NSW Department of Planning and Environment <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/research-and-demography/population-projections/explore-the-data">population projections</a> for 2021-2041 suggest the vast majority of population growth is going to be in these outer areas. The projections are based on analysis of historical trends, announced policies and local intelligence. </p>
<p>The map below shows inner local council areas will grow much more slowly than the outer ones. These outer areas also have much higher base populations, so their additional people and residential development are going to be large in absolute numbers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537192/original/file-20230713-17-t3oxmp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing forecast population growth for local government areas across Greater Sydney" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537192/original/file-20230713-17-t3oxmp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537192/original/file-20230713-17-t3oxmp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537192/original/file-20230713-17-t3oxmp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537192/original/file-20230713-17-t3oxmp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537192/original/file-20230713-17-t3oxmp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537192/original/file-20230713-17-t3oxmp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537192/original/file-20230713-17-t3oxmp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Population growth forecasts for local government areas across Greater Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Map created by authors using NSW Department of Planning population projection (2021-41)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Inner-city councils areas, such as Mosman (0.06%), Inner West (0.3%), Woollahra (0.24%) and Waverly (0.17%), are forecast to grow by much less than 1% a year. Most outer council areas are forecast to grow by at least 1-2%.</p>
<p>Inner-city areas also have a much higher percentage of white residents. The map below, constructed using 2021 census data for place of birth, shows this disparity. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537193/original/file-20230713-30-lp5zxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing percentages of non-white residents for each local government area across Greater Sydney" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537193/original/file-20230713-30-lp5zxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537193/original/file-20230713-30-lp5zxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537193/original/file-20230713-30-lp5zxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537193/original/file-20230713-30-lp5zxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537193/original/file-20230713-30-lp5zxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537193/original/file-20230713-30-lp5zxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537193/original/file-20230713-30-lp5zxq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Percentages of non-white population by local government area across Greater Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Map created by authors using ABS 2021 Census data</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While place of birth is not a perfect indicator of ethnicity, it is commonly used for and serves the purposes of this sort of analysis. The map clearly shows the outer areas of Sydney have a higher proportion of non-white residents. The wealthier inner areas have a much higher concentration of white residents. </p>
<p>These inner areas also tend to have a higher level of NIMBYism and lower population growth projections. </p>
<p>As the map below shows, the concentration of the non-white population in outer areas is also increasing at a much faster rate.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537195/original/file-20230713-15-wi8ptg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing increases in percentage of non-white resident population from 2016 to 2021 for local government areas across Sydney." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537195/original/file-20230713-15-wi8ptg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537195/original/file-20230713-15-wi8ptg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537195/original/file-20230713-15-wi8ptg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537195/original/file-20230713-15-wi8ptg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537195/original/file-20230713-15-wi8ptg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537195/original/file-20230713-15-wi8ptg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537195/original/file-20230713-15-wi8ptg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Increase in percentage of non-white resident population from 2016 to 2021 for local government areas across Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Map created by authors using 2016 and 2021 census data</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/another-tale-of-two-cities-access-to-jobs-divides-sydney-along-the-latte-line-96907">Another tale of two cities: access to jobs divides Sydney along the 'latte line'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>And the trend is set to continue</h2>
<p>The national <a href="https://population.gov.au/publications/statements/2022-population-statement">2022 Population Statement</a> shows Australia’s net overseas migration is estimated to be 235,000 per year until 2032-33. That’s about two-thirds of the nation’s total population growth. The report forecasts about 27% (64,000 a year) of the international migrants will settle in Greater Sydney.</p>
<p>Natural population increase (births minus deaths) for Greater Sydney is estimated to be around 36,000 a year. The net effect of internal migration adds up to around 33,000 people leaving Sydney. So most of the city’s population growth is going to be from international migration.</p>
<p>The Commonwealth’s <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/research-and-stats/files/report-migration-program-2021-22.pdf">2021-22 Migration Program Report</a> shows more than 80% of international migration is from non-white countries (when we consider the top ten countries of origin). Migration data from recent years also indicate this trend is likely to continue or even grow.</p>
<p>Based on the housing growth and immigration projections, we can conclude population growth will continue to be concentrated in outer Western Sydney, and non-white international migrants will account for most of this growth. This will intensify the concentration of the non-white population in these areas, increasing the ethnic divide between the city’s east and west.</p>
<p>It can be argued, then, that limiting housing options for new immigrants to the outer areas of Sydney could be considered systemic racism. System racism occurs “when racially unequal opportunities and outcomes are inbuilt or intrinsic to the operation of a society’s structures”, as one <a href="https://cognitiveresearchjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41235-021-00349-3">study</a> explained. And it “can emerge with or without intention to harm and with or without awareness of its existence”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bold-and-innovative-planning-is-delivering-australias-newest-city-but-it-will-be-hot-and-can-we-ditch-the-colonial-name-203932">Bold and innovative planning is delivering Australia’s newest city. But it will be hot – and can we ditch the colonial name?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>By reducing the ethnic divide, Sydney will be better off</h2>
<p>The NSW Productivity Commission’s recent <a href="https://www.productivity.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-06/202305_01-building-more-homes-where-people-want-to-live.pdf">report</a>, “Building more homes where people want to live”, argues that the focus on growth areas in Western Sydney is coming at a high cost to both social wellbeing and government budgets. He recommends the government shift its focus to higher-density housing in the CBD and inner suburbs. </p>
<p>Soon after NSW elected a new Labor government in March, Premier Chris Minns <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/sydney-nsw/nsw-premier-chris-minns-puts-sydney-nimbys-on-notice/news-story/aef04c273a0b04c81531bd5cf989eaae">stressed the need</a> to counter NIMBYism and build such housing closer to amenities and jobs. </p>
<p>Areas closer to the city centre are where people most want to live. Developing more housing in these areas will make housing there more affordable. It will also reduce the environmental impacts of urban growth. </p>
<p>Continued urban sprawl on <a href="https://theconversation.com/half-of-western-sydney-foodbowl-land-may-have-been-lost-to-development-in-just-10-years-190148">former farmlands</a> and natural woodlands in outer Western Sydney is leading to poorer <a href="https://theconversation.com/another-tale-of-two-cities-access-to-jobs-divides-sydney-along-the-latte-line-96907">economic</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-western-sydney-residents-grapple-with-climate-change-they-want-political-action-200917">sustainability</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-hits-low-income-earners-harder-and-poor-housing-in-hotter-cities-is-a-disastrous-combination-180960">climate</a> outcomes. New developments are occurring in areas that are <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-western-sydney-is-feeling-the-heat-from-climate-change-more-than-the-rest-of-the-city-201477">extremely hot</a> in summer and <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-western-sydney-residents-grapple-with-climate-change-they-want-political-action-200917">prone to bushfires and floods</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/half-of-western-sydney-foodbowl-land-may-have-been-lost-to-development-in-just-10-years-190148">Half of Western Sydney foodbowl land may have been lost to development in just 10 years</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>At the same time, the population in many affluent areas of Sydney has been <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/from-bondi-to-byron-wealthy-suburbs-with-shrinking-populations-20221125-p5c1a2.html">decreasing</a> and these areas are reported to have <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/leichhardt-s-rundown-italian-forum-sold-to-mystery-developer-20230404-p5cy09.html">lost vitality</a>. They also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/08/essential-workers-priced-out-of-housing-near-sydney-workplaces-and-face-even-longer-commutes">lack housing</a> for their essential workers.</p>
<p>There is a need for further research on the relationship between ethnic segregation and our decisions on what to build and where. We need to better understand NIMBYs’ motivations for opposing all development in their areas and the systemic racism resulting from this resistance.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207204/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Greiss is Mayor of Campbelltown City Council, Chairperson of The Parks Mayoral Forum, a non-executive director of Local Government NSW and a member of the Liberal Party. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Awais Piracha does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Inner-city resistance to higher-density housing has diverted most of Sydney’s population growth, driven largely by non-white migrants, to the outer suburbs. The result is a racially divided city.Awais Piracha, Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Director Academic Programs, Geography Tourism and Urban Planning, Western Sydney UniversityGeorge Greiss, Adjunct Associate Professor in Urban Planning, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1953662023-07-11T02:53:18Z2023-07-11T02:53:18ZWhy is it so hard for Local Aboriginal Land Councils to develop land when the public needs are huge?<p>Some of the largest landowners across New South Wales are <a href="https://www.aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au/land-rights/nswalc-and-the-lalc-network-to-aboriginal-land-councils-in-nsw/">Local Aboriginal Land Councils</a>. Given the acute needs for housing and infrastructure, it’s time the state government enabled these land councils to play a greater role in development.</p>
<p>According to the Greater Cities Commission’s outgoing chief commissioner, Geoff Roberts, Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALC) are the largest landowners in three of the region’s <a href="https://greatercities.au/six-cities-region/six-cities-region-vision">six cities</a> from Newcastle in the north to Wollongong in the south. </p>
<p>Roberts told me the commission’s strategic plans simply cannot be carried out without embedding in them Aboriginal values and perspectives. “We cannot move forward, without going back.” And by back, he meant returning to where it all began with European invasion. </p>
<p>In April, the commission set up the <a href="https://greatercities.au/engagement/first-nations-advisory-panel">First Nations Advisory Panel</a> to “help identify strategic issues in the planning system that work against First Nations people’s aspirations and […] provide advice regarding system-level change to address these challenges”. </p>
<p>Government can learn a lot from the commission’s approach. Recognition is growing within the state government that good development – for housing and commercial purposes, in transport, or within cultural precincts – requires reckoning with the past by partnering with Indigenous communities to deliver the future city. This has led to policies such as the <a href="https://www.governmentarchitect.nsw.gov.au/projects/designing-with-country">Connecting with Country Framework</a> and the <a href="https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/epi-2021-0724#ch.3">Aboriginal Land State Environmental Planning Policy</a>.</p>
<p>Yet good intentions have been slow to deliver results.</p>
<p>I have been researching the work and policy environment of Local Aboriginal Land Councils since 2020 and found they face three kinds of planning and development roadblocks in Greater Sydney: legal and bureaucratic, political, and relational.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1490926111110627330"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-aboriginal-communities-be-part-of-the-nsw-renewable-energy-transition-181171">How can Aboriginal communities be part of the NSW renewable energy transition?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Legal and bureaucratic challenges</h2>
<p>Aboriginal land councils are member-based organisations established under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW). Membership is open to all adult Aboriginal people in each council’s area. </p>
<p>These councils have the right to claim Crown land that is not lawfully used or occupied, or needed for an essential public purpose, among other things. </p>
<p>Land councils can sell, lease and/or develop the claimed land, and are bound by planning laws and regulations like any other landowner. However, land councils are different since they own land acquired through a compensatory framework to redress severe historical dispossession. </p>
<p>In practice, NSW’s <a href="https://www.aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au/land-rights/nswalc-and-the-lalc-network-to-aboriginal-land-councils-in-nsw/">120</a> Local Aboriginal Land Councils face mounting difficulties, both in claiming land and in planning, developing and using their land to benefit their communities and the public. </p>
<p>A 2021 <a href="https://www.aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au/media/website_pages/land-rights/the-aboriginal-land-rights-act-1983-alra/legislative-review/Aboriginal-Land-Rights-Act-1983-2021-Statutory-Review-Report.pdf">review</a> found long delays in determining land claims across NSW. Over <a href="https://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/reports/facilitating-and-administering-aboriginal-land-claim-processes">38,000 claims</a> awaited the minister’s determination – roughly 70% of the total made in the 40 years since the law took effect. Around 60% were five or more years old. </p>
<p>At the current rate, it will take 22 years to determine existing claims. And land under claim cannot be developed.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-nsw-there-have-been-significant-wins-for-first-nations-land-rights-but-unprocessed-claims-still-outnumber-the-successes-186121">In NSW there have been significant wins for First Nations land rights. But unprocessed claims still outnumber the successes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Land councils also find it incredibly difficult to activate successfully claimed land. Typically, it’s disused Crown land on the fringes of suburbs and towns. </p>
<p>At times, this land is downzoned as “conservation” after its transfer to the land council. Land councils must then prepare expensive planning proposals to rezone the land as residential, straining their limited resources. </p>
<p>Recognising these difficulties, in 2019 the NSW government introduced a <a href="https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/epi-2021-0724#ch.3">policy</a> permitting land councils to submit <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-05/development-delivery-plan-darkinjung-local-aboriginal-land-council.pdf">development delivery plans</a> for approval by the planning minister. These measures are designed to approach Aboriginal land development strategically and holistically, rather than in a piecemeal way. Their long-term impact is yet to be seen. </p>
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<h2>Political challenges</h2>
<p>Some are unhappy with the “special treatment” of land councils and with their development agenda. Sometimes objections to development come from Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land. </p>
<p>This is partly due to the distinction <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/publication/35094">observed</a> by historian <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/heidi-norman-859">Heidi Norman</a> that emerged between “Aboriginal owners” and “land council members” following the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993. In my interviews, policymakers and bureaucrats have expressed confusion about adhering to cultural protocols while also dealing fairly and professionally with Aboriginal landowners. </p>
<p>But more often it’s non-Indigenous residents who oppose Aboriginal land development. One example, reported as an “<a href="https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/aboriginal-land-rights-test-case-in-sydney-s-northern-beaches-20220309-p5a32l">Aboriginal land rights test case</a>”, involves a proposed development in Belrose in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. </p>
<p>Local MPs, residents and councillors have opposed the plan to develop 71 hectares of bushland as a 450-lot subdivision. They cite environmental reasons, pressures on infrastructure and fire risks. First submitted to the Department of Planning in 2014, the plan became a state <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/local-landowners-call-in-lawyers-over-bid-to-block-housing-in-sydney-bushland-20230308-p5cqcq.html">election issue</a> this year. </p>
<p>A revised proposal gained a so-called <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/plans-for-your-area/priority-growth-areas-and-precincts/northern-beaches-aboriginal-land">“Gateway” preliminary approval</a> last month. Opposition is bound to continue through the long approval process.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1668746550292656128"}"></div></p>
<h2>Relational challenges</h2>
<p>Many land councils are land-rich, but most are cash-poor. They are understandably reluctant to sell land. This means they have to find partners to realise their development plans. </p>
<p>The main model for land council developments is joint ventures with private or state-owned developers. Co-design and co-management of projects requires partnerships built on strong relationships. Despite a willingness to engage, both government and industry often lack understanding of the issues land councils face. As a senior planning department official told me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>That conversation and engagement to understand how you put that cultural overlay and the trauma and the healing into the [planning] strategy […] that is a long, ongoing conversation. And you can’t force it. It has to be organic, and it has to be [based] on trust and rapport. But no government workflow or business case [operates on that timeline].</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Due to this misalignment of approaches and frequent public sector personnel changes, the conditions for meaningful collaboration are rarely met. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-communities-are-reworking-urban-planning-but-planners-need-to-accept-their-history-92351">Indigenous communities are reworking urban planning, but planners need to accept their history</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Land councils can be development allies</h2>
<p>NSW Premier Chris Minns recently announced <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/minns-to-turbocharge-sydney-s-density-with-affordable-housing-bonuses-for-developers-20230614-p5dglv.html">incentives for large developers</a> to build higher, denser housing in Sydney. “State significant developments” will be fast-tracked, bypassing local councils and planning panels. </p>
<p>Land councils own large areas of land in areas of immense need. Unlike profit-driven developers, they champion social and economic justice. Yet land councils still face major barriers to development. </p>
<p>What if the government considered land councils as allies in the struggle to meet housing and other needs? Development that properly considers where and how to build and for whose benefit would be better for both Indigenous communities and the rest of the public.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195366/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naama Blatman receives funding from The Urban Studies Foundation (<a href="https://www.urbanstudiesfoundation.org/">https://www.urbanstudiesfoundation.org/</a>). </span></em></p>Local Aboriginal Land Councils are some of the largest private landowners in NSW. Making it easier for them to develop their land will benefit Indigenous communities and the rest of the public.Naama Blatman, Research Theme Fellow, Urban Living Futures & Society, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2041852023-06-30T03:01:46Z2023-06-30T03:01:46ZHouses and high-rises (and nothing in between): why land zoning hasn’t been effective for improving urban density<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522297/original/file-20230421-2117-gyyont.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C94%2C1167%2C780&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Brisbane's West End.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Rachel Gallagher</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For almost a century, zoning has been the key tool used by urban planners to influence how our cities grow and change. Our newly published <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07352166.2023.2211770">research</a> looked at whether zoning is effective at guiding new urban growth patterns.</p>
<p>Zoning schemes vary, but generally consist of a map that classifies land into zones and a code that says what activities are permitted in each zone.</p>
<p>We found simply rezoning land for higher density is not enough to transform low-density and car-centric neighbourhoods into the mixed-use and walkable neighbourhoods envisioned in our planning schemes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/wanted-family-friendly-apartments-but-what-do-families-want-from-apartments-203921">Wanted: family-friendly apartments. But what do families want from apartments?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A post-war model for guiding growth</h2>
<p>Contemporary zoning truly developed after the second world war. Australian cities grew rapidly during this period. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522021/original/file-20230420-18-8r7yr8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522021/original/file-20230420-18-8r7yr8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522021/original/file-20230420-18-8r7yr8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522021/original/file-20230420-18-8r7yr8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=261&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522021/original/file-20230420-18-8r7yr8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522021/original/file-20230420-18-8r7yr8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522021/original/file-20230420-18-8r7yr8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=328&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Houses under construction in Mount Gravatt c 1958.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland State Archives</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522261/original/file-20230421-28-19nl9y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Structure plan for Brisbane in 1987" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522261/original/file-20230421-28-19nl9y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522261/original/file-20230421-28-19nl9y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522261/original/file-20230421-28-19nl9y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522261/original/file-20230421-28-19nl9y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=820&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522261/original/file-20230421-28-19nl9y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1030&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522261/original/file-20230421-28-19nl9y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1030&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522261/original/file-20230421-28-19nl9y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1030&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Structure plan for Brisbane in 1987, showing the major centres and roads.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brisbane City Council</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A combination of large real estate interests and the emerging field of urban planning created low-density, car-centric suburbs. Urban plans called for standardised subdivisions and land uses, and engineering of streets and infrastructure.</p>
<p>Urban development was largely characterised by <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-accidentally-planned-the-desertion-of-our-cities-190145">detached houses in residential suburbs</a>. Large road networks separated these suburbs from commercial and industrial areas of the city.</p>
<p>Fast-forward to the late 1980s and many cities began to introduce planning mechanisms to restrict outward expansion. Changes in zoning allowed for increased density and a mix of land uses. The aim was to encourage redevelopment of existing urban areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522260/original/file-20230421-1035-dj4kvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522260/original/file-20230421-1035-dj4kvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522260/original/file-20230421-1035-dj4kvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522260/original/file-20230421-1035-dj4kvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522260/original/file-20230421-1035-dj4kvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522260/original/file-20230421-1035-dj4kvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522260/original/file-20230421-1035-dj4kvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522260/original/file-20230421-1035-dj4kvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=487&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Development control plan for Newstead and Teneriffe, in Brisbane’s inner north. This area was the first focus of Brisbane City Council’s Urban Renewal Brisbane.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brisbane City Council</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-accidentally-planned-the-desertion-of-our-cities-190145">How we accidentally planned the desertion of our cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What did the study look at?</h2>
<p>Our research sought to understand how this new zoning, with the goal of increasing urban density, works in practice. We wanted to explore how differences in neighbourhood layouts influence outcomes. </p>
<p>To find out, we compared the redevelopment of six neighbourhoods over 70 years.
Each neighbourhood has zoning that allows for high-rise apartments to be built. But the six neighbourhoods have different street, land parcel and land use patterns. This is because their initial construction happened in different periods. </p>
<p>Study areas included: inner suburbs with a gridded street pattern; inner and middle suburbs retrofitted for motorway and road-widening projects and large drive-in shopping centres; and suburbs built with motorways, streets following curved lines and drive-in shopping centres at the outset.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522263/original/file-20230421-881-uo41gs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522263/original/file-20230421-881-uo41gs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522263/original/file-20230421-881-uo41gs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522263/original/file-20230421-881-uo41gs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=411&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522263/original/file-20230421-881-uo41gs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522263/original/file-20230421-881-uo41gs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522263/original/file-20230421-881-uo41gs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the study areas includes part of Upper Mount Gravatt, where Garden City Shopping Centre opened in the 1970s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland State Archives</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our research looked at the city at three scales: street network, land parcels and building footprints. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522014/original/file-20230420-22-lggfjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522014/original/file-20230420-22-lggfjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522014/original/file-20230420-22-lggfjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522014/original/file-20230420-22-lggfjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522014/original/file-20230420-22-lggfjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522014/original/file-20230420-22-lggfjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522014/original/file-20230420-22-lggfjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522014/original/file-20230420-22-lggfjo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=544&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Creation of data by digitising historical imagery.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rachel Gallagher</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What did the study find?</h2>
<p>We found street networks were stable, except for government-led motorway projects. Large-scale disruption of street networks often requires acts of overt, top-down power. This can fundamentally alter the urban fabric of a neighbourhood – a highway cut one study area in half. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522016/original/file-20230420-22-p9gm7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522016/original/file-20230420-22-p9gm7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522016/original/file-20230420-22-p9gm7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522016/original/file-20230420-22-p9gm7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522016/original/file-20230420-22-p9gm7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522016/original/file-20230420-22-p9gm7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522016/original/file-20230420-22-p9gm7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Woolloongabba before and after the South East Freeway.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brisbane City Council and Queensland State Archives</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We found parcel boundaries were reconfigured for new development. Parcel size was reduced for most uses, except for commercial services like shopping centres. </p>
<p>We found a decrease in built structures over time, but an increase in their size. This was mainly due to larger buildings replacing smaller cottages and businesses. The total area covered by buildings increased substantially.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-city-policy-to-protect-the-brisbane-backyard-is-failing-150173">Why city policy to 'protect the Brisbane backyard' is failing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some neighbourhoods were more adaptable to redevelopment than others. Less-connected neighbourhoods with large highways and cul-de-sacs, including those close to the city centre, had smaller increases in density than neighbourhoods with more grid-like street networks. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522001/original/file-20230420-3062-axsfat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522001/original/file-20230420-3062-axsfat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522001/original/file-20230420-3062-axsfat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522001/original/file-20230420-3062-axsfat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=222&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522001/original/file-20230420-3062-axsfat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522001/original/file-20230420-3062-axsfat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522001/original/file-20230420-3062-axsfat.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=279&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Built in 1973, Brisbane’s South East Freeway separates the east and west of the Woolloongabba suburb.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rachel Gallagher</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/road-to-nowhere-why-the-suburban-cul-de-sac-is-an-urban-planning-dead-end-194628">Road to nowhere: why the suburban cul-de-sac is an urban planning dead end</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-and-building/urban-design-in-brisbane/design-strategy-and-guidelines/traditional-character-housing-design-guide">Protections on so-called character homes</a> and successful campaigns <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-08/brisbane-future-housing-blueprint/9848494">against zoning for housing diversity</a> mean multi-family buildings like apartments were concentrated in specific precincts, often next to low-density areas. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-and-building/planning-guidelines-and-tools/brisbane-city-plan-2014/supporting-information/heritage-and-character-buildings">Character houses</a> in Brisbane are dwellings built before 1947. Most inner-city parcels allow the construction of small apartments or townhouses if the development retains the original house. </p>
<p>However, our results show most parcels with character houses still contained only houses in 2021. This could be because contemporary renovations of houses significantly increase their building footprints, leaving little space for extra dwellings. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522268/original/file-20230421-2632-nz53nk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522268/original/file-20230421-2632-nz53nk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522268/original/file-20230421-2632-nz53nk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522268/original/file-20230421-2632-nz53nk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522268/original/file-20230421-2632-nz53nk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522268/original/file-20230421-2632-nz53nk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522268/original/file-20230421-2632-nz53nk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Examples of renovated character houses in Brisbane.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Images: historic photographs sourced from Frank and Eunice Corley's collection, donated to the Queensland State Library, and Google Streetview</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whose-identity-are-we-preserving-in-aucklands-special-character-housing-areas-183207">Whose ‘identity’ are we preserving in Auckland’s special character housing areas?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What does this mean for planning?</h2>
<p>Our findings highlight the need to consider the existing built form and urban layout when applying generalised densification targets. </p>
<p>The suburbs of most cities in the developed world occupy more land than the gridded and denser city centres – and these suburban developments are not very adaptable to change. </p>
<p>Zoning alone may not be enough to catalyse redevelopment of suburbs that have disconnected and curvilinear street networks. Investment in infrastructure that improves transport connections may be needed if these areas are to be desirable (and practical) locations for increased urban density.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-need-to-give-up-on-crowded-cities-we-can-make-density-so-much-better-131304">No need to give up on crowded cities – we can make density so much better</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204185/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Gallagher has worked as a Senior Planner in Queensland's Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yan Liu receives funding from Australian Research Council (ARC). </span></em></p>Simply rezoning land for higher density is not enough to achieve the planning goal of transforming low-density and car-centric neighbourhoods into mixed-use and walkable neighbourhoods.Rachel Gallagher, PhD Candidate, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of QueenslandYan Liu, Professor of Geographical Information Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2072632023-06-23T11:02:06Z2023-06-23T11:02:06ZReclaiming Windrush Square: why urban development projects need to heed local voices<p>Windrush Square is a vibrant public plaza at the heart of Brixton, in the London borough of Lambeth. It was <a href="https://www.edenharper.com/articles/a-history-of-windrush-square">first named in 1998</a> in commemoration of the arrival of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/unravelling-the-windrush-myth-the-confidential-government-communications-that-reveal-authorities-did-not-want-caribbean-migrants-to-come-to-britain-206225">Empire Windrush</a>, which docked in Essex in 1948, carrying 1,027 passengers, at least 500 of whom were from the Caribbean. </p>
<p>In 2010, Boris Johnson, as Mayor of London, oversaw an extension of the square to include the adjacent Tate Gardens, so named for erstwhile Lambeth resident and sugar merchant Henry Tate. Responding to a Lambeth council opinion poll, local residents decided that this larger, more open space – newly furnished with lighting, benches and sculptures – would continue to be known as Windrush Square.</p>
<p>Lifelong Brixton resident, Windrush descendant and community organiser Ros Griffiths chairs the Friends of Windrush Square group. This independent collection of residents, activists and business representatives (which includes the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-uk-needs-more-regional-black-archives-so-it-can-celebrate-black-british-history-in-its-entirety-168410">Black Cultural Archives</a>, <a href="https://brixtonblog.com/contact-us/">Brixton Blog</a>, <a href="https://www.blackculturemarket.co.uk/">Black Culture Market</a> and <a href="https://www.repowering.org.uk/">Repowering London</a>) exists, as its mission statement puts it, to protect and promote “the heritage, function, and architecture” of the square. It does so by advocating for initiatives that generate social value – in other words, that benefit the local community.</p>
<p>My research looks at how public space can facilitate a sense of belonging and make <a href="https://dradproject.com/9-spatial-aspects-of-de-radicalisation-processes/">diverse societies more cohesive</a>. Windrush Square offers an instructive example of how crucial it is that any urban development project be, as Griffiths argues, “people-led.”</p>
<h2>Contested heritage</h2>
<p>When Commonwealth citizens – now known collectively as the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-windrush-generation-how-a-resilient-caribbean-community-made-a-lasting-contribution-to-british-society-204571">Windrush generation</a> – were invited by <a href="https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/windrush-a-landmark-in-the-history-of-modern-britain/">the UK government</a> to support post-war reconstruction, they arrived in Britain and settled in neighbourhoods all over the country, but especially in south London. <a href="https://www.lambeth.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2022-07/state-of-the-borough-2022-report.pdf">Today</a>, 43% of Lambeth’s population is Black, Asian or multi-ethnic, with Black/Black British African making up 12%, and Black/Black British Caribbean accounting for 10% of the borough’s residents.</p>
<p>Amid growing <a href="https://www.bi.team/blogs/britain-connects-reducing-political-polarisation-and-fostering-dialogue-during-national-lockdown/">political polarisation</a> and a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/22/understanding-englishness-and-the-national-identity-crisis">national identity crisis</a>, quite how that history is reflected in our built environment is an ongoing and sometimes contentious <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9405/CBP-9405.pdf">debate</a>.</p>
<p>Windrush Square speaks eloquently to this history. It boasts a number of memorials, including the UK’s first <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-ever-memorial-to-african-and-caribbean-service-personnel-unveiled-in-brixton">memorial to African and Caribbean service personnel</a> and the <a href="https://www.adjaye.com/work/cherry-groce-memorial-pavilion">Cherry Groce memorial pavillion</a>, installed in honour of Cherry Groce, a Jamaican woman who was shot by the police in her Brixton home in 1985.</p>
<p>The square also features a bust <a href="https://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2020/02/brixton-history-the-bronze-bust-to-sir-henry-tate-in-windrush-square-brixton/">of Henry Tate</a>, first unveiled in 1905, in front of Brixton Library. As Griffiths outlines, local sentiments about Tate’s ongoing prominence on Windrush Square are mixed: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We still need to have a conversation about that history.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/headlines/2022/feb/did-henry-tate-have-links-slavery#:%7E:text=Researchers%20at%20the%20Centre%20for,less%20direct%20but%20fundamental%20ways.%E2%80%9D">Research shows</a> that Tate was not personally implicated in colonial slavery. However, links between the transatlantic slave trade and the broader sugar industry <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/oct/13/lifeandhealth.britishidentity">are incontrovertible</a>. </p>
<p>In 2022, Friends of Windrush Square launched the <a href="https://brixtonblog.com/Windrush_May22_html5/0001.html">Reimagining Windrush Square campaign</a> to both reexamine this history and rethink how the square is used today.</p>
<p>The group questions the <a href="https://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2021/05/campaigners-fight-lambeths-plans-for-commercial-events-on-clapham-common/">increasing number</a> of commercial events across public spaces in Lambeth. They also question how the square has been reworked to date. </p>
<p>The 2010 redesign, by <a href="https://www.planningresource.co.uk/article/449862/regeneration-news-architects-chosen-brixton-square">landscape architects Gross Max</a>, was part of the Mayor of London’s 100 Public Spaces Initiative. While some urban planners viewed the resulting openness, improved lighting and design features as bringing <a href="https://www.udg.org.uk/publications/articles/windrush-square-brixton-london">coherence to the public realm</a>, other observers criticised the changes for the impact on how it was used. </p>
<p>Chairs and greenery had been <a href="https://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2020/07/from-the-leafy-tate-gardens-to-the-concrete-blocks-of-windrush-square-in-brixton/">removed</a>. The public toilets <a href="http://www.urban75.org/brixton/features/windrush-square-brixton-2010.html">remained closed</a>. Griffiths put it plainly:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The 2010 redevelopment of Windrush Square was design-led. It should have been people-led.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The subsequent <a href="https://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2022/02/cost-of-bollards-in-windrush-square-rockets-to-2m-as-lambeth-council-spends-13k-per-bollard-whilst-admitting-no-terrorism-threat/">installation</a> of 155 security bollards in 2020 also drew local ire. The bollards reportedly cost £13,000 each and the terrorism threat, with which their presence had initially been justified, turned out to be non-existent.</p>
<p>The Friends of Windrush Square, instead, want to see Windrush Square used in a way that benefits the local community. They would love, for example, to see the disused public toilets <a href="https://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2016/08/in-photos-a-look-around-brixtons-abandoned-underground-toilets-in-windrush-square/">converted</a> into a community hub. As Griffiths says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Friends of Windrush Square is my legacy. The history matters, but we’re imagining what Windrush Square could be in 2048.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>My colleagues and I have worked with the group on a series of community research labs. Our aim is to support that reimagining initiative through shared reflection on challenges, priorities and solutions, and to co-develop a <a href="https://dtascommunityownership.org.uk/community/community-place-plans/what-are-place-plans/local-place-plans">local place plan</a> which outlines the group’s long-term vision.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1663596688450125844"}"></div></p>
<p>London has over <a href="https://parksforlondon.org.uk/resource/community-groups/">900 Friends of Parks groups</a>, like Friends of Windrush Square, which collectively count around 100,000 members. These groups care for a variety of public spaces. </p>
<p>Some, like Windrush Square, are on publicly owned land. Others are part of a growing number of <a href="https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/the-first-map-of-londons-pseudo-public-space-epidemic/">privately owned public spaces</a>. These are managed inconsistently – quite who is permitted to use them depends largely on the <a href="https://www.centreforlondon.org/publication/public-london/">private landowners’ attitudes</a>, with local authorities, or people, given little say.</p>
<p>The city government appears to want to keep public space public. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s spatial development strategy for Greater London, dubbed <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/planning/london-plan/new-london-plan/london-plan-2021">London Plan 2021</a>, highlights how important it is for local communities to support urban development projects. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.london.gov.uk/publications/public-london-charter">Public London Charter</a>, meanwhile, which details guidance for the capital’s new public spaces, emphasises unrestricted access, regardless of who the land in question belongs to. This does not however apply to existing spaces, which may have been redeveloped following other priorities.</p>
<p>Voluntary groups have a shared connection to, and concern for, the spaces they inhabit. They challenge the <a href="https://www.cprelondon.org.uk/news/forever-green-50-threats-to-londons-parks-and-green-spaces/">troubling trend</a> toward privatisation of civic spaces. They show that people want to talk about and be involved in transforming the spaces they inhabit, in a way that benefits the collective. Harnessing their voices is essential to creating a public realm that works for everyone.</p>
<p><em>The <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-big-caribbean-lunch-tickets-657438394937">Big Caribbean Lunch</a> takes place on June 25 2023 in Windrush Square. To take part in reimagining the square’s future, <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSctS8wL9_VykSWlaxeHDFF0SdyAduczRUN8n-2-rAv5wwL4fg/viewform">sign up</a> to the Friends of Windrush Square engagement hub. Find out about other Windrush 75 anniversary events in <a href="https://lambethwindrush.com/whats-on/">Lambeth</a> and <a href="https://www.windrush75.org/events">across the UK</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207263/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henry Staples is a researcher on the project 'D.Rad: Deradicalisation in Europe and Beyond: Detect, Resolve, Integrate', funded by the European Commission.</span></em></p>When a community is involved in how their spaces are developed, these can foster a sense of belonging and make diverse societies more cohesive.Henry Staples, Research Associate in Sociological Studies, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2046852023-05-31T04:51:40Z2023-05-31T04:51:40ZA sustainable Australia depends on what happens in our cities – that’s why we need a national urban policy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529260/original/file-20230531-29-26w8ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4746%2C3166&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia has not had a national urban policy since the Rudd government. A troika of Liberal PMs followed. Tony Abbott wasn’t interested. Malcolm Turnbull didn’t quite live up to the hype but delivered cross-governmental <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/analysis/brief/australian-city-deals-focus">City Deals</a> and the <a href="https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/smart-cities-and-suburbs-program">Smart Cities and Suburbs Program</a>. Scott Morrison at best presided over a business-as-usual approach lacking any resolve, urgency or innovation. </p>
<p>Will this Labor government do any better? Australian cities and regions were not front and centre in the 2022 federal election campaign. But there were signs a Labor government would reinstate a concern for urban policy issues.</p>
<p>The federal budget confirmed the government’s focus on urban policy. It set aside funding for a “national approach for sustainable urban development” and a “cities program”. Last week the government <a href="https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/c-king/media-release/government-listening-experts-urban-policy">appointed the expert members</a> of the Urban Policy Forum announced in the budget. </p>
<p>These are vehicles for delivering a <a href="https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/c-king/media-release/towards-national-approach-cities-and-regions">promised National Urban Policy</a>. The government <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/territories-regions-cities/cities">says</a> this policy “will bring together a vision for sustainable growth in our cities”. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1662231500060852224"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hopes-of-a-new-urban-age-survive-ministers-fall-52975">Hopes of a new urban age survive minister's fall</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why focus on cities?</h2>
<p><a href="https://population.gov.au/population-topics/topic-population">Two in three Australians</a> live in a capital city. Our 21 largest cities are home to 80% of the population. </p>
<p>Cities account for <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/productivity-review/report/productivity-review.pdf">80% of economic activity</a> in Australia. As globally connected hubs, they are crucial sites for community, commerce, infrastructure, biodiversity, governance and democratic processes. Our cities are central to meeting the challenges of a changing climate. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Map of Australia's 21 largest cities" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528190/original/file-20230525-27-9njh7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528190/original/file-20230525-27-9njh7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528190/original/file-20230525-27-9njh7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528190/original/file-20230525-27-9njh7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528190/original/file-20230525-27-9njh7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528190/original/file-20230525-27-9njh7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528190/original/file-20230525-27-9njh7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our 21 largest cities, with 80% of the population, have a huge role to play in achieving a sustainable future.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Urban Observatory</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-planning-is-now-on-the-front-line-of-the-climate-crisis-this-is-what-it-means-for-our-cities-and-towns-193452">Urban planning is now on the front line of the climate crisis. This is what it means for our cities and towns</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has skin in the game. He was the minister for infrastructure and transport in the Gillard government. He oversaw the first truly national urban policy, <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2679/Our_Cities_National_Urban_Policy_Paper_2011.pdf?1684550015">Our Cities, Our Future</a>, in 2011.</p>
<p>In 2021, Albanese <a href="https://anthonyalbanese.com.au/media-centre/the-future-of-our-cities-10-march-2021">declared</a> that “cities policy has been one of the abiding passions of my time in public life”. He foreshadowed a new national policy framework. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://budget.gov.au/content/bp1/download/bp1_bs-1.pdf">budget papers</a> specifically refer to the <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/meeting-national-cabinet-better-future-federation">National Cabinet agreement</a> on April 28 on national priorities. Among these is “Better Planning for Stronger Growth reforms to support a national approach to the growth of cities, towns, and suburbs”. </p>
<p>The budget commits <a href="https://budget.gov.au/">nearly A$400 million</a> over four years in new grants and investments in “Thriving Suburbs” and “Urban Precincts and Partnerships”. Some $11 million goes to a Cities and Suburbs Unit to deliver a National Urban Policy. The policy is required to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>address urgent challenges facing our major cities – from equitable access to jobs, homes and services, to climate impacts and decarbonisation. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Looking down the street of an outer suburban development" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528975/original/file-20230530-21-yxp80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528975/original/file-20230530-21-yxp80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528975/original/file-20230530-21-yxp80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528975/original/file-20230530-21-yxp80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528975/original/file-20230530-21-yxp80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528975/original/file-20230530-21-yxp80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528975/original/file-20230530-21-yxp80q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Outer suburbs distant from services and workplaces create problems for the sustainability of our cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">R. Freestone</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/state-of-the-environment-report-shows-our-growing-cities-are-under-pressure-but-were-seeing-positive-signs-too-187265">State of the Environment report shows our growing cities are under pressure – but we’re seeing positive signs too</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>An overdue development</h2>
<p>Urban development has been “<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-022-00979-5">undervalued in national discussion</a>” globally, not only in Australia. But in recent years various bodies, inquiries and forums have pushed for a new-look national urban policy.</p>
<p>The Planning Institute of Australia has long called for a coherent governance framework for spatial plans, infrastructure, growth management and urban renewal. Without a national cities plan, a <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2680/Through_the_Lens-_The_Tipping_Point.pdf?1684550414">2018 report</a> by the institute said, “all jurisdictions will be disadvantaged when making resource allocation decisions and planning for basic enabling infrastructure”.</p>
<p>In the same year, a federal <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/2681/BuildingUp_MovingOut.pdf_fileType_application_pdf.pdf?1684550659">parliamentary inquiry</a> into the Australian government’s role in city development called for “a national plan of settlement, providing a national vision for our cities and regions across the next 50 years”.</p>
<p>In 2019, Future Earth Australia, based at the Australian Academy of Sciences, advanced a ten-year <a href="https://www.futureearth.org.au/publications/sustainable-cities-strategy">national strategy</a> for sustainable cities and regions. This strategy is aligned with the Australian achievement of the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">UN Sustainable Development Goals</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1495656742734209027"}"></div></p>
<h2>New ideas for Australian cities and regions</h2>
<p>We must take seriously the economic, social and environmental impacts of long-term population growth and development. To become a more equitable and sustainable country, action on the uneven experiences of Australian cities and regions must be a government priority.</p>
<p>In 2021, an Australian Academy of Social Sciences workshop on <a href="https://socialsciences.org.au/workshop/australian-urban-policy-achievements-failures-challenges/">Australian Urban Policy: Achievements, Failures, Challenges</a> was undertaken jointly at the City Futures Research Centre, UNSW, and Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University. More than 50 researchers and practitioners explored the many issues competing for urban policy attention at the national level.</p>
<p>Key areas included water, climate change, Indigeneity, transport, migration, population settlement and new cities. Urban green space, biodiversity, digital technologies, economic productivity, social inclusion and affordable housing supply were also identified as issues that cut across national policy agendas. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-we-want-liveable-cities-in-2060-well-have-to-work-together-to-transform-urban-systems-119235">If we want liveable cities in 2060 we'll have to work together to transform urban systems</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Constitutional constraints mean states must play a leading role in national urban policy. Fortunately, these constraints don’t rule out inter-governmental partnerships. There are many, often poorly integrated policies, programs and initiatives across all levels of government. </p>
<p>There was consensus at the workshop on the need to transcend the political ideology and expediency that have led to fragmented urban policies. A different kind of national politics focused on sustainability, resilience and regeneration is required. </p>
<p>The “secret” to sustainability lies in an integrated national framework of policies and strategies for city-regions. All three tiers of government need to buy into it. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528973/original/file-20230530-34545-wmgf5g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graphic of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528973/original/file-20230530-34545-wmgf5g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528973/original/file-20230530-34545-wmgf5g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528973/original/file-20230530-34545-wmgf5g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528973/original/file-20230530-34545-wmgf5g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528973/original/file-20230530-34545-wmgf5g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528973/original/file-20230530-34545-wmgf5g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528973/original/file-20230530-34545-wmgf5g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coordinated urban policy action across Australia is needed to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/news/communications-material/">United Nations</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>National urban policy redux</h2>
<p>There is a “back to the future” quality in some of the Albanese moves. They re-invent Rudd-Gillard initiatives, and Turnbull’s City Deals remain. Action on affordable housing supply and urban inequalities has been less forceful to date. </p>
<p>Sitting alongside what seem like far-reaching environmental actions, including a new Net Zero Authority, the revival of urban policy at the national level is welcome. So too would be the discussion, consultation and research required to secure a resilient and sustainable future.</p>
<p>A national urban policy offers opportunities for cities, towns and regions.
It’s also essential if Australia is to meet its national and international obligations, notably the UN’s <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda">2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Australian Urban Policy: Prospects and Pathways is a report on the UNSW-RMIT workshop edited by the authors and with over 30 contributors. It will be published by ANU Press in late 2023.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204685/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Freestone receives funding from The Australian Research Council. He is affiliated to the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, the Australian Academy of Humanities, and the Planning Institute of Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bill Randolph receives funding from The Australian Research Council. He is affiliated to The Academy of the Social Sciences Australia, the Planning Institute of Australia, and the Australasian Housing Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Steele receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Australian Academy of Social Sciences. She is affiliated with the Australasian Cities Research Network (ACRN), Planning Institute of Australia and Future Earth Australia.</span></em></p>Our largest cities, home to 80% of the population, are central to achieving sustainability in a time of climate change. The federal government has begun to act on the need for coherent urban policies.Robert Freestone, Professor of Planning, School of Built Environment, UNSW SydneyBill Randolph, Professor, City Futures Research Centre, Faculty of the Built Environment, UNSW SydneyWendy Steele, Interim Director, Urban Futures Enabling Impact Platform, and Professor in Sustainability and Urban Policy, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2039322023-05-08T05:43:22Z2023-05-08T05:43:22ZBold and innovative planning is delivering Australia’s newest city. But it will be hot – and can we ditch the colonial name?<p>A massive project is unfolding in Sydney’s Western Parkland region. The building of a new city from the ground up is central to an infrastructure-led restructuring of metropolitan Sydney. The catalysts are the <a href="https://www.wpca.sydney/coordination/western-sydney-city-deal/">Western Sydney City Deal</a> and the <a href="https://infrastructurepipeline.org/project/western-sydney-airport">Western Sydney Airport</a> being built alongside the new Bradfield City. </p>
<p>Bradfield city is being developed on unceded Aboriginal land with complex ongoing settler-colonial legacies and high stakes for diverse First Nations communities – including the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/census-population-and-housing-counts-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-australians/latest-release">largest urban Indigenous population</a> in Australia. Yet it is named after a <a href="https://southwestvoice.com.au/bradfield-aerotropolis/">colonial figure with no connection to the land</a>.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/henry-halloran-trust/research-grants-and-programs/infrastructure-governance-incubator.html">case study research</a> acknowledges what is happening in the <a href="https://www.wpca.sydney/">Western Parkland development</a> as being at the forefront of urban and infrastructure governance across Australia. It’s particularly notable how all three tiers of government – federal, state and local – have come together in this massive project. </p>
<p>Yet we have also identified a range of concerns, including public consultation, project funding, urban heat and water demand, the need for affordable and public housing, and other social equity issues.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523570/original/file-20230501-18-l8bw6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523570/original/file-20230501-18-l8bw6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523570/original/file-20230501-18-l8bw6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523570/original/file-20230501-18-l8bw6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=362&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523570/original/file-20230501-18-l8bw6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523570/original/file-20230501-18-l8bw6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523570/original/file-20230501-18-l8bw6m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=455&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The new Western Parkland city and airport lie about 55km west of the Sydney CBD.</span>
</figcaption>
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<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/3-planning-strategies-for-western-sydney-jobs-but-do-they-add-up-139386">3 planning strategies for Western Sydney jobs, but do they add up?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>City’s name is not a good start</h2>
<p>The case study is part of a three-year (2020-2023) research project, the <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/henry-halloran-trust/research-grants-and-programs/infrastructure-governance-incubator.html">Infrastructure Governance Incubator</a>, across three universities – Sydney, Melbourne and Monash. Our study includes 55 interviews with key stakeholders from all tiers of government, as well as non-government and community voices. </p>
<p>Participants from across the board have seen the “Bradfield” naming as a shameful decision. It’s in stark contrast to the positive steps towards supporting Indigenous voices throughout the project. These steps include the <a href="https://www.planning.org.au/aboutpianew/nsw-citations/presidents-award">award-winning</a> Recognise Country guidelines, Indigenous-led design projects, <a href="https://www.wpca.sydney/get-involved/koori-perspectives-circle/">a Koori Perspectives Circle</a>, and new Indigenous roles within government authorities to support engagement efforts. </p>
<p>In Australian cities, it is critical we explore the role of infrastructure in perpetuating settler-coloniality and in making space for Indigenous-led futures. The complex challenges of a case like this can inform important discussions about how we might improve infrastructure planning to produce just and sustainable approaches.</p>
<p>Our research participants saw a need for governments to give meaningful attention to building relationships and developing cross-cultural understandings. This involves early conversations with Aboriginal groups and adequate resourcing for engagement. Too often, these groups are brought on late in processes after key decisions are already made. </p>
<p>Interviewees stressed the importance of governments “learning to listen”. This requires having the openness to hear what is being said even if inconvenient. Many participants wanted to see Indigenous voices empowered in decision-making, not simply advisory.</p>
<p>“Listening” also means “listening to Country”. Part of demonstrating commitment to relationship building involves sustainably protecting Country. Early and ongoing public scrutiny is essential to ensure the project’s short-term approaches align with long-term perspectives on sustainable outcomes. It may also mean taking steps more slowly and carefully to get it right.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/indigenous-peoples-across-the-globe-are-uniquely-equipped-to-deal-with-the-climate-crisis-so-why-are-we-being-left-out-of-these-conversations-171724">Indigenous peoples across the globe are uniquely equipped to deal with the climate crisis – so why are we being left out of these conversations?</a>
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<p>The state government could take some key actions. These include committing resources to advancing the <a href="https://theconversation.com/in-nsw-there-have-been-significant-wins-for-first-nations-land-rights-but-unprocessed-claims-still-outnumber-the-successes-186121">many Indigenous land claims</a> and applying exemptions to development barriers such as biodiversity offset obligations. These currently treat First Nation stakeholders like a developer, ignoring their long and ongoing care for Country.</p>
<p>Many participants also raised <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/urban-heat-island-effect-western-sydney/">serious environmental concerns</a>, including water management and <a href="https://wsroc.com.au/projects/project-turn-down-the-heat">extreme heat</a> in the new city. Heatwaves can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-western-sydney-is-feeling-the-heat-from-climate-change-more-than-the-rest-of-the-city-201477">5-10°C hotter</a> there than the rest of Sydney. </p>
<p>Some fundamentally questioned a massive greenfield development in such a vulnerable environment. Others saw this as a chance to make much-needed transformational changes to our planning systems. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1647826405013483522"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-western-sydney-is-feeling-the-heat-from-climate-change-more-than-the-rest-of-the-city-201477">Why Western Sydney is feeling the heat from climate change more than the rest of the city</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Focus on jobs overshadows other issues</h2>
<p>The political focus is on creating jobs in Western Sydney. Participants generally agreed it’s important to <a href="https://theconversation.com/jobs-deficit-drives-army-of-daily-commuters-out-of-western-sydney-139384">rebalance the metropolitan job market</a> and economy.</p>
<p>However, many were concerned this focus has come at the expense of attention to other aspects of inequity, including access to affordable and public housing, public health and social services.</p>
<p>In terms of metropolitan planning, the centralised way the new strategy was adopted is a problem. The concept came from the then Greater Sydney Commission and was supported by the <a href="https://www.wpca.sydney/about/the-western-parkland-city/">region’s councils</a>. </p>
<p>The communities of the wider Sydney region, however, were not given strategic alternatives to consider. In particular, the concept was not put to traditional Indigenous custodians before being adopted. </p>
<p>One of the alternatives might have acknowledged the outer west as the hottest part of Sydney. It could instead have considered development in cooler parts such as Dural or the Central Coast. These sites might have been better placed to manage global warming challenges. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WSisVB00ZzA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A Western Sydney Parkland Authority video outlines the plans for Australia’s newest city.</span></figcaption>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/half-of-western-sydney-foodbowl-land-may-have-been-lost-to-development-in-just-10-years-190148">Half of Western Sydney foodbowl land may have been lost to development in just 10 years</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>Governance is still a work in progress</h2>
<p>Our participants agreed the complexity of urban challenges requires a concerted effort to better integrate infrastructure decision-making. Part of the challenge is to overcome legacies of fragmented urban governance. It’s a result of divisions of responsibilities between tiers of government and siloed decision-making across and within these tiers.</p>
<p>The Western Sydney City Deal is generally seen as a major step towards better integration of all levels of government. Nevertheless, participants note important shortfalls. </p>
<p>City Deal funding committed to date is likely too little, given the major place-making ambitions. While it’s useful for short-term projects, local governments need solutions for their major long-term funding issues, especially in the face of new growth pressures. Lack of funding fuels existing cultures of competition between authorities.</p>
<p>The Western Sydney City Deal has had some welcome successes in improving collaboration between the three levels of government. Local governments have secured “<a href="https://theparks.nsw.gov.au/">seats at the table</a>”, where they have been able to renegotiate the terms of collaboration and governance.</p>
<p>However, important questions remain about how governments collaborate with community infrastructure sectors, non-government organisations and community advocates. Many have raised concerns about lack of meaningful inclusion or being engaged too late for meaningful impact.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-western-sydney-residents-grapple-with-climate-change-they-want-political-action-200917">As Western Sydney residents grapple with climate change, they want political action</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>An example of these issues is the three-year review required under the Western Sydney City Deal signed in 2018. An independent university group completed the review in 2021. It has never been released to the public. </p>
<p>Interviewees told us the review was productive and made useful governance recommendations. However, some suggested it was not released due to state government discomfort with the findings. </p>
<p>We strongly urge the newly elected state government to make the review public and commit to a timely release of all similar documents in future. This will help build trust with the community.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203932/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tooran Alizadeh receives funding from Henry Halloran Research Trust and Australian Research Council. The Infrastructure Governance Incubator is funded by the trust and partnered by the Planning Institute of Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Glen Searle receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Clements receives funding from the Henry Halloran Research Trust. </span></em></p>The new city bears a colonial name and there are questions about locating it in the hottest part of Sydney, but we are also seeing all 3 tiers of government work together in an innovative way.Tooran Alizadeh, Associate Professor in Urbanism and Infrastructure, ARC Future Fellow, University of SydneyGlen Searle, Honorary Associate Professor in Planning, University of Queensland, University of SydneyRebecca Clements, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2033432023-04-26T16:36:10Z2023-04-26T16:36:10ZReturn of the child-friendly city? How social movements are changing European urban areas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522117/original/file-20230420-18-tgm751.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C1789%2C1197&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An image of KidicalMass in Barcelona, in May 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://kidsonbike.org/media-downloads/">Calvox Periche/Kidical Mass</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Urban development and social norms concerning childhood have led European cities to a situation where streets are no longer places for children and young people. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/d140581">Gill Valentine</a> has explained that this shift has been fuelled by our division of children into two categories – ‘angels’ and ‘demons’. </p>
<p>She described how on one hand children are considered too small, vulnerable and innocent to roam and play in urban spaces because of traffic, ‘stranger-danger’ and other hazards. On the other hand, teenagers are constructed as a public threat and should not be allowed to hang out on the streets with their bikes, skateboards and presumably bad intentions.</p>
<p>Subsequent studies have continued to explain how these kinds of representations have caused children’s exclusion and ‘othering’ from public spaces in the complex web of urban governance, public life and parenting. Children’s autonomous movement and play in cities has <a href="https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/98xyq/children-s-independent-mobility-an-international-comparison-and-recommendations-for-action">steadily declined in recent decades</a>. In turn, children and young people are increasingly <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00045608.2013.846167">sequestered in homes, cars or institutional spaces for adult-controlled education and play</a>.</p>
<p>Many experts and interest groups have voiced their concerns about this and explained why closing the streets to children is bad policy. Children’s physical activity levels are <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/5ee82799-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/5ee82799-en">alarmingly low</a> and limiting their sense of safety and autonomy also hampers their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14733285.2013.812277">mental and social wellbeing</a>. These trends are endangering the health of an entire generation and compromising their ability to uphold societies and economies with <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/edn-20210930-1">grim dependency ratios</a>. </p>
<p>At the same time, as often noted by childhood scholars, children should not be reduced to mere ‘future investments’ or ‘adults of tomorrow’. They are also people with <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/compass/convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child">present-day rights</a> to citizenship, participation and autonomy in their living environments. </p>
<h2>Old and new movements for the child-friendly city</h2>
<p>However, there are many examples of how people have resisted children’s exclusion from the streets in modern history. One of the most notable ones was the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bicycle-capital-world-transport-cycling-kindermoord">Stop de Kindermoord</a> (‘Stop child murder’) movement in the Netherlands in early 1970s. This aimed to curb child traffic fatalities, which, at the time, had peaked to the highest in Europe. </p>
<p>The movement organised demonstrations, pressured decision makers to pass legal and planning measures and created safe spaces through direct action and tactical urbanism. With success. Child safety rose up the agenda, and the campaigners continued to play an important role in traffic policies for over a decade. However, over time they were marginalised and <a href="https://scribepublications.co.uk/books-authors/books/movement-9781911344971">traffic danger was largely re-established</a> as a ‘natural’ part of urban childhood.</p>
<p>Half a century after the Stop de Kindermoord movement, we are witnessing another wave of civic activity sweeping across the globe but especially in Europe. Old and new strategies are deployed, but the message is similar: the campaigners want systemic change, not awareness campaigns on road safety. </p>
<p>Promoting safety vests, helmets and children’s traffic awareness are not strategies to curb traffic violence but to maintain it, as they offload the responsibility on individual children and parents. Instead the activists mobilise entire communities and use local demonstrations and experiments to provide people with concrete experiences of how cities could be different. </p>
<h2>Taking action nowadays</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522108/original/file-20230420-28-xk6cti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522108/original/file-20230420-28-xk6cti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522108/original/file-20230420-28-xk6cti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522108/original/file-20230420-28-xk6cti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522108/original/file-20230420-28-xk6cti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522108/original/file-20230420-28-xk6cti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522108/original/file-20230420-28-xk6cti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522108/original/file-20230420-28-xk6cti.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Photograph of Kidical Mass.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://kidsonbike.org/media-downloads/">Hannah Walther/Kidical Mass</a></span>
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<p><a href="https://kidsonbike.org/">Kidical Mass</a> is a rapidly growing urban protest of parents, educators and children that organises colourful bicycle demonstrations in small and large cities. In 2022 it gathered over 90,000 children, young people and families over two campaign weekends in over 400 locations across Europe. </p>
<p>The organisers attest that Kidical Mass is a one-day-experiment that allows people to see city spaces in a different light and turn these experiences into political demand. </p>
<p>The movement’s political effect recently became very concrete in Germany, where <a href="https://kidsonbike.org/kidical-mass-successfully-affects-change/">the Transport Minister’s Conference</a> supported a reform of the national road traffic law based on a petition handed in by Kidical Mass activists in 2022.</p>
<p><a href="https://bicibus.cat/index">BiciBús</a> (Bike Bus) is another growing movement. The goal is simple: to provide children with a guided group to cycle to school with a predefined route at a certain time. They usually run once a week, aiming to develop the habit of cycling for families and entire communities. Pedalling in groups is not only a way to safely arrive at school, but also fun, and a way to demonstrate for child-friendly cities. </p>
<p>The idea is not new, but in the last couple of years the number of children’s pedalling buses has grown rapidly, especially in Europe, thanks to social media.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520274/original/file-20230411-16-ew2a8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of kids and adults cycling through the city." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520274/original/file-20230411-16-ew2a8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520274/original/file-20230411-16-ew2a8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520274/original/file-20230411-16-ew2a8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520274/original/file-20230411-16-ew2a8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520274/original/file-20230411-16-ew2a8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520274/original/file-20230411-16-ew2a8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520274/original/file-20230411-16-ew2a8w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">BiciBús in Barcelona.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://citylabbcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/WhatsApp-Image-2023-03-10-at-8.58.13-AM.jpeg">Calvox Periche/CityLab Barcelona</a></span>
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<p>School streets and play streets are also an important implication the new civic activity. Local advocacy groups (see for example <a href="https://playingout.net/play-streets/start-on-your-street/">Playing Out</a> in the UK) are mobilising schools and local communities to create these open, inclusive, and safe urban spaces. Often the idea is to open certain stretches to children by limiting car traffic. In some places collaboration with decision makers and planners has led to concrete changes. </p>
<p>The campaigners attest that in the long term school streets and play streets should be connected to one another to create comprehensive, safe and inclusive mobility networks. </p>
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<h2>Ways forward?</h2>
<p>In many respects the current civic movements for child-friendly cities are continuing the work of their predecessors. By claiming urban spaces, introducing citizen-led experiments and mobilising vast amounts of people, they create opportunities to see and think of alternative futures. What they want and what is only starting to emerge is the direct impact on more institutional processes, initiatives and frameworks. </p>
<p>Still, in a relatively short time they have left a mark. While physical infrastructures might take time to change, the way communities use them can change much faster. Mounting concerns on children’s wellbeing coupled with the need for an urgent sustainability transition of urban transport provide the movements with novel leverage. </p>
<p>Whether we will witness a major paradigm shift or not, it seems like in some respects the activists have already won. On their local pedalling buses, demonstrations and pop-up streets they are not only demanding a better tomorrow, but are already living it. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520271/original/file-20230411-26-3xge46.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of Europe in which cities with actions by Kidical Mass are marked." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520271/original/file-20230411-26-3xge46.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520271/original/file-20230411-26-3xge46.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520271/original/file-20230411-26-3xge46.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520271/original/file-20230411-26-3xge46.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520271/original/file-20230411-26-3xge46.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520271/original/file-20230411-26-3xge46.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520271/original/file-20230411-26-3xge46.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Kidical Mass is organising the next large scale Action Weekend in May 5-7, where European cities can expect an even larger number of demonstrations, BiciBúses and street experiments than before. The interactive map outlining these actions can be accessed at kidsonbike.org.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/KinderaufsRad/status/1645849196778475531">Kidical Mass/Twitter</a></span>
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</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203343/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonne Silonsaari receives funding from Strategic Research Council at Academy of Finland.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gemma Simón i Mas es miembro de ConBici. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jordi Honey-Rosés y Marco te Brömmelstroet no reciben salarios, ni ejercen labores de consultoría, ni poseen acciones, ni reciben financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y han declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del puesto académico citado.</span></em></p>Urban development and social norms concerning childhood have led European cities to a situation where public spaces are no more spaces for children and young people.Jonne Silonsaari, Doctoral Researcher in Urban Planning, University of AmsterdamGemma Simón i Mas, Estudiante de doctorado, Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaJordi Honey-Rosés, Urban planning, Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaMarco te Brömmelstroet, Professor in Urban Mobility Futures, University of AmsterdamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2039212023-04-26T04:09:33Z2023-04-26T04:09:33ZWanted: family-friendly apartments. But what do families want from apartments?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522514/original/file-20230424-18-hqb686.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C409%2C8054%2C5389&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The family-friendly apartment is an idea whose time has come. In the Liverpool CBD in Sydney, for example, half the apartments are occupied by families with children, our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07293682.2023.2197604">newly published study</a> found. This is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2019.1709625">twice the average for metropolitan Sydney</a>. </p>
<p>The high proportion of families living in apartments in town centres like Liverpool is often overlooked when situated within suburbs dominated by detached, lower-density dwellings. </p>
<p>The proportion of families living in apartments challenges many <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2019.1709625">assumptions about high-rise living</a>. Apartments are often seen as “stepping stones” for singles and couples on their way to detached houses, or a convenient lifestyle option for downsizers and empty-nesters.</p>
<p>The families in our study prioritise large, centrally located apartments over detached car-dependent dwellings. However, we found there’s a lack of larger apartments designed to meet families’ needs.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/quality-of-life-in-high-density-apartments-varies-here-are-6-ways-to-improve-it-139220">Quality of life in high-density apartments varies. Here are 6 ways to improve it</a>
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<h2>Families see benefits in apartment living</h2>
<p>The families we interviewed reported many benefits to apartment living. They valued being close to work, schools and leisure facilities, with easy walking access to diverse shops and services. </p>
<p>These preferences reflect the marketed benefits of compact living. And our research shows a range of households, including families with children, recognise these benefits. This points to a more fundamental shift in housing demand. </p>
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<img alt="Families in a playground in front of high-rise apartments" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522523/original/file-20230424-26-7on2t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522523/original/file-20230424-26-7on2t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522523/original/file-20230424-26-7on2t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522523/original/file-20230424-26-7on2t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522523/original/file-20230424-26-7on2t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522523/original/file-20230424-26-7on2t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522523/original/file-20230424-26-7on2t0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Families value the easy access to services and amenities that living in CBD apartments offers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Among our study participants, the birth of a new child did not lead to a detached car-dependent home. Instead, it triggered a search for a larger apartment in the town centre. </p>
<p>These trends are only partly about choice. Participants acknowledged that a detached home would be more spacious but it would also mean they faced the added costs of buying and running a second car. </p>
<p>On balance, participants felt the CBD was the “best place” to live. Their priority was finding suitable high-rise homes within walking distance of schools, shops, public transport and community services – including libraries, health centres and parks. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-need-nature-i-need-space-high-rise-families-rely-on-child-friendly-neighbourhoods-128618">'I need nature, I need space': high-rise families rely on child-friendly neighbourhoods</a>
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<h2>Supply fails to meet family needs</h2>
<p>However, when we compared Liverpool CBD families’ preferences with housing supply, we found an overproduction of one- and two-bedroom apartments. These account for most of the increase in apartment numbers over the past decade, as the table below shows.</p>
<iframe title="Size of occupied apartments in Liverpool CBD" aria-label="Table" id="datawrapper-chart-JYDrw" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/JYDrw/3/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border: none;" width="100%" height="420" data-external="1"></iframe>
<p>Despite half of all apartment occupiers having children, the proportion of family-sized apartments hasn’t increased. In recent years, it actually fell. </p>
<p>Just over 15% of the high-rise housing stock in the CBD comprised three bedrooms or more at the 2011 and 2016 censuses. By 2021, it had fallen below 14%.</p>
<p>Without planning controls, the supply of large, family-friendly apartments is unlikely to increase. Developers, juggling their own material and credit costs, will always seek to maximise the number of dwellings they can build on their lots. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/development/liverpools-planning-controls/liverpool-development-control-plan">Development Control Plan for Liverpool CBD</a> requires 10% of the stock to be three-bedroom apartments. This is on par with the rest of Sydney. An exception is the <a href="https://www.thehills.nsw.gov.au/News-and-Publications/More-family-friendly-apartments-now-in-the-mix-for-The-Hills">Hills Shire Council</a>, which has experimented with 20% in development corridors. Increased supply without design and quality controls can nonetheless exacerbate the tensions of raising a family in an apartment. </p>
<h2>Good design matters, as does building quality</h2>
<p>Real estate advertising for apartments emphasises skyline views, open-plan layouts and private balconies. But it is less glamorous aspects – insulation, space and storage – that can be crucial for families to live well in a high-rise home. </p>
<p>Good family-friendly design includes space for children to sleep, play and study, and adequate storage for prams and the belongings of larger households. <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-apartment-living-on-the-rise-how-do-families-and-their-noisy-children-fit-in-88244">Adequate soundproofing</a> is also needed to reduce tensions over children’s noise. </p>
<p>All these features are critical for higher-density dwellings to cater properly for this growing demographic.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/with-apartment-living-on-the-rise-how-do-families-and-their-noisy-children-fit-in-88244">With apartment living on the rise, how do families and their noisy children fit in?</a>
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<p>Construction quality is also important. A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14036096.2022.2099460">recent analysis</a> of federal and New South Wales parliamentary inquiries reveals the impacts of public policies of deregulation, self-certification and performance-based construction. The effect has been to shield cost-cutting by developers and construction companies while transferring risks to consumers. </p>
<p>While state governments experiment with <a href="https://thefifthestate.com.au/columns/spinifex/david-chandler-on-restoring-confidence-in-nsw-apartment-buildings/">new modes of regulation</a>, consumers <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02673037.2021.1887458">bear the life-time impacts</a>, both financial and emotional, of cut-price construction. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/water-leaks-cracks-and-flawed-fire-safety-systems-sydneys-apartments-are-riddled-with-building-defects-169526">Water leaks, cracks and flawed fire safety systems: Sydney's apartments are riddled with building defects</a>
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<h2>High-rise homes: more than an investment</h2>
<p>Societies in which a shift to higher-density living is part of family life must strike a reasonable balance between quality, affordability and apartment size. Yet these goals seem to be at odds with the reconfiguration of housing in Australia as an investment vehicle. </p>
<p>The protection of owned homes from capital gains tax and lavish subsidies for property investors have led to gains in the value of housing assets <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0308518X19873673">exceeding income earned from work</a>. This sets the scene for finance and construction industries to capitalise on investor-driven demand rather than diverse families’ needs.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/remaking-our-suburbs-1960s-apartment-blocks-a-subtle-and-greener-way-to-increase-housing-density-190908">Remaking our suburbs' 1960s apartment blocks: a subtle and greener way to increase housing density</a>
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<h2>Reforms on three fronts are needed</h2>
<p>Meeting demand for high-rise housing in town centres requires a triple-barrelled approach. Construction quality, planning control and reconfigured financial incentives are all needed to encourage family-friendly products. </p>
<p>There is little doubt high-rise needs a more central place at the national urban policy table. And, at a more local level, there are steps councils can take. These include introducing minimum requirements for three-bedroom apartments in development control plans and negotiating density bonuses for developers that deliver such apartments.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203921/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Cook receives funding from the Global Challenges Program- University of Wollongong.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shanaka Herath has received funding from the Global Challenges Program - University of Wollongong, Landcom NSW, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), NSW Department of Family and Community Services and City of Sydney Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophie-May Kerr does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In parts of Sydney, families occupy half the apartments and many value their convenient location. Yet, despite a surge in development, most apartments are one or two bedrooms and not family-friendly.Nicole Cook, Lecturer, School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, University of WollongongShanaka Herath, Senior Lecturer, School of Built Environment, University of Technology SydneySophie-May Kerr, Research Associate, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2027082023-04-14T12:18:23Z2023-04-14T12:18:23ZLow-cost, high-quality public transportation will serve the public better than free rides<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520876/original/file-20230413-14-9lul24.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C2485%2C1665&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Chicago's Washington-Wabash station opened in 2017 – the first new stop on the city's elevated rail system in 20 years.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/train-arrives-at-the-washington-wabash-station-in-chicago-news-photo/1159260224">Youngrae Kim/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Public transit systems face daunting challenges across the U.S., from pandemic ridership losses to traffic congestion, fare evasion and pressure to keep rides affordable. In some cities, including <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/15/inflation-free-public-transportation-00039644">Boston</a>, <a href="https://www.governing.com/community/what-can-cities-learn-from-kansas-citys-fare-free-transit-program">Kansas City</a> and <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/free-public-transportation-accelerates-in-some-us-cities/6966994.html">Washington</a>, many elected officials and advocates see fare-free public transit as the solution. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.transit.dot.gov/cares-act">Federal COVID-19 relief funds</a>, which have subsidized transit operations across the nation at an unprecedented level since 2020, offered a natural experiment in free-fare transit. Advocates applauded these changes and are now pushing to make <a href="https://dcist.com/story/23/03/01/fare-free-buses-in-jeopardy-as-d-c-revenue-projections-drop/">fare-free bus lines</a> <a href="https://qns.com/2023/03/queens-legislators-urge-governor-to-include-mta-fare-freeze-free-bus-funding-in-final-state-budget/">permanent</a>.</p>
<p>But although these experiments aided low-income families and <a href="https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2023/03/06/ridership-on-fare-free-mbta-buses-more-than-doubled-in-programs-first-year">modestly boosted ridership</a>, they also created new political and economic challenges for beleaguered transit agencies. With ridership still <a href="https://transitapp.com/APTA">dramatically below pre-pandemic levels</a> and temporary federal support expiring, transportation agencies face <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23653855/covid-transit-fares-buses-subways-crisis">an economic and managerial “doom spiral</a>.” </p>
<p>Free public transit that doesn’t bankrupt agencies would require a revolution in transit funding. In most regions, U.S. voters – <a href="https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/databook/travel-mode-shares-in-the-u-s/">85% of whom commute by automobile</a> – have resisted deep subsidies and expect fare collection to cover a portion of operating budgets. Studies also show that transit riders are likely to prefer <a href="https://doi.org/10.17610/T6WC8Z">better, low-cost service to free rides</a> on the substandard options that exist in much of the U.S. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A bright blue light rail train collect passengers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520884/original/file-20230413-22-u4m1ow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The KC Streetcar is a free two-mile route running along Main Street in downtown Kansas City, Mo. The city also offers free bus rides, but infrequent service is a concern.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kansas-city-missouri-the-kc-streetcar-is-a-free-two-mile-news-photo/1459409750">Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why isn’t transit free?</h2>
<p>As I recount in my new book, “<a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo191431990.html">The Great American Transit Disaster</a>,” mass transit in the U.S. was an unsubsidized, privately operated service for decades prior to the 1960s and 1970s. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, prosperous city dwellers used public transit to escape from overcrowded urban neighborhoods to more spacious “<a href="https://www.governing.com/context/the-fascinating-rise-and-fall-of-streetcar-suburbs">streetcar suburbs</a>.” Commuting symbolized success for families with the income to pay the daily fare. </p>
<p>These systems were self-financing: Transit company investors made their money in suburban real estate when rail lines opened up. They charged low fares to entice riders looking to buy land and homes. The most famous example was the Pacific Electric “red car” transit system in Los Angeles that <a href="https://ohiostatepress.org/books/BookPages/FriedricksHenry.htm">Henry Huntingdon</a> built to transform his vast landholdings into profitable subdivisions.</p>
<p>However, once streetcar suburbs were built out, these companies had no further incentive to provide excellent transit. Unhappy voters felt suckered into crummy commutes. In response, city officials retaliated against the powerful transit interests by taxing them heavily and charging them for street repairs. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the introduction of <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fords-assembly-line-starts-rolling">mass-produced personal cars</a> created new competition for public transit. As autos gained popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, frustrated commuters swapped out riding for driving, and private transit companies like Pacific Electric began failing. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AwKv3_WwD4o?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">In the early 20th century, Los Angeles had a world-class public transit system – here’s how it went off the rails.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Grudging public takeovers</h2>
<p>In most cities, politicians refused to prop up the often-hated private transit companies that now were begging for tax concessions, fare increases or public buyouts. In 1959, for instance, politicians still forced Baltimore’s fading private transit company, the BTC, to <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo191431990.html">divert US$2.6 million in revenues annually</a> to taxes. The companies retaliated by slashing maintenance, routes and service.</p>
<p>Local and state governments finally stepped in to save the ruins of the hardest-strapped companies in the 1960s and 1970s. Public buyouts took place only after decades of devastating losses, including most streetcar networks, in cities such as Baltimore (1970), Atlanta (1971) and Houston (1974). </p>
<p>These poorly subsidized public systems continued to lose riders. Transit’s <a href="https://www.thetransportpolitic.com/databook/travel-mode-shares-in-the-u-s/">share of daily commuters</a> fell from 8.5% in 1970 to 4.9% in 2018. And while low-income people <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/07/who-relies-on-public-transit-in-the-u-s/">disproportionately ride transit</a>, a 2008 study showed that roughly 80% of the working poor <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/commuting-to-opportunity-the-working-poor-and-commuting-in-the-united-states/">commuted by vehicle instead</a>, despite the high cost of car ownership.</p>
<p>There were exceptions. Notably, San Francisco and Boston began subsidizing transit in 1904 and 1918, respectively, by sharing tax revenues with newly created public operators. Even in the face of significant ridership losses from 1945 to 1970, these cities’ transit systems kept fares low, maintained legacy rail and bus lines and modestly renovated their systems.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Tax policies and subsidies have promoted highway development across the U.S. for the past century, creating car-centric cities and steering funding away from public transit.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Converging pressures</h2>
<p>Today, public transit is under enormous pressure nationwide. Inflation and driver shortages are driving up operating costs. Managers are <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-24/overdose-deaths-on-metro-trains">spending more money on public safety</a> in response to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/25/us/public-transit-crime.html">rising transit crime rates</a> and unhoused people <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/03/23/the-future-of-fare-free-buses-in-raleigh">using buses and trains for shelter</a>. </p>
<p>Many systems are also contending with decrepit infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers gives U.S. public transit systems a grade of D-minus and estimates their national backlog of <a href="https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/transit-infrastructure/">unmet capital needs at $176 billion</a>. Deferred repairs and upgrades reduce service quality, leading to events like a 30-day <a href="https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/boston-braces-for-transit-emergency-as-orange-line-shutdown-looms-ahead/2809005/">emergency shutdown of an entire subway line</a> in Boston in 2022.</p>
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<p>Despite flashing warning signs, political support for public transit <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-is-the-u-s-unwilling-to-pay-for-good-public-transportation-56788">remains weak</a>, especially <a href="https://www.governing.com/now/driving-on-the-right-americas-polarized-transportation-policy">among conservatives</a>. So it’s not clear that relying on government to make up for free fares is sustainable or a priority. </p>
<p>For example, in Washington, <a href="https://dcist.com/story/23/03/01/fare-free-buses-in-jeopardy-as-d-c-revenue-projections-drop/">conflict is brewing</a> within the city government over how to fund a free bus initiative. Kansas City, the largest U.S. system to adopt fare-free transit, faces a new challenge: finding funding to expand its small network, which <a href="https://www.governing.com/community/what-can-cities-learn-from-kansas-citys-fare-free-transit-program">just 3% of its residents use</a>. </p>
<h2>A better model</h2>
<p>Other cities are using more targeted strategies to make public transit accessible to everyone. For example, “Fair fare” programs in San Francisco, <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/fairfares/index.page">New York</a> and Boston offer discounts based on income, while still collecting full fares from those who can afford to pay. Income-based discounts like these reduce the political liability of giving free rides to everyone, including affluent transit users. </p>
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<p>Some providers have initiated or <a href="https://transitforwardri.com/pdf/Strategy%20Paper%2025.%20Fare%20Integration%20190725%20FINAL.pdf">are</a> <a href="https://www.seamlessbayarea.org/integrated-fare-vision">considering</a> <a href="https://www.transitchicago.com/new-agreement-will-streamline-and-enhance-cta-and-pace-unlimited-ride-passes-in-2023/">fare integration</a> policies. In this approach, transfers between different types of transit and systems are free; riders pay one time. For example, in Chicago, rapid transit or bus riders can transfer at no charge to a suburban bus to finish their trips, and vice versa. </p>
<p>Fare integration is less costly than fare-free systems, and lower-income riders stand to benefit. Enabling riders to pay for all types of trips with a single <a href="https://www.securetechalliance.org/smart-cards-applications-transportation/">smart card</a> further streamlines their journeys. </p>
<p>As ridership grows under Fair Fares and fare integration, I expect that additional revenue will help build better service, attracting more riders. Increasing ridership while supporting agency budgets will help make the political case for deeper public investments in service and equipment. A virtuous circle could develop.</p>
<p>History shows what works best to rebuild public transit networks, and free transit isn’t high on the list. Cities like Boston, San Francisco and New York have more transit because voters and politicians have supplemented fare collection with a combination of property taxes, bridge tolls, sales taxes and more. Taking fares out of the formula spreads the red ink even faster.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202708/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Dagen Bloom does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Everyone likes getting something for nothing, but history shows why the math behind free public transit doesn’t add up.Nicholas Dagen Bloom, Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, Hunter CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2014772023-03-26T23:17:48Z2023-03-26T23:17:48ZWhy Western Sydney is feeling the heat from climate change more than the rest of the city<p>Global warming has led to higher summer temperatures across Sydney over the past 30 years. However, our data analysis shows very hot summer days are becoming much more common in Western Sydney than in coastal Sydney. These hotter summers are also getting longer.</p>
<p>Although January and February are usually the warmest months, Greater Sydney summers now extend from December to March. For example, the city’s <a href="https://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/sydney-breaks-165yo-milestone-after-hottest-four-consecutive-days-in-march-on-record/news-story/d8a422664e86ec5bb78696d013fe756d">record-setting March</a> has been the hottest month this summer. <a href="https://australianinstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/P834-Out-of-Season-WEB.pdf">Summers are expanding and winters shrinking</a> across subtropical and temperate Australia.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/11/4/76">newly published analysis</a> of temperature data from 1962-2021 shows one in ten days in summer reached temperatures of 35.4°C or more in Western Sydney. That’s a full 5°C hotter than near the coast, where one in ten days exceeded 30.4°C. One in 20 days reached 37.8°C or more in the west – the equivalent figure near the coast was 33.6°C.</p>
<p>Furthermore, very hot days have become more common over the past 30 years in Western Sydney, but not near the coast. The difference in maximum temperatures between the regions can be as much as 10°C. </p>
<p>So what explains the startling difference between two parts of the same city?
In our research, we show the influence of four climate drivers: El Niño-La Niña, Southern Annular Mode, global temperatures and local Tasman Sea temperatures.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1494049823179546624"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/western-sydney-will-swelter-through-46-days-per-year-over-35-c-by-2090-unless-emissions-drop-significantly-177056">Western Sydney will swelter through 46 days per year over 35°C by 2090, unless emissions drop significantly</a>
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<h2>Extreme heat is getting worse in the west</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/11/4/76">our study</a>, we calculated the threshold values for the top 10% and top 5% of summer maximum temperatures (the 90th and 95th percentiles) recorded for coastal Sydney (at Observatory Hill) and Western Sydney (at Richmond, about 50km to the north-west) over the 60 years from 1962-2021. </p>
<p>Comparing the first 30-year period, 1962-1991, to the second 30-year period, 1992-2021, revealed a stark difference in maximum temperature trends in Sydney’s west and nearer the coast.</p>
<p>In Richmond, the number of days with temperatures above 35.4°C and 37.8°C increased by 120 days and 64 days, respectively. In contrast, Observatory Hill recorded decreases of 4 and 52 days in days above the 90th and 95th percentiles (over 30.4°C and 33.6°C). </p>
<h2>What explains these differences?</h2>
<p>Poorly planned development in the west and its distance from coastal sea breezes explains part of the disparity between inland and coastal Sydney. But we also found the increase in extreme heat in Western Sydney is due to Australian climate drivers being amplified by increased global and Tasman Sea temperatures. </p>
<p>Using machine-learning techniques, we were able to attribute temperature differences to the influences of these climate drivers and their interactions with each other. The results show common, highly influential climate drivers for both regions: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ahead/about-ENSO-outlooks.shtml">Niño3.4</a>, (an indicator of sea-surface temperatures in the tropical central Pacific Ocean, which drive El Niño and La Niña events)</p></li>
<li><p>the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/history/ln-2010-12/IOD-what.shtml">Indian Ocean Dipole</a> (the difference in ocean temperatures between the eastern and western sides of the Indian Ocean)</p></li>
<li><p>the combination of the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/sam/">Southern Annular Mode</a> (the movement of winds and weather systems to Australia’s south) with the <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/history/ln-2010-12/SOI-what.shtml">Southern Oscillation</a> (large-scale changes in sea-level air pressure between Tahiti and Darwin)</p></li>
<li><p>the combination of global temperature with the Southern Annular Mode. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Tasman Sea and global sea surface temperatures have had far more influence on coastal Sydney than on inland Western Sydney.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hYADNIiXVqI?wmode=transparent&start=30" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">An increase in extreme heat days is having wide-ranging impacts on Western Sydney.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite the importance of rising temperatures in Sydney and particularly in Western Sydney, there has been little focus on their links with large-scale climate drivers. Our findings underline the worsening situation in Western Sydney compared with coastal Sydney. </p>
<p>Studies that employ machine-learning techniques or comparative analyses are typically done in regions of smaller populations. Western Sydney is home to <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/rcegws/rcegws/About/about_greater_western_sydney">more than 2.5 million people</a>. </p>
<p>Its economic development and fast-growing population have led to higher concentrations of buildings and man-made surfaces, which absorb and retain more heat. Known as the <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Policy-and-Legislation/Resilience-and-natural-hazard-risk/Urban-heat">urban heat island effect</a>, it compounds the impacts of climate change. Development on this scale also presents complex challenges for policy planning and resource management.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Aerial view of new housing development" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517098/original/file-20230323-16-1k0hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517098/original/file-20230323-16-1k0hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517098/original/file-20230323-16-1k0hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517098/original/file-20230323-16-1k0hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517098/original/file-20230323-16-1k0hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517098/original/file-20230323-16-1k0hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517098/original/file-20230323-16-1k0hq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The growth of Western Sydney is driving an increase in built-up areas, like this housing estate, that absorb and retain more heat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image: Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/half-of-western-sydney-foodbowl-land-may-have-been-lost-to-development-in-just-10-years-190148">Half of Western Sydney foodbowl land may have been lost to development in just 10 years</a>
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<hr>
<h2>What does this mean for the people of Western Sydney?</h2>
<p>Identifying the climate drivers that most influence maximum temperatures is crucial for Sydney’s planning. It matters for infrastructure development, health and socioeconomic wellbeing in Western Sydney in particular. </p>
<p>Two-thirds of Sydney’s population growth by 2036 is projected to be in Western Sydney. By then an estimated <a href="https://westernsydney.org.au/blog/2022/4/22/j41ye3z8pwmrqgsk8gq8avw9ig8ynt">3.5 million residents</a> will be exposed to more extreme summer heat.</p>
<p>The escalating climate crisis is widening Sydney’s health and socioeconomic divide. Western Sydney has <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/rcegws/rcegws/About/about_greater_western_sydney">higher unemployment and a larger proportion of lower-income families</a> than the rest of the city. </p>
<p>It’s imperative to understand how Western Sydney differs from near-coastal Sydney, and to plan accordingly. Some local councils in the west, such as Blacktown, are already trialling <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/homes-aren-t-safe-western-sydney-preparesevacuation-shelters-for-hot-summers-20220505-p5aioj.html">heat refuges</a> to reduce the growing risks for residents.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-western-sydney-residents-grapple-with-climate-change-they-want-political-action-200917">As Western Sydney residents grapple with climate change, they want political action</a>
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<p>Longer and more intense summers are driving longer heatwaves and droughts. It’s leading to more bushfires of greater intensity, such as the <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/309191">2019-20 bushfires</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/182988-policymakers-on-notice-human-induced-climate-change/">economic burden</a> of dealing with these disastrous events is increasing. <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/hitting-home-report-V7-210122.pdf">According to the Climate Council</a>, the costs associated with extreme weather events in Australia have more than doubled since the 1970s. Australians are now five times more likely to be displaced by such events than people living in Europe.</p>
<p>The urban heat island effect already <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/urban-heat-island-effect-western-sydney/">permeates Western Sydney</a>. Recent extreme temperatures have been close to the limits of human endurance. The human body’s ability to cool itself <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/HeatWatch-2022-WEB.pdf">declines above 35°C</a>, especially in humid conditions.</p>
<p>The impacts of more frequent extreme heat, compounded by heat island effects, are greatest for vulnerable populations such as children in classrooms without air conditioning or low-income family households. Their situation is in stark contrast to the experience of residents of cooler coastal areas. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-hits-low-income-earners-harder-and-poor-housing-in-hotter-cities-is-a-disastrous-combination-180960">Climate change hits low-income earners harder – and poor housing in hotter cities is a disastrous combination</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201477/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Very hot days in Western Sydney are typically 5 degrees hotter than parts of the city close to the coast and are becoming more common, but only in the west. Four climate drivers explain the difference.Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology SydneyAnjali Gupta, Lecturer, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Researcher, Centre for Forensic Science, University of Technology SydneyJoanna Wang, Senior Lecturer, School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Technology SydneyJoshua Hartigan, PhD Candidate, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology SydneyLance M Leslie, Professor, School of Mathematical And Physical Sciences, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1990522023-03-02T13:25:16Z2023-03-02T13:25:16ZWhy the humble city bus is the key to improving US public transit<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512930/original/file-20230301-18-707tmn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C10%2C3629%2C2730&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indianapolis debuted a bus rapid transit system with 60-foot articulated electric buses in 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/IndyGo_Red_Line_BRT.jpg">Momoneymoproblemz/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Public transit in the U.S. is in a sorry state – <a href="https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/transit-infrastructure/">aging, underfunded and losing riders</a>, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Many proposed solutions focus on new technologies, like <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/21/why-the-first-autonomous-vehicles-winners-wont-be-in-your-driveway.html">self-driving cars</a> and <a href="https://www.thezebra.com/resources/driving/future-transportation/">flying taxis</a>. But as a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1I-ZPh8AAAAJ&hl=en">researcher in urban policy and planning</a>, I see more near-term promise in a mode that’s been around for a century: the city bus. </p>
<p>Today, buses in many parts of the U.S. are old and don’t run often enough or serve all the places where people need to go. But this doesn’t reflect the bus’s true capability. Instead, as I see it, it’s the result of cities, states and federal leaders failing to subsidize a quality public service. </p>
<p>As I show in <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/G/bo191431990.html#anchor-awards">my new book</a>, “The Great American Transit Disaster: A Century of Austerity, Auto-Centric Planning, and White Flight,” few U.S. politicians have focused on bus riders’ experiences over the past half-century. And many executives have lavished precious federal capital dollars on building new <a href="https://www.metrostlouis.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/OP220484-MetroLink-System-Map.pdf">light</a>, <a href="https://www.metrostlouis.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/OP220484-MetroLink-System-Map.pdf">rapid</a> and commuter rail lines, in hope of attracting suburban riders back to city centers and mass transit. </p>
<p>This was never a great strategy to begin with, and the pandemic-era flight of knowledge workers to home offices and hybrid schedules has left little to show for decades of rail-centric efforts. Meanwhile, countries in Europe and Latin America have out-innovated the U.S. in providing quality bus service. </p>
<p>But it doesn’t have to be this way. Many U.S. cities are coming around to the idea that buses are the future of public transit and are working to make that vision real. And the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted in 2021 is providing <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/president-biden-and-us-department-transportation-announce-409-million-70">billions of dollars</a> for new buses and related facilities.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ZDZtBRTyeI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The car-centered U.S. transportation system has impoverished public transit and left many people’s transit needs unmet.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Buses as disruptors</h2>
<p>A century ago, motorized buses were the technological wonder of their day. Rolling fast on tires over newly paved streets, buses upended urban rail transit by freeing riders from aging, crowded, screeching streetcars. In 1922, American buses carried 404 million passengers; by 1930, they were carrying 2.5 billion yearly. </p>
<p>At that time, transit lines were mostly privately owned. But this model was failing as riders became car drivers, new zoning laws prioritized car-friendly single-family housing and government regulators battled transit companies over fares and taxes. </p>
<p>Transit executives trying to eke out a profit saw buses as a way to reduce spending on track maintenance and labor costs for “two man” operated streetcars. City leaders and planners also embraced buses, which helped them justify removing streetcar tracks to make streets more navigable for cars. From the 1920s through the 1960s, nearly all U.S. streetcar lines were replaced with buses powered by either internal combustion engines or electric overhead wires. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512943/original/file-20230301-1565-c5g4xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two red double-decker buses pass each other along Whitehall in central London." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512943/original/file-20230301-1565-c5g4xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512943/original/file-20230301-1565-c5g4xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512943/original/file-20230301-1565-c5g4xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512943/original/file-20230301-1565-c5g4xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512943/original/file-20230301-1565-c5g4xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512943/original/file-20230301-1565-c5g4xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512943/original/file-20230301-1565-c5g4xm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">London’s signature red buses cover the entire city, with 24-hour service on many lines.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/red-double-decker-buses-pass-along-whitehall-on-11th-july-news-photo/1241871118">Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>This wasn’t just a U.S. trend. Toronto massively extended bus service across a vast metropolitan area between <a href="https://transittoronto.ca/archives/maps/guide1954f.gif">1954</a> and <a href="https://transittoronto.ca/archives/maps/ttc-system-map-19740330.png">1974</a>, using buses to feed suburban riders to a new subway system and a few remaining streetcar lines. By 1952, London’s managers had replaced streetcars with the city’s signature fleet of double-decker buses, which complemented its legendary Underground service. </p>
<p>Across Europe, cities relied on buses to support and complement their modernizing tram or subway networks. Political leaders provided deep subsidies to deliver better bus and rail service. </p>
<h2>The auto-centric US path</h2>
<p>In the U.S., however, federal investments in the same time frame focused on building a national highway system to serve private automobiles. Lacking tax subsidies, bus networks could not compete with cheap cars and government-funded highways. Aging buses and infrequent service became the default postwar reality – and those buses had to travel on local streets crowded with private cars. </p>
<p>Between 1945 and 1960, U.S. transit companies and agencies typically lost half or more of their riders as white Americans moved to urban fringes or suburbs and became car commuters. Bus service remained concentrated in older, central-city neighborhoods, serving a disproportionately nonwhite, low-income ridership. </p>
<p>Many public systems had to cut bus service year after year to balance their books. Only a few cities that were willing to provide significant operating subsidies, including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35ea36ZfMPE">San Francisco</a> and Boston, were able to maintain better bus networks and some trolleybuses. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Los Angeles once had a high-quality public transit system, centered on streetcars.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>New, better buses</h2>
<p>Today, there’s renewed interest in improving bus service in the U.S., inspired by innovations around the globe. The Brazilian <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJR9uCSyGKM">city of Curitiba</a>, which is well known for its innovations in urban planning, set a model in the 1970s when it adopted <a href="https://www.transit.dot.gov/research-innovation/bus-rapid-transit">bus rapid transit</a> – buses that run in dedicated lanes, with streamlined boarding systems and priority at traffic signals. </p>
<p>Curitiba helped popularize <a href="https://www.busworldlatinamerica.org/en/news/30-years-have-passed-appearance-bi-articulated-buses">bi-articulated buses</a>, which are extra-long with flexible connectors that let the buses bend around corners. These buses, which can carry large numbers of passengers, now are in wide use in Europe, Latin America and Asia. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512960/original/file-20230301-26-bbgohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A green bus with several segments connected by flexible panels." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512960/original/file-20230301-26-bbgohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512960/original/file-20230301-26-bbgohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512960/original/file-20230301-26-bbgohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512960/original/file-20230301-26-bbgohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512960/original/file-20230301-26-bbgohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512960/original/file-20230301-26-bbgohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512960/original/file-20230301-26-bbgohx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A bi-articulated bus in Metz, France.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bi-articulated_bus#/media/File:Van_Hool_ExquiCity_24_METTIS_n%C2%B01315_P+R_Woippy.jpg">Florian Fèvre/Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Cities across the globe, led by London, have also aggressively expanded contactless payment systems, which speed up the boarding process. Advanced bus systems and new technologies like these flourish in regions where politicians strongly support transit as a public service. </p>
<p>In my view, buses are the most likely option for substantially expanding public transit ridership in the U.S. Millions of Americans need affordable public mobility for work, study, recreation and shopping. Car ownership is a <a href="https://www.planetizen.com/blogs/111535-automobile-dependency-unequal-burden">financial burden </a> that can be as serious for low-income families as the shortage of affordable housing. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://newsroom.aaa.com/2022/08/annual-cost-of-new-car-ownership-crosses-10k-mark/">average yearly cost</a> for U.S. households to own and operate a new car reached US$10,728 in 2022. Nor are used cars the bargain they once were. <a href="https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/research/when-will-car-prices-drop">Used car prices are high</a>, financing is often subprime and older vehicles require expensive maintenance. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1630948021495119872"}"></div></p>
<p>Rapidly extending bus networks would be the speediest and most economical way to serve these families and grow transit ridership in the sprawling landscape of American metros. U.S. roads and highways are already maintained by the government, eliminating the need to build and maintain expensive rail lines. </p>
<p>There are promising domestic models even amid the pandemic ridership crisis. In the past two decades, Seattle’s <a href="https://mass.streetsblog.org/2019/11/25/five-lessons-from-seattles-successful-crusade-against-driving/">Sound Transit</a> has upgraded its bus network, aligning these improvements with increased residential density, low fares and a carefully considered light rail expansion. <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/S-F-s-Van-Ness-BRT-created-a-ridership-boom-17556984.php">San Francisco</a> and <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/html/routes/14th-street.shtml">New York</a> have developed exclusive bus lanes that move riders along popular routes at higher speeds. <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7031287651110379521/">Indianapolis</a> is expanding an effective bus rapid transit system. Many cities, including <a href="https://www.cpr.org/2022/07/26/rtd-new-bus-network/">Denver</a> and <a href="https://www.mbta.com/projects/better-bus-project">Boston</a>, are investing in “better bus” upgrades that emphasize frequent service, easy transfers and better geographic coverage.</p>
<p>Innovations like these will only succeed long term with sufficient subsidies to maintain innovative services at reliable levels. The history of bus transit is littered with pilot programs that were abandoned on cost grounds just as they were gaining popularity. As I see it, buses don’t need to be faster or more convenient than cars to attract and retain riders – but they need to be, and can be, much better transit options than they are today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Dagen Bloom does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>High-quality bus service is the fastest route to rapid, comprehensive public transit in the United States. This country was once a leader in bus transit, and with adequate funding, it could be again.Nicholas Dagen Bloom, Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, Hunter CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2004272023-03-01T19:15:03Z2023-03-01T19:15:03ZFirst Nations are using ‘creative disruption’ to foster economic growth in their communities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512515/original/file-20230227-2379-atkjkh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=194%2C389%2C6149%2C4057&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Squamish Nation councillor Khelsilem hold a ceremonial paddle after a groundbreaking ceremony at the First Nation's Sen̓áḵw housing development site in Vancouver in September 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>First Nations have been resisting the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019879137">historic and ongoing impacts of Canada’s extractive economy</a> on their communities by exercising <a href="https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100032275/1529354547314">their right to self-governance</a> and taking control of their economic futures.</p>
<p>Creative disruption stands in contrast to <a href="https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Schumpeter.html">creative <em>destruction</em></a>, a term coined by Austrian political economist Joseph Schumpeter. Schumpeter argued that capitalism causes old ideas and technology to quickly become obsolete through the process of innovation. In the pursuit of profit, capitalism ruthlessly and relentlessly eliminates old ideas and installs new ones.</p>
<p>Creative disruption, on the other hand, aims to make space for new ideas by forcing the old ways to adapt and adopt. First Nations communities are doing this in a number of ways.</p>
<p>As an academic with a background in urban land economics, I have studied how First Nations are using creative disruption to shape businesses, urban communities and the health-care system in Canada.</p>
<h2>Sen̓áḵw development project</h2>
<p>One of the ironies of modern Indigenous land law is how the reserve system defined by the Indian Act, originally <a href="https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_indian_act">designed to assimilate Indigenous nations and communities into mainstream Canadian culture</a>, has morphed into a strategic asset for First Nations.</p>
<p>As author Bob Joseph notes in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/books/21-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-indian-act-1.4635204"><em>21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act</em></a>, the Squamish Nation lost 14 acres (about 0.05 square kilometres) of their territory in Vancouver to a lumber company through expropriation in 1904.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in a suit speaks from behind a podium that says 'Building More Homes' on the front of it. In the background a group of people wearing fluorescent vests and hard hats stand in front of an excavator." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during an announcement and groundbreaking ceremony at the Squamish Nation’s Sen̓áḵw housing development site in Vancouver in September 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
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<p>After a century of litigation, the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/little-known-history-of-squamish-nation-land-in-vancouver-1.5104584">Squamish Nation recovered some of the lost land</a> and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9109033/squamish-nation-breaks-ground-housing-development/">is now in the process of building Sen̓áḵw</a>, a massive economic development project in Kits Point, Vancouver.</p>
<p>Sen̓áḵw is the largest Indigenous-led housing retail development in Canadian history and will add much-needed housing supply <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-reveals-intensified-housing-inequality-in-canada-from-1981-to-2016-173633">to a market that has become unaffordable</a> for most. The development plans to build <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-squamish-nations-planned-development-on-reserve-land-in-vancouver/">11 towers and 6,000 housing units</a>.</p>
<h2>Naawi-Oodena urban reserve</h2>
<p>A second example of creative disruption is the creation of the <a href="https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/naaawi-oodena-now-official-urban-reserve-in-winnipeg/">Naawi-Oodena urban reserve</a> in Winnipeg. It’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/naawi-oodena-repatriation-winnipeg-largest-urban-reserve-1.6691359">the largest urban reserve in Canada</a>, covering 64 hectares. </p>
<p>Naawi-Oodena was officially established after the land the reserve sits on — the former Kapyong Barracks — was recently repatriated to <a href="https://treaty1.ca/treaty-one-nation/">the seven Treaty One First Nations</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-reserves-are-tests-of-reconciliation-114472">Urban reserves are tests of reconciliation</a>
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<p>Treaty One Nation <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/first-nations-file-lawsuit-over-kapyong-land-1.695601">fought to have the land returned to them</a> under the provisions of the <a href="http://www.tlec.ca/framework-agreement/">Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement</a> after the Canadian government tried to transfer the land to a Crown corporation years ago.</p>
<p>After a prolonged legal process, a judge ruled the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/first-nations-not-consulted-on-kapyong-barracks-sale-court-rules-1.3192485">federal government failed to adequately consult with Treaty One Nation</a> and the land transfer was ruled illegitimate in 2015.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1604975015509868544"}"></div></p>
<p>An incorporated consortium run by the Treaty One Nation, called <a href="https://lpband.ca/treaty-one-development-corporation/">the Treaty One Development Corporation</a>, will oversee developments on Naawi-Oodena.</p>
<p>As a self-governing nation, Treaty One will set its own land management policies, potentially in contrast to the zoning and building codes of Winnipeg. In reality, it’s likely to gently push or disrupt urban development, rather than outright destroy current practices since its goal is to attract tenants, the majority of which will be non-Indigenous.</p>
<h2>First Nations health care</h2>
<p>First Nations entrepreneurs are also seeking out ways to revolutionize the Canadian health-care system. Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta entered into an agreement with contractors to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/private-orthopedic-surgical-facility-coming-to-enoch-cree-nation-next-year-1.6474534">create a private health clinic</a> offering simple hip and knee surgeries. </p>
<p>The provincial government will fund the procedures through medicare and publicly funded hospitals will still handle more complicated surgeries. </p>
<p>Enoch Cree Nation joins a growing number of private health clinics in Canada forming public-private partnerships. They are not the first First Nation to get involved with health care, either. </p>
<p>In 2012, Westbank First Nation <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-first-nation-plans-private-hospital-1.1298463">announced a plan to build a private, for-profit hospital</a>. Some constitutional experts <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/westbank-first-nation-hospital-likely-unconstitutional-says-expert-1.1288670">warned that Westbank First Nation was violating the Canada Health Act</a>, but <a href="https://infotel.ca/newsitem/westbank-first-nations-private-hospital-still-on-shaky-legal-ground/it22697">the nation responded by arguing</a> that, as a self-governing nation, it was not bound by federal laws.</p>
<p>Enoch Cree Nation’s private clinic will face other challenges. While COVID-19 has shaken the faith Canadians have in our health-care system, and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9458260/health-care-private-options-majority-canadians-support-poll">receptivity to private health care may be growing</a>, the affinity for public health care remains strong.</p>
<h2>Legal redress</h2>
<p>First Nations have also become creative disrupters by pursuing legal redress for past injustices. The courts have reached back through treaties all the way back to <a href="https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/royal_proclamation_1763/">the Royal Proclamation of 1763</a> to widen Canada’s constitution beyond the formal acts to include treaties with First Nations.</p>
<p>Institutional changes supporting disruption include <a href="https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/Const_index.html">Article 35 of the 1982 Constitution Act</a> that recognizes the “existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada.” This clause is widely interpreted as creating a nation-to-nation relationship between First Nations and Canada.</p>
<p>Equally important for commercial ventures is <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-5/">Article 87 of the Indian Act</a> which exempts First Nations land from taxation by any order of government. This means an urban reserve does not pay property tax to a municipality.</p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/02/06/bob-joseph-why-the-indian-act-must-go-and-canada-will-be-better-for-it.html">criticism of the Indian Act by authors like Joseph</a>, Article 87 offers a major fiscal benefit for First Nations individuals and businesses on reserve. Although a complex area of law, this tax exemption is an important reason why First Nations may prefer to add land to existing reserves or to create new reserves, rather than owning land conventionally like corporations.</p>
<h2>Furthering reconciliation</h2>
<p>Despite some First Nations regaining rights and titles to their lands, Indigenous communities in Canada still <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/441/INAN/Reports/RP11714230/inanrp02/inanrp02-e.pdf">face many barriers to economic participation</a>. By engaging in the examples of creative disruption here, First Nations are working toward economic prosperity for their communities and, in the process, are also working toward reconciliation.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a> — <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/indigenous-people/aboriginal-peoples-documents/calls_to_action_english2.pdf">the framework for reconciliation according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada</a> — states Indigenous people have the right to pursue their own means of economic development. By starting their own entrepreneurial and developmental projects, First Nations are engaging in their inherent “right to maintain and develop their political, economic and social systems or institutions.”</p>
<p>Reconciliation also works best when all parties involved benefit from changes. These examples of creative disruption will benefit non-Indigenous Canadians as well as Indigenous people by increasing the housing supply in Vancouver and Winnipeg, bringing remote First Nations into the economic orbit of cities and offering increased health treatment options.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200427/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory C Mason receives funding from The University of Manitoba and the Thorlakson Family Foundation Fund (Health related research).
</span></em></p>By starting their own entrepreneurial and developmental projects, First Nations are working toward economic prosperity for their communities and furthering reconciliation.Gregory C Mason, Associate Professor of Economics, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1992242023-02-13T06:16:09Z2023-02-13T06:16:09ZThe fight between Tate Modern and its wealthy neighbours reveals the gentrification of the skies<p>In the UK, legal cases resolving alleged neighbour nuisances are ten-a-penny. Some – about <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-57598101">overhanging trees</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/sep/07/leylandii-neighbours-dispute">leylandii hedges</a> that block out the sun – reach the local press. Few, however, have ever taken up the column inches devoted to <a href="https://www.supremecourt.uk/press-summary/uksc-2020-0056.html">Fearn v Tate</a>. </p>
<p>After a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/feb/01/tate-modern-viewing-platform-invades-privacy-of-flats-supreme-court-rules">six-year legal battle</a>, the UK supreme court has now <a href="https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/fearn-v-tate-judgment.pdf">ruled</a> in favour of the five neighbouring residents who sued London’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-re-use-and-recycling-work-for-heritage-buildings-and-places-too-83975">Tate Modern</a>, for infringing on their privacy with its viewing gallery that looks directly into their homes. </p>
<p>The trustees of the Tate now face the possibility of closing or screening off the viewing gallery. This is despite the fact that, in the same ruling, the supreme court deems it to be a perfectly “reasonable use” of the land, and that allowing visitors 360-degree views of the capital is of “public benefit”. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A view over London from the roof of a building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508448/original/file-20230206-23-e6236v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Developers are increasingly capitalising on the value of a view.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/v5ouCZkAcwc">Matthew Waring | Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Breach of privacy claim</h2>
<p>In 2017, five residents of the neighbouring Neo-Bankside development sued the Tate for invasion of privacy. Marketed as a “world-class” development, Neo-Bankside features floor-to-ceiling windows, designed to maximise light and take advantage of the views towards the Thames. The gallery’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-the-new-tate-modern-tells-us-about-the-museum-of-the-future-61041">Blavatnik extension</a>, meanwhile, included an observatory deck. The residents said they were being subjected to close and oppressive scrutiny by museum goers armed with phones, cameras, and sometimes, binoculars. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="HIgh-rise buildings against a pale blue sky." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508444/original/file-20230206-15-iiz62r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Fearne v Tate case could lead to further privatisation of London’s skies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/F3GiR_IM9w8">Toa Heftiba | Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Previous <a href="https://www.wilberforce.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ARTICLE-A-room-with-a-view-BF-Feb-2010.pdf">cases</a> had established that you could sue for invasion of the airspace near to your property on the basis of trespass and nuisance law. Planning law similarly regards overlooking and loss of privacy as the basis for <a href="http://planningobjectionletters.co.uk/articles/private-matters">refusal of planning permission</a>.</p>
<p>In his 2019 ruling, however, High Court Justice Anthony Mann <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/draw-the-blinds-flat-owners-lose-privacy-case-against-tates-viewing-platform-11635442">pointed out</a> that the Tate had been given planning permission for the viewing platform before Neo-Bankside was completed. In other words, the residents would have been aware of it before they moved in. He recommended they <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/glass-tower-residents-lose-legal-fight-over-tate-balcony-kmk82qmvz">install net curtains</a>.</p>
<p>This ruling implied that wealthy residents <a href="https://www.elgaronline.com/display/edcoll/9781788977197/9781788977197.00031.xml">colonising urban skies</a> need to recognise that they are not just in the city, but of it. It did not necessarily set a precedent. But it did suggest that the property rights enjoyed by the owners of glass-fronted flats do not necessarily extend to “lower strata” air rights, or the right to exclude others from viewing in. </p>
<p>Mann has now been overruled, the law once again aligning with the rich and powerful. The supreme court’s judgment confirms that being overlooked by a spectator gallery in fact does constitute a form of visual intrusion. And it rejects Mann’s judgment that the owners of the flats bore some responsibility for mitigating the nuisance themselves.</p>
<p>In theory, this could lead to a series of private nuisance lawsuits. Those living in high-rise properties could now claim they need to be protected from the nuisance of people looking in, and use this as a means to screen off existing development. Equally, planning officers might be minded to put more weight on overlooking as a material consideration. </p>
<p>Currently, drone flights at a “reasonable height” enjoy a <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003028031-12/personal-injury-property-damage-trespass-nuisance-anthony-tarr-julie-anne-tarr">statutory defence</a> against claims of nuisance and trespass, under the terms of the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1982/16/contents">1982 Civil Aviation Act</a>. But if concerns about overlooking are extended to the disembodied gaze of the unmanned drone camera, we might easily imagine a future city characterised by <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10304312.2020.1842125?casa_token=yJMU2hz9sxAAAAAA%3A40-Uy1UKD-icc6DmKaHtrPr0Vit8hWGB3s9It0FJwfkUsHXe8JdJDd4VJRoxHeb7P9FUtiGkwn6D">no-fly zones</a> around the towers of the super-rich.</p>
<h2>Gentrification of the skies</h2>
<p>In the 1950s and 1960s, tower blocks were reserved for social housing tenants. Such <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/jul/20/streets-in-the-sky-the-sheffield-high-rises-that-were-home-sweet-home-love-among-ruins">“streets in the sky”</a> were subsequently vilified as <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429427046-2/council-estate-renewal-london-phil-hubbard-loretta-lees">sites of social malaise</a>. </p>
<p>By contrast, today’s high-rises are built for rich investors. Social housing, if at all present, is restricted to the lower levels, sometimes behind what has become known as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/25/poor-doors-segregation-london-flats">“poor door”</a>.</p>
<p>Spectacular views are the big draw. Developers carefully price each flat according to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13604813.2018.1549832">height, size and aspect</a>. This “luxification” of the skies is, perversely, accompanying the emergence of <a href="https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/10.3828/tpr.2020.46">shrinking homes</a> for the working poor, often literally <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02723638.2020.1850001">overshadowed</a> by these prestigious towers. </p>
<p>The Fearn v Tate judgment has confirmed that inner-city residents must expect to live cheek by jowl with their neighbours, while suggesting that there are different types of overlooking. Inviting people to look out, and photograph, from a property’s observation deck is qualitatively different than one property simply overlooking another. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person on a balcony with a phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508376/original/file-20230206-19-p6o6gc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The law now appears to recognise different types of overlooking.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bankside-london-se1-9tg-united-kingdom-1479666761">Lara Ra</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The supreme court judgment references an obscure case from <a href="https://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-record-soc/vol10/pp85-98">1341</a> where a London fishmonger had to remove a tower on his property because neighbours felt it constituted a nuisance. It argues that the intensity of interference is now magnified by the fact that people have smartphones with cameras. </p>
<p>Some have concluded the ruling is not simply about being overlooked but the invasion of privacy associated with <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/b2c3f312-fec2-4005-b7fe-52988e489cba">photographs</a> being shared on social media. However, given any neighbour could take photos of others’ property, should the precautionary principle now reign? </p>
<p>This could lead to those who can afford to take private action invoking visual intrusion to prevent others from even having the possibility of taking photos. It could lead to further privatisation of air space, of particular concern in cities like London where the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/29/underfunded-rusting-fenced-off-britains-parks-public-spaces-government">urban commons</a> are increasingly privatised. </p>
<p>A city where “air people” are able to escape surveillance while “street people” have to live with the constant scrutiny enacted by drones, CCTV and facial recognition systems may sound dystopian. Given the rampant <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-corporate-landlords-how-they-are-swallowing-city-centres-like-manchester-one-block-of-flats-at-a-time-198804">financialisation and corporatisation</a> of our cities, though, who is to say what lengths property-owners will go to protect the value of their asset?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199224/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philip Hubbard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The supreme court’s ruling that the Tate’s viewing gallery intrudes on nearby luxury flats suggests that the law is once again aligning with the rich and powerful.Philip Hubbard, Professor of Urban Studies, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.