tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/urban-policy-10716/articlesUrban policy – The Conversation2023-12-13T13:36:15Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2192802023-12-13T13:36:15Z2023-12-13T13:36:15ZBig-box retail chains were never a solution for America’s downtowns − and now they’re fleeing back to suburbia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564994/original/file-20231211-89932-pedkqb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C0%2C2032%2C1529&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Merchandise is locked in cases to guard against theft in a Target store in New York City on Sept. 23, 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/target-retail-stores-in-new-york-city-have-installed-locked-news-photo/1726478336">Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Holiday shopping is in full swing, but city dwellers may have fewer options for buying in person than they did a few years ago. That’s because many large chain stores are pulling out of central cities. </p>
<p>This trend has been building for several years. Target made national headlines in 2018 when it closed its store in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/30/business/target-baltimore-store-closings.html">predominantly Black Baltimore neighborhood</a> after just 10 years of operation. COVID-19 sped things up by cutting foot traffic in city centers and boosting online commerce. </p>
<p>Target has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/12/business/target-closing-us-cities-crime-dg/index.html">closed additional stores</a> in Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Oregon. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-store-closings-2023-full-list">Walmart</a>, <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/retailers/cvs-is-permanently-closing-hundreds-of-stores-for-a-surprising-reason">CVS</a>, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2023/11/29/rite-aid-store-closures-grow/71744831007/">Rite Aid</a> and Walgreens have also closed many urban stores.</p>
<p>Closures have spread to many suburbs and small towns. Retailers saddled with high debt, overexpansion, <a href="https://nrf.com/research/national-retail-security-survey-2023">shoplifting losses</a>, slumping sales and <a href="https://www.jpmorganchase.com/institute/research/cities-local-communities/post-covid-consumer-spending-in-new-york-city">online competition</a> are shedding stores fast. But this contraction lopsidedly affects city dwellers, who often lack the shopping options and price competition suburbanites enjoy. </p>
<p>Many news reports, particularly from conservative outlets, have <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/manhattan-retail-is-getting-destroyed-by-shoplifting/">blamed lawlessness</a> and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-root-causes-of-san-franciscos-disorder-crime-homeless-911-auto-theift-public-disorder-a45b170c">weak leadership by progressive city governments</a>. In my view, however, there’s another important factor: flawed corporate strategies.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">As big-box chain drugstores close in St. Louis, an independent pharmacy works to fill the gap with more personal service.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>The self-service revolution</h2>
<p>The concept of letting shoppers serve themselves dates back to 1879, when Frank W. Woolworth <a href="https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/february/woolsworth">opened his first store in Utica, New York</a>. Its successors grew into the F.W. Woolworth chain of “five-and-dime” discount dry goods stores, which became fixtures of hundreds of cities, suburbs and small towns in the early 20th century. </p>
<p>Food stores followed suit in the early 1900s, beginning with the <a href="https://www.supermarketnews.com/archive/early-stores-pioneer-self-service-concept">Alpha Beta chain</a> in California in 1914 and <a href="https://mypigglywiggly.com/aboutus/">Piggly Wiggly</a> in Tennessee in 1916. Instead of having clerks gather customers’ orders from store shelves, these stores let shoppers loose in the aisles, then allowed them to pay at the end of their visit.</p>
<p>This approach seeded the meteoric rise of “big box” stores like <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/markets/history-of-walmart-15092339">Walmart</a> and <a href="https://corporate.target.com/about/purpose-history/history-timeline?era=2">Target</a> in the mid-20th century. With their low manufacturing costs, streamlined logistics, minimally staffed stores, national advertising and vast inventories, big-box chains <a href="https://www.npr.org/2012/11/19/165295840/the-past-and-future-of-americas-biggest-retailers">drove many small retailers out of business</a> – and most Woolworth stores, too. </p>
<p>Self-service came to rule the suburbs, where big chains could build mega-stores with plenty of parking. But they were rare in central cities for most of the 20th century, except for a few affluent enclaves, such as West Los Angeles or Chicago’s North Side. Generally, these chains avoided poor neighborhoods and many downtowns altogether. </p>
<p>As shoppers increasingly gravitated to suburban malls, many urban neighborhoods became <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-return-of-urban-retail-deserts">retail deserts</a>, with few vendors meeting local needs. Those that endured, often run by small-scale entrepreneurs, typically were businesses that offered a single type of product, such as grocery stores, delicatessens or pharmacies. </p>
<h2>Chains discover downtowns</h2>
<p>Harvard management professor <a href="https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6532">Michael Porter</a> drew attention to the lack of retail services in densely populated urban neighborhoods in a seminal 1995 article, “<a href="https://hbr.org/1995/05/the-competitive-advantage-of-the-inner-city">The Competitive Advantage of the Inner City</a>.” Economic development, Porter argued, was key to revitalizing inner cities – and these zones housed a lot of potential customers.</p>
<p>“Even though average inner city incomes are relatively low, high population density translates into an immense market with substantial purchasing power,” Porter wrote. “Ultimately, what will attract the inner city consumer more than anything else is a new breed of company that is not small and high-cost but a professionally managed major business employing the latest in technology, marketing, and management techniques.” </p>
<p>Chains of many kinds began to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132231472/big-box-retailers-move-to-smaller-stores-in-cities">rediscover the central city market</a> in the early 2000s. <a href="https://nyc-business.nyc.gov/nycbusiness/article/reduce-operating-expenses">Tax breaks</a> and subsidized redevelopment projects often greased the wheels. Urban gentrifiers were reliably drawn to new urban chain stores like Target, Walmart and Whole Foods.</p>
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<p>Many small retail shops now faced a juggernaut of national chains. One example was <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.4588">independent pharmacies</a>: Between 2009 and 2015, 1 in 4 urban pharmacies in low-income neighborhoods closed.</p>
<p>And chain stores often failed to generate major benefits for their new neighborhoods. Employees had few chances for advancement beyond <a href="https://www.epi.org/press/new-company-wage-tracker-shows-low-wages-are-the-norm-at-large-retail-and-food-service-employers/">minimum-wage hourly work</a>. Clustering of chain stores in prosperous neighborhoods and business districts failed to address “food deserts” <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2011/december/data-feature-mapping-food-deserts-in-the-u-s/">in impoverished areas</a>.</p>
<h2>Broken big boxes</h2>
<p>Certain qualities that made chains so successful – national sales strategies, self-service stores and brand awareness – are proving to be liabilities in today’s more complicated and divided urban context. </p>
<p>Retail executives and their <a href="https://nrf.com/advocacy/policy-issues/organized-retail-crime">trade associations</a> have cited excessive shoplifting losses and weak law enforcement as factors in urban store closures, even though they have conspicuously <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/12/shoplifting-holiday-theft-panic/621108/">failed to provide shoplifting data</a> by location. There are signs, moreover, that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/business/organized-shoplifting-retail-crime-theft-retraction.html">shoplifting is receding</a>, except for in a few large cities like New York.</p>
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<p>In my opinion, there are three reasons why city chain stores are closing at such a high rate compared with those in suburbs.</p>
<p>First, despite job recovery in many cities since the pandemic, low-income urban households remain in crisis, with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/realestate/rent-burdened-american-households.html">high rents</a> and inflation driving up the cost of essentials. According to the nonprofit Brookings Institution, 9.6% of suburban residents lived in poverty in 2022, compared with about <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/post-pandemic-poverty-is-rising-in-americas-suburbs/">16.2% in primary cities</a>. Widespread poverty in a city like Baltimore, for instance, is reflected in the <a href="https://mdfoodbank.org/hunger-in-maryland/maryland-hunger-map/">concentration of food banks</a> on the west and east sides. </p>
<p>Less disposable income, compounded by shoplifting losses, can lead to store closures – especially since national chains like Target and Walmart expect the dollar value of sales from stores that have been open for more than a year to <a href="https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/same-store-sales/">increase steadily over time</a>. </p>
<p>Second, urban chains clustered too many of their own branches close together or too near other chains – usually in high-income residential or business districts. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/business/media/09adco.html">Manhattan below 96th Street</a> is a clear example of this pattern. With affluent customers shifting to online shopping, and reduced foot traffic overall thanks to remote work, this aggressive strategy has failed. </p>
<p>Third, widely distributed <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/07/business/shoplifting-surge-hype-nightcap/index.html">media images of rampant shoplifting</a> send a message at odds with these chains’ powerful brand images of order, safety and standardization. A <a href="https://counciloncj.org/shoplifting-trends-what-you-need-to-know/">small but rising share</a> of shoplifting incidents since 2019 have involved assaults or other crimes. These events have the potential to <a href="https://www.vox.com/money/23938554/shoplifting-organized-retail-crime-walmart-target-theft-laws">scare executives</a> concerned about employee lawsuits. Chains want urban locations but not “urban” reputations. </p>
<h2>Retail flight</h2>
<p>Large retail chains have finally figured out that cities aren’t suburbs. Those that remain are adding staff, scaling back self-checkout, checking receipts at exits and <a href="https://www.kqed.org/news/11949025/why-are-retail-stores-locking-up-basic-necessities">locking down higher-priced goods</a> – essentially, abandoning the self-service model. However, these costly measures won’t bring back online-addicted shoppers or daily commuters, nor will they put more money in struggling consumers’ pockets.</p>
<p>Responding to retail association pressure, some city and state governments are imposing <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/11/organized-retail-crime-nine-states-pass-laws-to-crack-down-on-theft.html">stricter punishments for shoplifting</a> and cracking down on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RIjWTO2Yz4">black-market vending</a> on sites like Amazon and eBay. However, it isn’t clear that this get-tough approach can or should rescue the big-box model, since these stores failed to create safe, secure shopping environments in the first place.</p>
<p>As I see it, the urban chain store implosion raises questions about whether suburban-style retail really does much for cities. These stores are mediocre job creators, undercut local entrepreneurs, often <a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2022/9/13/mainstreet-vs-chain-stores-a-western-north-carolina-analysis">pay relatively low property taxes</a> and build ugly parking lots. They also don’t provide the kind of “<a href="https://medium.com/i-cities/eyes-on-the-street-ab12b39b960b">eyes on the street</a>” local security that small-scale shopkeepers do. In fact, their parking lots and open aisles seem to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/yonkers-shoplifting-big-box-stores/">attract disorder</a>.</p>
<p>Shoehorning suburban-style stores into urban neighborhoods now looks like a Band-Aid for much deeper urban problems. In my view, city leaders would do better to focus on <a href="https://www.recastyourcity.com/">building local capacity</a> and protecting smaller stores that usually have greater local wealth-building potential, more reasonable growth expectations and the kind of personal service that <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/how-retail-crime-impacts-business-16720683.php">naturally deters shoplifting</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219280/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>Shoplifting has been hyped as a driver of chain-store closures, but did these companies ever really understand urban environments in the first place?Nicholas Dagen Bloom, Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, Hunter CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2189972023-12-07T00:48:01Z2023-12-07T00:48:01ZCreative bureaucracy is possible. Here are 3 things cities do to foster innovative local government<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562898/original/file-20231201-21-oisok5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3247%2C2155&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/social-development-concept-city-people-1662934000">metamorworks/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Heavyweight international players from <a href="https://www.oecd.org/publications/enhancing-innovation-capacity-in-city-government-f10c96e5-en.htm">the OECD</a> to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.org/government-innovation/">Bloomberg Philanthropies</a> and <a href="https://councilonurbaninitiatives.com/about">the United Nations</a> have in recent years prescribed “innovation” as a solution for the many challenges city governments face.</p>
<p>Innovation is a notoriously slippery term. For city government it generally involves deliberately questioning how things are done, leading to new and hopefully better ways of working. Innovation is meant to help resolve the world’s thorniest public policy challenges — from housing affordability to the climate crisis — but also to make cities more liveable through more effective, responsive and efficient city government.</p>
<p>But what do these innovations involve? Who do they involve? How do they work? Indeed, do they work? And what are the implications for city government? </p>
<p>Our research team has investigated these questions in conversation with practitioners from around the world. We present these conversations in a new <a href="https://cityroadpod.org/2023/11/20/innovating-cities-series/">podcast mini-series</a> (<a href="https://www.uow.edu.au/the-arts-social-sciences-humanities/research/access/podcasts-videos/innovating-cities/">transcripts are here</a>).</p>
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<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-we-need-to-talk-about-who-governs-our-city-states-119884">Australia, we need to talk about who governs our city-states</a>
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<h2>3 keys to successful innovation</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/Web/Grant/Grant/DP200100176">research</a> identified three dimensions as critical for city government innovation: </p>
<ul>
<li>new institutions that are “licensed to innovate”</li>
<li>approaches based in <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-283789701/101-urban-governance-design-thinking">design thinking</a></li>
<li>nurturing more creative bureaucracies.</li>
</ul>
<p>First, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-283789701/97-innovating-city-governance-innovation-units">urban innovation units</a> have become a poster child for innovative city government. Examples include the Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (<a href="https://www.boston.gov/departments/new-urban-mechanics">MONUM</a>) and <a href="https://www.fondazioneinnovazioneurbana.it/en/civic-imagination">Bologna’s Office of Civic Imagination</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">How Boston fixes a pothole: an example of involving residents in innovative solutions to local problems.</span></figcaption>
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<p>These units are usually modestly sized teams within city government. They are licensed to experiment with new processes, new services or new ways of developing urban policy. </p>
<p>These units generally aim to unsettle “business as usual” and work across habitual divisions of labour between departments and functions. They tend to draw in new partners, whether in the private, community or philanthropic sector. The emphasis is on collaborating to get things done, rather than following well-established rules and routines to deliver public services.</p>
<p>Such approaches challenge city government norms. They work with an explicit tolerance of failure and learning until a version of a policy, or a way of delivering a service, begins to work better. As one of our interviewees said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Our return on investment here is [… ]so much greater if we fail and then change ‘fail’ to ‘learn’. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>There’s an emphasis on building trust between the various partners, within and beyond government. As another interviewee said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Trust and social networks turn out to be the greatest lubricant for innovation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Creating a narrative about what innovative approaches can achieve is also important. “Showcasing the wins” demands new storytelling resources and skills for city staff. </p>
<p>There is no predictable template that transfers smoothly across all locations. These units need to navigate unique local circumstances, conflicting priorities and political sticking points that crop up in different ways in different places. </p>
<p>The bigger question, then, is how effectively can the wider “warts and all” lessons from these units be scaled up across the full scope of city government functions?</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/all-the-signs-point-to-our-big-cities-need-for-democratic-metro-scale-governance-92417">All the signs point to our big cities' need for democratic, metro-scale governance</a>
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<h2>Design thinking that goes beyond ‘usual suspects’</h2>
<p>While we may not traditionally associate city government with design, our participants often described their work in terms such as human-centred design, co-design, co-creation and prototyping. </p>
<p>Experimental and iterative practices underpinned their work: that is, testing a policy or service-design idea, seeing what works and what doesn’t, tweaking and testing again, and so on. Learning from the process is a priority.</p>
<p>And that learning was derived from input from more than “the usual suspects”. At its best, design thinking is unashamedly focused on people, whether they work in city departments or are citizens impacted by the problem in focus. </p>
<p>This type of thinking, one participant said, is </p>
<blockquote>
<p>about new ways of including and engaging people in program design and policy design […] folks who I think traditionally are either not involved in the design process or haven’t been engaged in a way that feels really authentic.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-49-small-communities-innovating-as-well-as-the-big-cities-84426">Here's 49 small communities innovating as well as the big cities</a>
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<h2>Developing a creative bureaucracy</h2>
<p>Our research revealed practitioners commonly understand innovation in city government as being about creative problem-solving. This is some way from the stereotype of the rule-bound city government bureaucrat. </p>
<p>In response to perceptions that city governments aren’t adaptable, effective or open enough, we see efforts to unleash the creativity of their workers to solve problems. Berlin even has an annual <a href="https://creativebureaucracy.org/">Creative Bureaucracy Festival</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Berlin’s Creative Bureaucracy Festival highlights the value of innovation in government.</span></figcaption>
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<p>We found evidence of a wider shift towards a creative problem-solving mindset. One interviewee described her job as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>always just solving problems and putting yourself in the shoes of whoever you are dealing with […] They have a problem and our obligation is to solve it, by whatever means necessary.</p>
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<p>The desire for adaptive, responsive, open city government is changing recruitment priorities. Our interviewees told us about seeking staff with qualities like empathy, persuasion, charisma, agility and a history of enabling teams to create solutions. Recruiting for so-called soft skills, not the hard skills of domain-specific expertise, is part of an effort to change the culture and bureaucratic capacities of city government. </p>
<p>As the saying goes, personnel is policy. Who city government employs largely dictates what it can do.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/6-ways-governments-drive-innovation-and-how-they-can-help-post-pandemic-resilience-186910">6 ways governments drive innovation – and how they can help post-pandemic resilience</a>
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<h2>Beware ‘innovation washing’</h2>
<p>Much remains to be learned about the long-term implications of city governments working in “innovation mode”. Clear-eyed evaluation is needed to avoid “innovation washing”: the notion that innovation is always a good thing and always delivers improvement. </p>
<p>Our research has found city government innovation most often concerns changes to the everyday business of running the city. This includes more efficient processes, new ways to gather ideas from the community, new collaborations that allow resource sharing. </p>
<p>These innovations may not be a silver bullet for intractable urban problems or save the planet, but they matter for everyday life in the city.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218997/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pauline McGuirk receives funding from the Australian Research Council, DP200100176 Innovating Urban Governance: Practices for Enhanced Urban Futures, the study on which this article is based.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Goh receives funding from the Australian Research Council, DP200100176.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn Dowling receives funding from the Australian Research Council, DP200100176.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophia Maalsen receives funding from the Australian Research Council, DP200100176.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Baker receives funding from the Australian Research Council, DP200100176.</span></em></p>A study of cities around the world that are developing innovative solutions to their problems has identified three key elements of success.Pauline McGuirk, Senior Professor of Urban Geography, University of WollongongLaura Goh, Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of SydneyRobyn Dowling, Professor and Associate Dean Research, School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of SydneySophia Maalsen, ARC DECRA Fellow and Lecturer in Urbanism, School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of SydneyTom Baker, Associate Professor in Human Geography, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed 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>
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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>
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<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/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>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/odF4GSX1y3c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<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>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1641767980395626499"}"></div></p>
<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>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1556635710693810176"}"></div></p>
<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/1660002021-08-31T19:46:11Z2021-08-31T19:46:11ZParks are about promoting everyone’s public health — not just boosting homeowners’ property value<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416867/original/file-20210818-27-1u1sf3r.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C3675%2C2183&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A police officer patrols Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto in May 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic put a lot of attention on the role of parks and green spaces — particularly in large cities. But, not all of this attention has been positive. </p>
<p>Although the pandemic has clarified the beneficial role of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2020/20_0204.htm">parks in promoting health</a> <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-the-need-for-parks-in-a-time-of-sickness-we-all-need-to-take-a/">and well-being</a> in urban communities, it has also highlighted <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/finding-a-patch-of-green-covid-19-highlights-inequities-in-toronto-park-space-experts-say-1.5640852">inequities in accessing parks and green spaces</a>, problems with <a href="https://parkpeople.ca/2021/07/22/moving-beyond-enforcement-in-parks/">a culture of enforcement</a> and led to a <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/premier-ford-reverses-decision-to-close-ontario-playgrounds-amid-backlash-1.5391546">series of policy responses that were heavily criticized</a>.</p>
<p>Recently, police in Halifax clashed with protesters and violently evicted people staying at <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/arrests-made-as-halifax-protestors-stand-against-clearing-of-shelters-from-city-land-1.6144592">Peace and Friendship Park and Spring Garden Road Library</a>. Earlier this summer, Toronto police forcibly evicted residents living in encampments at <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/lamport-stadium-encampment-homelessness-toronto-1.6110697">Lamport Stadium</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/trinity-bellwoods-homeless-encampment-1.6074952">Trinity Bellwoods Park</a> and <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/07/20/alexandra-park-homeless-encampment/">Alexandra Park</a>. Under the guise of “park remediation” these violent evictions were described as <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/trinity-bellwoods-encampment-evictions-reasonable-firm-but-compassionate-tory-1.5481959">reasonable, firm and compassionate</a> by Mayor John Tory despite the clashes with protesters, use of pepper spray <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/fallout-from-toronto-s-homeless-encampment-removals-continues-1.6116021">and numerous injuries and arrests</a>. </p>
<p>These actions have been repeatedly justified as a means of protecting public safety, but activists, health experts and even city councillors have spoken out against the use of violence in these responses.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeless-encampment-violence-in-toronto-betrays-any-real-hope-for-police-reform-165039">Homeless encampment violence in Toronto betrays any real hope for police reform</a>
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<p>Although current events have created a buzz, they reflect a trend in public policy that has been developing for some time and changing the way we see, use and value parks in our cities. They also highlight some of the limitations in our thinking about how parks can serve as a health resource for our communities.</p>
<h2>Multiple visions of urban parks</h2>
<p>The idea of parks as a public health resource was central in the early vision of parks. In the Progressive Era (1896–1916), an interest in health and hygiene <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01490408309513023">motivated the development of parks</a> so there could be clean and sanitary spaces for outdoor play in the overcrowded conditions of growing industrial towns. </p>
<p>However, other visions and motivations have long driven urban park development. City boosters and beautification societies invested in parks as a way to create civic landmarks and spaces of esthetic and natural beauty for residents to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.1999.11949875">enjoy as leisure</a>. Middle-class social reformers saw parks as spaces for the social improvement of the working class through <a href="https://doi.org/10.1353/jeu.2016.0005">organized sport and physical education</a>. Public parks have long been valued as spaces for <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=anon%7Eb6154651&id=GALE%7CA30404572&v=2.1&it=r&sid=googleScholar&asid=e24d8f75">urban amusement and entertainment</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Lush park, cloudless blue sky with tall hedges, flowers, shrubs and perfectly manicured lawn" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416868/original/file-20210818-23-1jap5yi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416868/original/file-20210818-23-1jap5yi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416868/original/file-20210818-23-1jap5yi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416868/original/file-20210818-23-1jap5yi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416868/original/file-20210818-23-1jap5yi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416868/original/file-20210818-23-1jap5yi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416868/original/file-20210818-23-1jap5yi.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">Beautification societies invested in parks as a way to create civic landmarks and spaces of esthetic and natural beauty. VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, B.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Henrique Paim/Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our vision of urban parks — particularly in large cities like Toronto — is also affected by broader economic conditions, local development agendas <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2018.1458261">and gentrification</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://cpra.ca/framework/key-messages/">Parks advocacy groups</a> actively promoted the health benefits of parks as a strategy to promote park investment in cities during periods of chronic underfunding. For some advocates of urban development, parks tend to be positioned as a leisure resource for homeowners and a source of property value. This is reflective of broader social trends where private wealth is valued over public goods. </p>
<h2>The logics of park policy</h2>
<p>Park-related policy is generally established at the municipal level. Examining policy implementation and enforcement helps us understand the motivations that guide policy development. </p>
<p>The events that unfolded in Trinity Bellwoods Park during the pandemic illuminate some of the gaps between the rhetoric of parks as a health-promoting resource and the realities of park use. </p>
<p>We see these gaps in how the City of Toronto responded to concerns related to <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-reopening-recovery-rebuild/covid-19-reopening-information-for-the-public/?accordion=outdoor-recreational-amenities">the spread of COVID-19 in parks</a>. It did so by revising park by-laws to mandate physical distancing. These rules were broken when <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/social-media-erupts-as-thousands-pictured-at-torontos-trinity-bellwoods-park">thousands of people congregated in Trinity Bellwoods in May 2020</a>. </p>
<p>The city then expanded its efforts with additional enforcement and signage, including painting white circles on park grass. This response was designed to enable leisurely park use, despite widely acknowledged rule-breaking (like alcohol consumption and not physical distancing).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People sit amid unoccupied physical distancing circles at a park" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416866/original/file-20210818-21-ljpiev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C0%2C1994%2C1332&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416866/original/file-20210818-21-ljpiev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416866/original/file-20210818-21-ljpiev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416866/original/file-20210818-21-ljpiev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416866/original/file-20210818-21-ljpiev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416866/original/file-20210818-21-ljpiev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416866/original/file-20210818-21-ljpiev.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">
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<span class="caption">People sit amid the unoccupied physical distancing circles at Trinity Bellwoods Park in Toronto in May 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The pandemic also created a health crisis in the city’s shelter system <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7400862/toronto-shelter-physical-distancing-court-coronavirus/">where it became impossible to follow physical distancing rules</a>. As a result, between 300 and 400 residents moved to city parks, with the aim of reducing their risk of becoming infected with the virus. The city responded to this health-promoting action with forced evictions.</p>
<p>These different responses illustrate the limited way in which we think about parks in relation to health. The responses show that we think of parks as health resources only when we define health promotion in terms of individual engagement in leisure-based health-promoting activities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A police officer kneels on the back of a protester in a homeless encampment" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416869/original/file-20210818-23-ygvhbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416869/original/file-20210818-23-ygvhbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416869/original/file-20210818-23-ygvhbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416869/original/file-20210818-23-ygvhbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416869/original/file-20210818-23-ygvhbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416869/original/file-20210818-23-ygvhbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416869/original/file-20210818-23-ygvhbe.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">
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<span class="caption">Toronto police make arrests as they clear the Lamport Stadium Park encampment in Toronto in July 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Private interest over public health</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/health-promotion/population-health/ottawa-charter-health-promotion-international-conference-on-health-promotion/charter.pdf">World Health Organization suggests</a> health is created by caring for oneself and others, by being able to make decisions and have control over one’s life circumstances by ensuring that the society one lives in creates conditions that allows the attainment of health by all its members. </p>
<p>When we think about health in this way, we can see how parks might serve as a health resource. </p>
<p>Historically, Toronto engaged parks differently in times of crisis. <a href="https://www.tvo.org/article/how-toronto-schools-adapted-to-a-health-crisis-a-century-ago-open-air-learning">Forest and open air schools</a> were created in parks for children diagnosed with tuberculosis in the early 1900s. These schools <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7633191/coronavirus-lessons-from-1918-spanish-flu-pandemic-for-ontario-classrooms-today/">saw increased use again during the Spanish Flu</a>. At the time, people saw parks as more than just a place to exercise or socialize. </p>
<p>In order for parks to become health-promoting resources, cities must use a broader vision of health to guide park policy-making. This vision might consider parks not just as a place for healthy leisure-based activity, but also as a resource that can be put to use to address other significant health concerns, particularly for those most vulnerable. Future parks health policy must reimagine parks as more than a contributor to property value.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166000/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kyle Rich receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erin Sharpe receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p>Park policy must reimagine parks as more than a contributor to property value and consider how they can be used as community resources.Kyle Rich, Assistant Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Brock UniversityErin Sharpe, Associate Professor, Recreation and Leisure Studies, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1501732020-12-09T19:10:32Z2020-12-09T19:10:32ZWhy city policy to ‘protect the Brisbane backyard’ is failing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370677/original/file-20201122-15-1siy7ns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C0%2C4019%2C3024&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Brisbane's inner southern suburbs.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rachel Gallagher</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Urban consolidation policies to contain development within existing urban areas are creating poor development outcomes in Australian cities. In Brisbane, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07293682.2020.1854800">our newly published research</a> shows this means the low-density housing character of the city is being retained at the expense of backyards.</p>
<p>Current land development regimes place urban planning outcomes in the hands of property owners and developers whose motives are tied to their financial interests rather than good planning. In doing so, the system works counter to its intended aims, in that it favours “<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-need-to-give-up-on-crowded-cities-we-can-make-density-so-much-better-131304">bad density</a>” over meaningful place-making characterised by well-designed medium-density townhouses or low-rise apartments.</p>
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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>
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<p>The ad hoc nature of redevelopment means consolidation is done in a piecemeal and patchy way. There is little uniformity to streetscapes and a poor mix of housing options. </p>
<h2>What are the urban consolidation policies?</h2>
<p><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07293682.2020.1854800">Our research</a>, published in Australian Planner, focuses on the impacts of urban consolidation policy in central Brisbane. The Queensland government has set a target for Brisbane City of <a href="http://www.healthyplaces.org.au/userfiles/file/Infill_Development%20June09.pdf">infill development</a> – building within existing developed areas – to account for <a href="https://dilgpprd.blob.core.windows.net/general/shapingseq.pdf">94% of all new dwellings by 2041</a>.</p>
<p>The state government defines an urban boundary to contain most new development. The state also sets dwelling targets by local government area, of which Brisbane is the <a href="https://lgiu.org/facts-and-figures-australia/#section-1">country’s most populous</a>. </p>
<p>At the local level, Brisbane City Council has a smaller-scale strategy. It aims for densification to be achieved through up-zoning (changing the zoning to permit higher density), increasing building heights and reducing minimum lot sizes. </p>
<p>At the same time, the council uses various mechanisms to protect the “cultural identity” of the city. These include the so-called “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-08/brisbane-future-housing-blueprint/9848494">townhouse ban</a>” and <a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-and-building/planning-guidelines-and-tools/brisbane-city-plan-2014/fact-sheets/residential-zones-and-zone-precincts">Character Residential (Infill)</a> zoning, which applies to many inner-city suburbs. </p>
<p>The Character Residential (Infill) zone allows for higher density, but houses built prior to 1946 must be retained. Any new dwellings must be of a similar scale.</p>
<p>We analysed the rate of subdivision for house construction over a ten-year period. Focusing on the suburbs immediately south of the city centre, we compared subdivision for more houses to land assembly (merging two or more lots) for apartment construction. </p>
<p>We wanted to see how the physical layout of the city had changed so Brisbane could densify. How is this being achieved in a city that has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-08/brisbane-future-housing-blueprint/9848494">banned townhouses, rowhouses and apartments</a> of any size in more than 60% of the city’s residential area, but at the same time has had a <a href="https://theconversation.com/media-picture-of-urban-consolidation-focuses-more-on-a-good-scare-story-than-the-facts-58044">policy of consolidating growth</a> for decades? Specifically, we wanted to see how <a href="https://theconversation.com/unlocking-the-greyfields-to-inhibit-urban-sprawl-7748">existing residential land was densifying</a>, rather than former industrial or undeveloped land.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unlocking-the-greyfields-to-inhibit-urban-sprawl-7748">Unlocking the greyfields to inhibit urban sprawl</a>
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<h2>What does the research show?</h2>
<p>Our results indicate that current consolidation policies run counter to their intended aims of protecting green space. The practical outcome is that the low-density housing character of the city is being retained at the expense of backyards.</p>
<p>We found 52% of redevelopments resulted from subdivision, compared with 30% from land assembly and 18% for all other reconfigurations. In the past decade, the seven inner-city suburbs we studied lost over 21,000 square metres of open space, usually backyards, to be replaced with more houses. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="First image has one house on one lot; second image has two houses on two lots." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370668/original/file-20201122-19-1ogdv50.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370668/original/file-20201122-19-1ogdv50.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370668/original/file-20201122-19-1ogdv50.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370668/original/file-20201122-19-1ogdv50.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370668/original/file-20201122-19-1ogdv50.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370668/original/file-20201122-19-1ogdv50.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370668/original/file-20201122-19-1ogdv50.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=463&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">New house construction on subdivided lots on Taylor Street, Woolloongabba.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Earth</span></span>
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<p>This is explained by a combination of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335993971_Targeted_urban_consolidation_or_ad_hoc_redevelopment_The_influence_of_cadastral_structure_and_change_on_the_urban_form_of_Brisbane_Australia">developers’ lack of interest in residential infill, the difficulty of boundary change</a>, and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/vested-interests-behind-city-shapers-often-subvert-higher-density-policies-74244">political unpalatability of “density”</a>. Together, these factors work to create outcomes in conflict with consolidation policy. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vested-interests-behind-city-shapers-often-subvert-higher-density-policies-74244">Vested interests behind ‘city shapers’ often subvert higher-density policies</a>
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</p>
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<p>Existing lot shapes and sizes largely determine redevelopment, as developers favour land that is easily transformed. In <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026483771931083X?via%3Dihub">previous research</a>, we found large-scale developers constructing high-rise apartments are often only really interested in <a href="https://theconversation.com/brownfield-sites-are-opportunities-in-the-heart-of-towns-and-cities-27955">brownfield land</a> – previously developed but disused sites. These are usually large sites owned by one landholder.</p>
<p>It’s <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/2018/AHURI_Final_Report_No171_Towards_a_new_development_model_for_housing_regeneration_in_greyfield_residential_precincts.pdf">inherently difficult</a> to co-ordinate redevelopment across multiple properties for high-quality, precinct-level infill. On the other hand, individual owners can reap financial benefit from lot-scale redevelopment, without the costs associated with larger developments. </p>
<p>As a result, backyard subdivision is pursued as a simple form of infill. Despite the city council’s policy to “<a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-and-building/planning-guidelines-and-tools/brisbanes-future-blueprint/principle-4-protect-the-brisbane-backyard-and-our-unique-character">protect the Brisbane backyard</a>” and the state government’s goal of more <a href="https://dilgpprd.blob.core.windows.net/general/shapingseq.pdf">diverse and affordable homes</a>, more single-family homes are being crammed into less and less space.</p>
<h2>How can we improve outcomes?</h2>
<p>While low-density infill may balance consumer preference for detached houses with meeting infill targets, it in effect creates a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-cut-urban-sprawl-we-need-quality-infill-housing-displays-to-win-over-the-public-63930">compressed suburbia</a>”. The results fail to deliver on the core promises of consolidation policy, including greater housing diversity and affordability, and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/back-to-the-drawing-board-for-australian-urban-planning-22287">halt to urban sprawl</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-cut-urban-sprawl-we-need-quality-infill-housing-displays-to-win-over-the-public-63930">To cut urban sprawl, we need quality infill housing displays to win over the public</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>It also leads to a dichotomy of new dwellings: high-rise apartments or detached houses. We found <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02723638.2019.1663058">very little development of medium-density dwellings</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three single-storey houses in front of two 15-storey apartments." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373469/original/file-20201208-21-yrxco5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373469/original/file-20201208-21-yrxco5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373469/original/file-20201208-21-yrxco5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373469/original/file-20201208-21-yrxco5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373469/original/file-20201208-21-yrxco5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373469/original/file-20201208-21-yrxco5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373469/original/file-20201208-21-yrxco5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nothing in between: single-storey character houses and 15-storey high-rises in Brisbane’s West End.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rachel Gallagher</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The market-based approach to urban consolidation leaves individuals seeking financial gain to determine the most important decision about our cities – their urban form. </p>
<p>If this continues, the lack of focus on high-quality infill will be a significant missed opportunity for our cities.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vanishing-australian-backyards-leave-us-vulnerable-to-the-stresses-of-city-life-81479">Vanishing Australian backyards leave us vulnerable to the stresses of city life</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Since the conclusion of this research Rachel Gallagher commenced a position as a policy advisor (planning) in the Queensland Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Sigler receives funding from The Australian Research Council and the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads.</span></em></p>Brisbane City wants to preserve backyards, but they account for much of the open space lost to development under policies that also aim to increase housing density in existing urban areas.Rachel Gallagher, PhD Candidate, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of QueenslandThomas Sigler, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1421592020-07-19T19:52:28Z2020-07-19T19:52:28ZWhy COVID-19 might not change our cities as much as we expect<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347495/original/file-20200715-35-kfybpx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/melbourne-australia-march-14-2020-nearly-1696788865">Brian S/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What will be the normal way of urban living when the COVID-19 crisis passes? What aspects will remain with us and what will disappear? </p>
<p>The coronavirus pandemic has thrust us into a moment of rapid change. Like all change, it is difficult to predict. But lessons from history provide us with two important insights.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-will-endure-but-urban-design-must-adapt-to-coronavirus-risks-and-fears-135949">Cities will endure, but urban design must adapt to coronavirus risks and fears</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<hr>
<p>First, temporary change sometimes has remarkably little lasting effect.</p>
<p>Second, what looks like a lasting effect is often the acceleration of existing trends, rather than new, crisis-caused trends. </p>
<p>COVID-19 impacts provide an opportunity for our cities to shift to new ways of urban living. But only if we couple this opportunity with technology and deliberate collective action will sustained and equitable change happen. </p>
<h2>What does history tell us?</h2>
<p>Right now, COVID-19 impacts are front of mind. In thinking ahead, we might therefore overemphasise what a crisis will do to how we live in cities. To put it simply, history shows us that the ways we organise our cities are often resistant to abrupt change – even in response to catastrophic events. </p>
<p>In Japan, changes to population distribution as a result of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 had <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/000282802762024502">disappeared by the early 1960s</a>. </p>
<p>Almost 40% of Europe’s population died during the Black Death (1347-1352). Much of Europe’s urban hierarchy nevertheless <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3331972">returned to its pre-plague distribution</a> over time. </p>
<p>Even the collapse of the urbanised Roman civilisation had little lasting effect on the urban hierarchy in France. It did lead, though, to a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ecoj.12424">resetting of the urban network in England</a>. </p>
<p>The reason for this urban inertia is that momentary change often does little to change the fundamentals of our cities. It doesn’t greatly change locational advantages, built environment legacy, property rights and land ownership. </p>
<p>London, for instance, has experienced slum clearance, Spanish flu, wartime bombing and the introduction of greenbelts and planning over the past 100 years. However, the location of the city’s rich and poor continues to be <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26145597?seq=1">shaped by infrastructure investments in the Victorian era</a>. And the Roman-period road layout has strongly influenced the street layout of central London today. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347524/original/file-20200715-27-1qkk7y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347524/original/file-20200715-27-1qkk7y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/347524/original/file-20200715-27-1qkk7y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347524/original/file-20200715-27-1qkk7y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347524/original/file-20200715-27-1qkk7y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347524/original/file-20200715-27-1qkk7y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347524/original/file-20200715-27-1qkk7y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/347524/original/file-20200715-27-1qkk7y3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">After all the upheavals London has endured through two millennia, the influence of the Roman road network can still be seen in the city today.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Map_Londinium_400_AD-en.svg">Fremantleboy, Drallim/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the same time, cities do of course change. In some cases dramatic <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20141707">events</a> – like <a href="https://eh.net/eha/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Siodla.pdf">fires</a> or earthquakes – are the enablers of change that is already underfoot. That is, business and policy coupling opportunity with technology and determination. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-hurricanes-harvey-and-irma-wont-lead-to-action-on-climate-change-83770">Why Hurricanes Harvey and Irma won't lead to action on climate change</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How are business practices responding to COVID-19</h2>
<p>Businesses will not – and should not – be slow to couple opportunity, technology and determination to achieve particular outcomes. </p>
<p>For instance, working from home has overnight (temporarily) become endemic. Higher education institutions (temporarily setting aside the challenges for teaching) switched remarkably quickly to almost exclusively online platforms. </p>
<p>COVID-safe shopping has popularised some automation. Demand for “contactless” service delivery has advanced some smart and <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/2016/07/07/robots-are-about-start-delivering-take-away-food">robot technology</a> into common use. </p>
<p>Some have argued that well before COVID-19 the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and online platforms had catapulted us into the <a href="https://www.creativeinnovationglobal.com.au/2018/04/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-how-to-respond/">Fourth Industrial Revolution</a>. It’s a world of work and cities that are <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Tech+Trends+in+Practice%3A+The+25+Technologies+that+are+Driving+the+4th+Industrial+Revolution-p-9781119646204">digitally smart, dispersed and connected</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/were-at-a-fork-in-the-road-do-we-choose-neighbourhoods-to-live-work-and-play-in-138949">We're at a fork in the road: do we choose neighbourhoods to live, work and play in?</a>
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<p>Working from home, online teaching and automation couple opportunity (as a result of COVID-19) and technology (digital communication) with longer-term trends. </p>
<p>Between 2001 and today, the office space per worker in many knowledge-intensive jobs shrank from 25 square metres to just 8sqm in <a href="https://www.itnews.com.au/news/mirvac-discovers-agile-offices-can-shrink-tech-workspaces-by-two-thirds-537585">new developments</a>. Flexible working arrangements and <a href="https://theconversation.com/casual-academics-arent-going-anywhere-so-what-can-universities-do-to-ensure-learning-isnt-affected-113567">casualisation</a> across a range of sectors enable businesses to manage wage bills when wage rates cannot be reduced. </p>
<p>Automation also reduces business wage bills and has long been touted as a way to increase productivity. According to a 2019 <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/%7E/media/McKinsey/Featured%20Insights/Future%20of%20Organizations/Australias%20automation%20opportunity%20Reigniting%20productivity%20and%20inclusive%20income%20growth/Australia-automation-opportunity-vF.ashx">McKinsey</a> report, automation may affect 25-46% of current jobs. </p>
<p>The “death of the office” has long been predicted. Rumours of its death are likely exaggerated this time too. </p>
<p>Face-to-face interaction between workers often increases productivity in service and knowledge-based industries. Research shows face-to-face contact <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10919-019-00314-1">enhances co-operative and pro-social behaviour</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-death-of-the-open-plan-office-not-quite-but-a-revolution-is-in-the-air-140724">The death of the open-plan office? Not quite, but a revolution is in the air</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Similarly, <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jel.47.4.983">research</a> suggests concentrating workers and their skills in one location (agglomeration economies) can increase much-needed labour productivity. This is required to offset the shifting <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2017/dec/5.html">labour-force balance in an ageing society</a>. </p>
<h2>What’s the role of public policy?</h2>
<p>Our cities today work better for some than for others. Sustained and equitable change requires public sector action and will. </p>
<p>Temporary measures during the pandemic have brought home just <a href="https://theconversation.com/teleworkability-in-australia-41-of-full-time-and-35-of-part-time-jobs-can-be-done-from-home-140723">how viable telecommuting is for some jobs</a> and how achievable online teaching modes can be. </p>
<p>This will leave winners and losers. Unlike change itself, the winners and losers are often far more predictable. <a href="https://theconversation.com/low-paid-young-women-the-grim-truth-about-who-this-recession-is-hitting-hardest-141892">Women</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-coronavirus-widens-the-renter-owner-divide-housing-policies-will-have-to-change-135808">renters</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-puts-casual-workers-at-risk-of-homelessness-unless-they-get-more-support-133782">lower-income</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-temporary-migrants-need-jobkeeper-135688">migrant-dominated jobs</a> are more vulnerable. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/low-paid-young-women-the-grim-truth-about-who-this-recession-is-hitting-hardest-141892">Low-paid, young women: the grim truth about who this recession is hitting hardest</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>What is imperative, therefore, is that governments similarly couple technology and opportunity with a vision for cities that are environmentally sustainable and socially just. This sort of urban future requires economic innovation. Change is confronting us with an opportunity and necessity to redress entrenched privilege. </p>
<p>History tells us critical events such as COVID-19 often do little to change the fundamentals of our cities. An important step in envisioning different urban futures is to recognise it is people, businesses, institutions and political will that collectively make change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142159/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christian A. Nygaard works at the Centre for Urban Transitions at Swinburne University of Technology. He receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and Community Housing Industry Association.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Iris Levin works at the Centre for Urban Transitions at Swinburne University of Technology. She receives funding from the Australia Urban and Housing Reseach Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon Parkinson works at the Centre for Urban Transitions at the Swinburne University of Technology. She receives funding from the Australian Housing and Research Institute. </span></em></p>We might have had a glimpse of new ways of urban living, but history offers a note of caution. Lasting change depends on us applying technology and taking deliberate action to seize this opportunity.Christian A. Nygaard, Associate Professor in Social Economics, Swinburne University of TechnologyIris Levin, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologySharon Parkinson, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1416752020-07-08T12:14:10Z2020-07-08T12:14:10ZStreet vendors make cities livelier, safer and fairer – here’s why they belong on the post-COVID-19 urban scene<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345842/original/file-20200706-3953-1ijm9ge.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3094%2C2208&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Street vending at Eastern Market, Washington, D.C. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Rennie Short</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Leer <a href="https://theconversation.com/la-venta-callejera-hace-mas-vivas-seguras-y-justas-las-ciudades-por-eso-pertenece-a-la-escena-urbana-post-covid-19-143869">en español</a></em></p>
<p>Cities around the world are emerging from pandemic shutdowns and gradually allowing activities to resume. National leaders are keen to promote economic recovery, with appropriate public health precautions. </p>
<p>Recently, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced economic growth plans that included creating 9 million new jobs and reducing urban unemployment to less than 5.5%. One surprise was his emphasis on <a href="https://qz.com/1865144/beijing-counts-on-street-vendors-to-revive-economy/">street vending</a>. After decades of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-china-anger-grows-over-abuse-of-street-vendors/2013/03/31/b9728ed6-984c-11e2-b68f-dc5c4b47e519_story.html">trying to clear city streets of vendors</a>, the Chinese state is now embracing them as a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/12/chinas-lifeblood-street-hawkers-make-surprise-return-to-fire-up-ailing-economy">new source of employment and economic growth</a>. </p>
<p>I study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oMPNYhQAAAAJ&hl=en">urban policy</a> and have researched the “informal economy” – activities that are not protected, regulated or often socially valued, including street vending. <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_627189/lang--en/index.htm#:%7E:text=employed%20population%20...-,More%20than%2060%20per%20cent%20of%20the%20world's%20employed%20population,work%20and%20decent%20working%20conditions.">More than 2 billion people worldwide</a> – over half the planet’s employed population – work in the informal economy, mainly in developing countries. In my view, encouraging street vending as part of COVID-19 recovery makes sense for many reasons.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RubX0sIYQsI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Street vendors often face official harassment. Days after Chinese Premier Li Kequiang praised street vendors for generating jobs, Beijing officials forced these vendors to disperse.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A long tradition</h2>
<p>Hawkers selling almost everything – food, books, household goods, clothes – used to be a common element of U.S. city life. The first pushcart in New York City appeared on Hester Street in 1886. By 1900 there were <a href="https://www.eldridgestreet.org/history/pushcarts-the-hustle-to-the-american-dream/">25,000 pushcart vendors</a> in the city selling everything from eyewear to mushrooms. </p>
<p>Street vending was a low-cost entry job for recent immigrants. It served as the vital first rung on the ladder of success and still performs this role in <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520319851/fruteros">many U.S. cities</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>But in New York and elsewhere, urban reformers viewed street vendors as nuisances and public health hazards, and tried to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247816653898">evict them or move them to marginal sites</a>. Shopkeepers often complained of <a href="https://patch.com/new-york/prospectheights/grocery-fight-pits-store-owners-against-street-vendors">unwanted competition</a>. The wealthy looked down on hawkers for being poor, foreign or both. As urban public spaces were regulated and configured to clear the streets of vendors, large-scale retail capitalism came to dominate the shopping experience. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346167/original/file-20200707-194405-15noy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346167/original/file-20200707-194405-15noy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346167/original/file-20200707-194405-15noy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346167/original/file-20200707-194405-15noy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346167/original/file-20200707-194405-15noy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346167/original/file-20200707-194405-15noy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346167/original/file-20200707-194405-15noy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346167/original/file-20200707-194405-15noy92.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=598&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mulberry Street in New York City, c. 1900.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/mulberry-street-in-new-york-city-ca-crowded-with-life-news-photo/514877700?adppopup=true">Bettman/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Street vendors and the informal urban economy</h2>
<p>Despite these challenges, street vending still thrives in many cities around the world. </p>
<p>For example, in a 2017 study I analyzed street vending in Cali, Colombia with scholar <a href="https://www.icesi.edu.co/profesores/cv/lina-martinez">Lina Martinez</a>. We found a <a href="https://www.witpress.com/Secure/ejournals/papers/SDP120403f.pdf">sophisticated operation with multiple levels</a>. They ranged from a well-established sector in the busy downtown, with better working conditions and relatively high incomes, to less-accessible markets that provided a gateway opportunity for the poor and recent rural migrants. We also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2017.03.010">unearthed significant flows of money</a>, and discovered that street vending often provided higher wages than the formal economy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345927/original/file-20200707-27863-8n66vk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345927/original/file-20200707-27863-8n66vk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/345927/original/file-20200707-27863-8n66vk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345927/original/file-20200707-27863-8n66vk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345927/original/file-20200707-27863-8n66vk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345927/original/file-20200707-27863-8n66vk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345927/original/file-20200707-27863-8n66vk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/345927/original/file-20200707-27863-8n66vk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Street stall in Cali, Colombia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Rennie Short</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many development programs in low-income countries from the 1950s through the early 2000s sought to eradicate street vending. Local governments often took aggressive actions to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2017.06.007">remove street vendors from public spaces</a>. </p>
<p>Recently, however, many nations have embraced street commerce as a way to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223535">reduce poverty</a> and <a href="https://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Public%2520Space%2520Toolkit.pdf">boost marginal groups</a>, especially poor women from ethnic and racial minorities. As one example, since 2003 it has been illegal to remove street vendors from public spaces in Colombia without offering them compensation or guaranteed participation in income-support programs.</p>
<p>Nor did street vending disappear entirely from cities in wealthy countries. It survived in traditional <a href="https://www.tripsavvy.com/top-flea-markets-1313571">flea markets</a> and farmer’s markets. These lively urban spaces are now augmented by the motorized version of vendor’s street food: <a href="https://www.webstaurantstore.com/blog/2042/top-food-truck-cities-in-america.html">food trucks</a>. </p>
<p>Building on food trucks’ success, more cities now are seeking to promote street vending. Advocates in New York City have campaigned since 2016 to increase the number of permits and licenses for street vending, which has been <a href="https://liftthecaps.wordpress.com/about/">tightly limited since the early 1980s</a>. And street food has become a <a href="https://www.escapehere.com/inspiration/the-absolute-best-cities-for-street-food-in-america/">tourist draw</a> across the U.S.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1276548567302365186"}"></div></p>
<h2>Street vending during a pandemic</h2>
<p>In my view, street vending offers many pluses for cities restarting after COVID-19 shutdowns. First, it can blunt some of the economic pain of the pandemic. Second, it can be configured to encourage social distancing more easily than the internal spaces of crowded shopping malls. Third, many cities are already being <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/06/coronavirus-pandemic-urban-suburbs-cities/612760/">reconfigured and reimagined</a> through steps such as widening sidewalks and creating traffic-free streets. These actions create more opportunities for street commerce. </p>
<p>Initial U.S. economic stimulus measures <a href="https://time.com/5814076/coronavirus-stimulus-bill-corporate-bailout/">favored big business and the well-connected</a>. Grants, training programs and low-interest loans, designed to help more street vendors get established, would steer support to Americans who are <a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/cityscpe/vol20num3/ch13.pdf">less wealthy and more ethnically diverse</a>. Encouraging this kind of entrepreneurship, with its low entry cost, is a small but significantly more equitable way to stimulate the economy. </p>
<p>Street vending offers still more benefits. It <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/cities-design-coronavirus/index.html">enlivens urban public spaces</a> and increases public safety by <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2019/11/14/20963057/street-vendors-public-space-safety">making streets vibrant and welcoming</a>. Promoting street vending can generate employment, keep people safe and create the vitality and comity that is the hallmark of livable <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12426037-the-humane-city">humane cities</a>. </p>
<p>COVID-19 has forced us to rethink city living. I believe we should take the opportunity to reimagine a livelier, more interesting and more equitable post-pandemic city.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141675/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>After trying to remove street vendors from its cities for years, China is supporting them to help jump-start its economy. An urban scholar explains why other cities should do the same.John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1380922020-05-14T21:06:01Z2020-05-14T21:06:01ZMegacity slums are incubators of disease – but coronavirus response isn’t helping the billion people who live in them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334830/original/file-20200513-156651-1nldcyf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=60%2C0%2C6720%2C4466&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A market area in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, crowded with people despite the coronavirus pandemic, May 12, 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/makeshift-stalls-at-a-market-along-a-pedestrian-area-of-an-news-photo/1212895418?adppopup=true">hmed Salahuddin/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Having <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-51768274">ravaged</a> some of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/new-york-coronavirus-antibody-tests-2645820969.html">world’s wealthiest cities</a>, the coronavirus pandemic is now spreading into the megacities of developing countries. Sprawling urban areas in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/25/rio-favelas-coronavirus-brazil">Brazil</a>, <a href="https://thecorrespondent.com/378/why-social-distancing-wont-work-for-us/50039243100-5409cfb5">Nigeria</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-closes-in-on-rohingya-refugees-in-bangladeshs-cramped-unprepared-camps-135147">Bangladesh</a> are all seeing COVID-19 infections rise rapidly. </p>
<p>We study the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956247814533627">fragility</a> and <a href="https://www.citylab.com/life/2012/11/making-our-cities-more-resilient-cant-wait/3758/">resilience</a> of such cities and their urban peripheries, with the aim of encouraging data-driven policy decisions. Given its deadly trajectory in marginalized communities of hard-hit <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2020/05/08/black-and-latino-new-yorkers-get-vast-majority-of-social-distancing-summonses-1283223">New York</a> and <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/c26434a2-5337-45e9-a94b-2c33fd55306a">London</a>, coronavirus may well devastate much poorer cities. </p>
<p>Particularly concerning are the <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-an-existential-threat-to-africa-and-her-crowded-slums-135829">slum areas</a> that are home to roughly a billion people – <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2019/goal-11/">one in seven people on Earth</a>. Characterized by insecure property rights, low-quality housing, limited basic services and poor sanitation, these <a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/interview/2020/04/01/coronavirus-cities-urban-poor">informal settlements</a> aggregate risk factors that accelerate the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/covid-action-platform/articles/cities-crowding-coronavirus-hotspots">spread of infection</a>. </p>
<p>Yet, our research finds, many residents of slums and squatter settlements are not getting the help they need to survive the coronavirus pandemic.</p>
<h2>Density and poverty</h2>
<p>Overcrowding is one reason slums are known <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4481042/">incubators of disease</a>. Informal settlements are typically <a href="https://academic.oup.com/oxrep/article-abstract/33/3/496/3926163?redirectedFrom=PDF">10 times denser</a> than neighboring areas of the same city. </p>
<p>The Dharavi slum in central Mumbai, for example, has some <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/concerns-mumbai-dharavi-slum-reports-covid-19-cases-200403053646046.html">97,000 residents per square mile</a>, compared to <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/where-world-most-dense-populated-cities-mumbai/61774">11,500 people per square mile</a> elsewhere in the city. It is far harder to practice physical distancing, at home or on the street, in such close quarters. </p>
<p>Most of the world’s poorest urban neighborhoods <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681376.2016.1229130">additionally lack</a> clean potable water and a private bathroom, making lifesaving practices like hand-washing <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/18-06-2019-1-in-3-people-globally-do-not-have-access-to-safe-drinking-water-unicef-who">a challenge</a>. </p>
<p>To get to work – a necessity for those with very low incomes and no savings – many people in slums travel jammed together in vans and buses over long distances that are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7118651/">perfect vectors</a> for disease.</p>
<p>For several reasons – among them little access to health care – people living in informal settlements also suffer disproportionately from <a href="https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/23734/">underlying health conditions</a> such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension, according to a <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/series/slum-health">2016 special edition of the Lancet on slums</a>. All of these problems can exacerbate respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19.</p>
<h2>Rio de Janeiro</h2>
<p>In Brazil, which is fast becoming a global <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/05/brazil-coronavirus-hot-spot-bolsonaro/611401/">COVID-19 epicenter</a>, at least 1.5 million of Rio de Janeiro’s <a href="https://agenciadenoticias.ibge.gov.br/en/agencia-press-room/2185-news-agency/releases-en/25283-ibge-divulga-as-estimativas-da-populacao-dos-municipios-para-2020">6.7 million residents</a> live in the city’s 1,000 “favelas,” or slum settlements. </p>
<p>Many favela residents <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshualaw/2020/04/29/how-the-coronavirus-is-impacting-favelas-in-rio-de-janeiro/#208f463f3ee3">lack piped water or the resources even to buy soap</a>. But Brazil’s national government, which denies the severity of its outbreak, is <a href="https://theconversation.com/just-like-trump-brazils-bolsonaro-puts-the-economy-ahead-of-his-people-during-coronavirus-136351">offering very little pandemic aid</a>. That’s left community organizations to deliver <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshualaw/2020/04/29/how-the-coronavirus-is-impacting-favelas-in-rio-de-janeiro/#208f463f3ee3">food and hygiene products</a> to Rio’s poorest.</p>
<p>Hundreds of favela residents have already tested positive for COVID-19. But with <a href="https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2020/05/10/hospitais-particulares-do-rj-estao-com-90percent-dos-leitos-de-uti-ocupados-associacao-preve-colapso-em-menos-de-15-dias.ghtml">90% of intensive care beds occupied</a>, those experiencing severe illness have little chance of getting proper emergency care. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334827/original/file-20200513-156675-1mdfkbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=163%2C163%2C5380%2C3526&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334827/original/file-20200513-156675-1mdfkbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334827/original/file-20200513-156675-1mdfkbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334827/original/file-20200513-156675-1mdfkbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334827/original/file-20200513-156675-1mdfkbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334827/original/file-20200513-156675-1mdfkbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334827/original/file-20200513-156675-1mdfkbr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A volunteer disinfects Rio’s Santa Marta favela, Brazil, April 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/volunteers-disinfect-a-road-at-the-santa-marta-favela-in-news-photo/1210468814?adppopup=true">Mauro Pimintel/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The economic fallout of COVID-19 is also devastating for poorer people. In Rio’s favelas, where residents typically make <a href="https://valor.globo.com/brasil/noticia/2020/01/24/favelas-tem-poder-de-compra-de-r-1198-bi.ghtml">less than US$5 a day</a>, over <a href="https://exame.abril.com.br/economia/renda-cai-para-7-em-cada-10-familias-nas-favelas/">70% of households</a> report an income decline since the coronavirus outbreak, according to a survey supported by the Locomotiva Institute and the Unified Center for Favelas.</p>
<h2>Lagos and Dhaka</h2>
<p>Fighting coronavirus is <a href="https://theconversation.com/lagos-size-and-slums-will-make-stopping-the-spread-of-covid-19-a-tough-task-134723">proving difficult in Lagos</a>, the largest city in Nigeria and its COVID-19 epicenter. The city, Africa’s biggest, is home to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-20/lagos-building-luxury-homes-in-face-of-affordable-housing-crisis">an estimated 26 million people</a>. Nearly three-quarters of them live in one of Lagos’s 100 slums. </p>
<p>A large proportion of those in slums subsist hand-to-mouth, <a href="https://ng.boell.org/sites/default/files/uploads/2017/02/budgit_final_report_30.1.17.pdf">working in the informal sector</a> as street vendors, waste recyclers, artisans and the like. Such jobs offer no health insurance or pensions – no basic social safety net. </p>
<p>As in Rio, many informal workers in Lagos have been deprived of even this meager income during the capital’s <a href="https://nairametrics.com/2020/05/10/lagos-state-threatens-to-revert-to-full-lock-down/">intermittent coronavirus lockdowns</a>. Staying home to survive a pandemic <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2020/03/31/covid-19-in-africa-know-your-epidemic-act-on-its-politics/">is only an option if you can afford it</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334831/original/file-20200513-156665-vy7cwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334831/original/file-20200513-156665-vy7cwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/334831/original/file-20200513-156665-vy7cwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334831/original/file-20200513-156665-vy7cwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334831/original/file-20200513-156665-vy7cwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334831/original/file-20200513-156665-vy7cwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334831/original/file-20200513-156665-vy7cwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=519&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/334831/original/file-20200513-156665-vy7cwy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=519&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 scene in Ojodu-Berger, outside Lagos, May 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-wears-face-masks-in-compliance-with-state-directive-news-photo/1211735038?adppopup=true">PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similar crises are playing out in many poor megacities worldwide. In Bangladesh, for example, COVID-19 is <a href="https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2020/05/02/coronavirus-bangladesh-records-5-more-deaths-another-552-new-cases-in-24-hours">spreading quickly through the capital of Dhaka</a>, home to almost 9 million people, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/mar/21/people-pouring-dhaka-bursting-sewers-overpopulation-bangladesh">40% of whom live in slums</a>. </p>
<p>The Bangladeshi capital has about 80 public intensive care units, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6549198/">far fewer</a> than required. Nationwide, just over 190 ICUs serve Bangladesh’s population of 161 million – 47 times less per capita than New York City after it surged its ICU capacity. </p>
<h2>Lockdowns and curfews</h2>
<p>Some developing countries acted early to prevent outbreaks and appear to have dodged the first wave of COVID-19. With memory of past pandemics fresh, governments, businesses and civil societies in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/03/world/asia/coronavirus-spread-where-why.html">Sierra Leone, Uganda and Vietnam</a> conducted extensive testing and contact tracing and to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11524-020-00438-6">bolster their primary health care systems</a>, combined them with targeted education campaigns.</p>
<p>Yet, our research finds many governments are responding to coronavirus outbreaks in slums in one of two ways: with a heavy fist or with neglect. </p>
<p>In city after city, we see <a href="https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/militaries-enforce-coronavirus-quarantine-experts-warn-escalating-violence">strict lockdowns imposed</a> on poor populations without regard to the factors that could impede compliance. Where food handouts are provided, supplies are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2020/04/15/kenya-africa-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-unemployment-sevenzo-pkg-intl-ldn-vpx.cnn">generally insufficient</a>. </p>
<p>People who violate quarantine – by trying to work, say – <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-versus-democracy-5-countries-where-emergency-powers-risk-abuse-135278">risk police violence</a>. Conflicts have <a href="https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/interview/2020/04/01/coronavirus-cities-urban-poor">erupted over curfew enforcement</a> in cities across <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-02/locked-in-cages-beaten-and-shamed-virus-laws-lead-to-abuses">Kenya, India and South Africa</a>.</p>
<p>Such tactics risk undermining residents’ already low faith in government, just when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2013.840696">public trust</a> is most needed to ensure compliance with health guidance. </p>
<p>State neglect also allows the criminal groups to consolidate their influence in slum areas. From Brazil to Mexico, <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/04/27/mexican-cartels-are-providing-covid-19-assistance-why-thats-not-surprising/">cartels</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/25/brazil-rio-gangs-coronavirus">gangs</a> and <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-mafia-poised-to-exploit-vulnerable-people-during-covid-19-pandemic-1198083%204">organized crime</a> are handing out food and medical supplies, deepening their grip on power.</p>
<h2>A better way</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11524-020-00438-6">new Journal of Urban Health study</a> recommends that developing countries facing infectious disease outbreaks prioritize getting water, food and sanitation materials to their poorest residents. </p>
<p><a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/impactevaluations/what-can-low-income-countries-do-provide-relief-poor-and-vulnerable-during-covid">Development economists</a> also advise making <a href="https://www.devex.com/news/cash-transfers-lead-the-social-assistance-response-to-covid-19-96949">cash payments</a> to the <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2020/04/09/covid-19-low-income-help-cash-transfers-esther-duflo/">poorest households</a> and halting evictions, both measures taken to ease the coronavirus crisis in advanced countries. </p>
<p>To work in areas where trust in government is low, <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-05-left-covid-settlements.html">all these measures</a> must be underpinned by a strong communications program involving credible neighborhood leaders, <a href="https://theconversation.com/clear-consistent-health-messaging-critical-to-stemming-epidemics-and-limiting-coronavirus-deaths-134529">radio, social media, TV ads and phone messages</a>. Groups like <a href="https://www.devex.com/news/opinion-slums-are-the-next-front-line-in-the-fight-against-the-coronavirus-97088">UN-Habitat</a> and <a href="https://www.iied.org/covid-19-front-line-where-crisis-meets-normal">Slum Dwellers International</a> are working with local organizations in slum communities to reach people in places where assistance is most needed.</p>
<p>Global pandemics require <a href="https://thecityfix.com/blog/cities-battered-covid-19-remain-key-recovery-ensure-investments-well-spent-schuyler-null-talia-rubnitz-hillary-smith/">global responses</a>. But places like Rio, Lagos and Dhaka face different challenges in the coronavirus fight than, say, New York City. </p>
<p>The public health response must look different, too.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklysmart">You can get our highlights each weekend</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138092/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Muggah has received research funding from the Canadian, Norwegian and UK governments as well as International Development Research Council, Luminate, Open Society Foundation, Social Science Research Council, and Tinker Foundation. He is the co-founder of Brazil's Igarape Institute, a principal of the SecDev Group and author of "Terra Incognita: 100 Maps to Survive the Next 100 Years."</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Florida is a distinguished fellow at New York University's Schack Institute of Real Estate and co-founder of the news site CityLab. He is author of "The New Urban Crisis." </span></em></p>COVID-19 is spreading fast through not only the world’s richest cities but also its poorest, ravaging slum areas where risk factors like overcrowding and poverty accelerate disease transmission.Robert Muggah, Lecturer, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)Richard Florida, Professor, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1326162020-03-03T12:44:45Z2020-03-03T12:44:45ZThe urban history that makes China’s coronavirus lockdown possible<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318091/original/file-20200302-18266-11bopui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4896%2C3254&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pagoda-jingshan-park-central-business-district-100830826">oksana.perkins/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hundreds of millions of people in cities in China have been affected by measures to contain the novel coronavirus. It <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/business/china-coronavirus-lockdown.html">has been reported</a> that people have been asked to provide information such as their temperature via mobile phone, and that in some neighbourhoods only one member of a family is allowed out every few days to buy food. Visitors from outside residential complexes have been forbidden from entering, and public gatherings have been cancelled. </p>
<p>Although some of the monitoring of people’s health and movement has been done using mobile phone apps, much of it relies on hundreds of thousands of volunteers. They stand guard at the gates of residential complexes, enforce quarantines and conduct temperature checks.</p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-joint-mission-on-covid-19-final-report.pdf">World Health Organization report</a> praised the efforts of the Chinese government and its people in limiting the spread of the virus. The report noted the importance of community participation in the decision to lock down the cities. However, the mobilisation of the volunteers who guard buildings and conduct temperature checks relies on a system of governance built on <a href="https://uhpress.hawaii.edu/product/urbanizing-china-in-war-and-peace-the-case-of-wuxi-county/">China’s urban history</a>. This means similar measures may not work elsewhere. </p>
<h2>Local volunteers</h2>
<p>Chinese urban governance – and the current coronavirus lockdown – is overseen by local <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286989663_The_Residents'_Committee_in_China's_Political_System_Democracy_Stability_Mobilization">residents’ committees</a>. These have their origins in the 1950s, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) established control over cities. Urban districts were sub-divided into residents’ committees, made up of several hundred households, and residents’ small groups, composed of fewer still. They were staffed by CCP officials and local volunteers, and were responsible for keeping order, putting up propaganda posters, and running political campaigns. </p>
<p>The committees gained greater importance during China’s period of economic reform, which began in 1978. Private sector growth meant the number of people employed in work units – state-owned organisations which provided housing, schooling and social activities – declined. The work units’ <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.913.2863&rep=rep1&type=pdf">responsibilities shifted</a> to the residents’ committees. Today, the committees have control over unemployment and pensions payments, public health and the local environment. They arbitrate in domestic disputes, promote cultural activities, and help people find work. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318109/original/file-20200302-18262-8a2d08.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318109/original/file-20200302-18262-8a2d08.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318109/original/file-20200302-18262-8a2d08.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318109/original/file-20200302-18262-8a2d08.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318109/original/file-20200302-18262-8a2d08.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318109/original/file-20200302-18262-8a2d08.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/318109/original/file-20200302-18262-8a2d08.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">China’s communist history has shaped the governance of its cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/modern-building-lujiazui-financial-centre-shanghai-132251384">hxdyl/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since the late 1990s, it has become more common for two or three residents’ committees to be amalgamated into a larger community, <a href="https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_RFSP_651_0085--governing-through-the-neighbourhood.htm">known as a <em>shequ</em></a>. These can comprise as many as 16,000 people from diverse social backgrounds and include organisations such as companies and schools from the local area. Within the <em>shequ</em>, a neighbourhood delegate assembly elects the members of the residents’ committees, who are often women. The CCP retains control by having party secretaries elected or appointed. Local urban governance is, at least in part, the responsibility of <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.913.2863&rep=rep1&type=pdf">people in the communities</a> themselves. </p>
<p>This evolution of Chinese urban governance gives the CCP the ability to monitor cities closely, especially when it is combined with <a href="https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2019/09/sharper-eyes-surveilling-the-surveillers-part-1/">modern hi-tech surveillance</a> systems. This has certainly resulted in draconian measures to control the urban population in recent weeks. </p>
<p>However, while the Chinese government is certainly capable of repression, to see residents’ committees as simply the arms of an authoritarian state bent on total control is too simplistic.</p>
<h2>A shared experience</h2>
<p>Many of the staff of these committees are drawn from the local community. This means that for many Chinese, the inconveniences of the lockdown, such as guards outside residential complexes and temperature checks, do not necessarily feel like something that has been imposed on them. Instead, they are a shared experience that can bring people together, as <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-51276496">shouts of support</a> from tower block to tower block in Wuhan show. </p>
<p>As the coronavirus spreads around the world, other countries must be careful about looking to China for examples of how to manage it. Cities in other countries do not have a political culture that would allow them to replicate what China has done, or the same governance structures. The Chinese model of urban development in the 20th century is not entirely unique, since it derives some of its inspiration from the USSR, but it has certainly diverged from the West.</p>
<p>Instead, if locking down urban populations is proven to be the most effective way of containing the virus, officials must look at the tools they have in their governance armouries. </p>
<p>This includes the police and other emergency services, but also charities and community groups. They often already work closely with city government, and are able to mobilise their members to take action. This could include checking up on vulnerable residents or helping to deliver food supplies to families who might be under quarantine. The coming weeks will test the resilience of our cities and our communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132616/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Toby Lincoln 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>Local residents’ committees control urban governance in China, meaning lockdown measures do not feel imposed from outside.Toby Lincoln, Lecturer, Chinese urban history, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1308582020-02-20T12:19:32Z2020-02-20T12:19:32ZIs your city making you fat? How urban planning can address the obesity epidemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316226/original/file-20200219-11005-sopa0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C0%2C3456%2C2291&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Ohio City Farm in Cleveland provides low-cost land, shared facilities and technical assistance to support entrepreneurial farmers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/eDWgWV">Horticulture Group/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>New disease outbreaks, like the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html">novel coronavirus</a> that recently emerged in China’s Hubei province, generate headlines and attention. Meanwhile, however, Americans face a slower but <a href="https://theconversation.com/obesity-second-to-smoking-as-the-most-preventable-cause-of-us-deaths-needs-new-approaches-129317">much more pervasive health crisis: obesity</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html">Nearly 40%</a> of Americans are considered obese. Rates of obesity for <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html">children</a> have increased in recent decades, putting more people at increased risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html">One in 5 deaths</a> of those aged 40 to 85 are now attributed to obesity, and one recent study projects that by 2030, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa1909301">nearly half of all U.S. adults will be obese</a>.</p>
<p>This problem is too often treated only as an issue of personal responsibility, with calls for people to eat healthier diets and exercise more. It is true that Americans need to cut their caloric intake, especially of foods high in sugar and saturated fats, and get more exercise. Nearly 80% of U.S. adults are not meeting <a href="https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition/pdf/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf">federal guidelines for physical activity</a>, which recommend 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate physical activity weekly.</p>
<p>But our built environment, which includes not only buildings but roads, sidewalks and public spaces, also plays an important role in physical health. Researchers call cities that promote sedentary lifestyles and poor diet <a href="https://publichealthathens.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/simple-file-list/Dissecting_Obesogenic_Environments_The_D.pdf">obesogenic</a>. As a researcher <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oMPNYhQAAAAJ&hl=en">focusing on urban issues</a>, I am encouraged to see city planners paying increasing attention to helping residents lead healthy lifestyles.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/raCIUeGUr3s?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Former Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett describes how his city helped residents drop a collective million pounds through public education and investments in parks, sidewalks and sports facilities.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Fat cities</h2>
<p>Modern U.S. cities were designed to make exercise unnecessary. Cars and elevators symbolized urban areas as machines for more efficient living. Now it is clear that these improvements provide great benefits but also impose health costs. </p>
<p>Recent studies show that urban sprawl encourages more driving and is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-233">associated with higher weight</a>. This correlation suggests that the layout and design of cities can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2010.00769.x">hinder or promote healthier lifestyle choices</a>.</p>
<p>As a thought experiment, what would a city that makes residents more overweight look like? It would probably have few fresh food facilities and discourage physical activity, thus encouraging people to eat fast food and sit in cars rather than walking or bicycling. In other words, it would resemble the standard <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442277182/A-Regional-Geography-of-the-United-States-and-Canada-Toward-a-Sustainable-Future-Second-Edition">car-centric U.S. cities</a> that have emerged in the past 50 years. </p>
<p>Cities did not create the obesity epidemic, but they can make it worse by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2004.04.011">neither promoting nor prompting healthier lifestyles</a>. And it’s not just happening in the U.S. Around the world, health experts contend, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-098805">cities are making people fat</a>. </p>
<iframe src="https://d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/10532/geochart-obesity4.html" width="100%" height="347" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
<div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/fattest-cities-in-america/10532/">WalletHub</a></div>
<p><em>One hundred U.S. cities, rated on key indicators of weight-related problems. Low scores (purple/dark blue) connote higher obesity rates; higher rank (light blue) indicates healthier cities. Mouse over locations for individual scores.</em></p>
<h2>Creating the healthy city</h2>
<p>Urban planning still centers in large part on solving the problems of the past. Of course cities still need to foster standard public health practices, such as separating toxic facilities from homes and restricting heavy truck traffic through dense residential areas. But it’s also important to create healthier cities – and the discussion is already underway. </p>
<p>One important issue in many poorer neighborhoods is a lack of fresh food. <a href="https://www.centerforhealthjournalism.org/fellowships/projects/how-can-cities-end-food-deserts-here-are-4-solutions-worked">Food deserts</a> are places where good nutritional options are limited. Cities across the country are reshaping ordinances and changing tax codes so as to make it easier to create and sustain the production and sale of <a href="https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/topics/healthy-eating/access-healthy-affordable-food">local, affordable and nutritious food</a>. </p>
<p>As one example, <a href="https://ilsr.org/rule/dollar-store-dispersal-restrictions/dollar-store-restriction-tulsa-okla/">Tulsa</a> now limits permits for stores that do not provide fresh food. Others, including Boston, Buffalo, New York City and Seattle, have passed <a href="http://growingfoodconnections.org/tools-resources/policy-database/general-search-policy-database/">new ordinances</a> that allow for <a href="https://ubwp.buffalo.edu/foodlab/wp-content/uploads/sites/68/2017/06/planningtoeat5.pdf">community gardens</a>, urban gardens and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-urban-agriculture-can-improve-food-security-in-us-cities-106435">urban farms</a>. </p>
<p>Cities are pursuing a wide range of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/state-local-programs/nutrition.html">nutrition strategies</a>. Detroit modified its zoning ordinances to encourage urban gardens to sell food. Cleveland now allows residents to raise small farm animals and bees. Los Angeles has an urban agriculture incentive zone that promotes farming on vacant lots through <a href="http://growingfoodconnections.org/tools-resources/policy-database/general-search-policy-database/">reduced property tax assessments</a>. </p>
<p>Other programs <a href="https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2019/01/10/innovative-solutions-ending-food-deserts/2512232002/">include</a> “virtual supermarkets” in Baltimore that enable purchases of fresh food with food stamps; a food hub in New Orleans that teaches people how to grow and cook healthier food; and a statewide program in Pennsylvania that uses public and private dollars to support fresh food projects in low-income neighborhoods. Residents of two low-income communities in <a href="https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2019/01/10/food-deserts-louisville-neighborhood-became-fresh-food-oasis/2523711002/">Louisville</a> cleared land for a farm that now produces good-quality food for people with little access to healthy options. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316230/original/file-20200219-11000-1bepfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316230/original/file-20200219-11000-1bepfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316230/original/file-20200219-11000-1bepfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316230/original/file-20200219-11000-1bepfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316230/original/file-20200219-11000-1bepfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316230/original/file-20200219-11000-1bepfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316230/original/file-20200219-11000-1bepfmz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/316230/original/file-20200219-11000-1bepfmz.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">Dietitian Heba Abdel Latief talks to her patient, Richard Ware, at Inner-City Muslim Action Network’s farmers market in Chicago.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Feeding-Food-Deserts/ba865729af6e4c639cc4cf20d1bcc84f/12/0">AP Photo/Amr Alfiky</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Getting out and about</h2>
<p>Planners are also paying increasing attention to <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/353043/2017_WHO_Report_FINAL_WEB.pdf?ua=1">encouraging physical activity</a> by making it <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.7812/TPP/14-242">easier and safer</a> for people to recreate, walk, bike and take public transportation. <a href="https://qz.com/quartzy/1615436/the-solution-to-make-america-physically-active/">Longevity studies</a> show that people live the longest in environments where physical activity is part of everyday life. </p>
<p>Providing more walkable spaces, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-us-cities-are-becoming-more-dangerous-for-cyclists-and-pedestrians-111713">better protected bike lanes</a> and more recreational spaces are important steps. But even smaller changes can be effective. </p>
<p>Cities can close off streets on weekends to encourage communities to get out and walk. They also can provide more seating in public places, so that less-fit residents can rest during their journeys. Using public spaces in cities as places where people can exercise promotes equity, rather than allowing physical activity to become restricted to private gyms with often-expensive monthly fees. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.bluezones.com/2019/10/healthy-city-design-are-we-designing-for-utopia-or-dystopia/">Studies</a> show that when cities are designed to provide walkability, bikeability, public transportation and more attractive green recreational spaces, then physical activity across the entire community increases. Minneapolis-St. Paul was rated the <a href="https://www.today.com/health/minneapolis-st-paul-fittest-city-u-s-t111584">nation’s fittest city</a> after it made a commitment <a href="http://www.minneapolismn.gov/publicworks/gompls/WCMSP-212528">a decade ago</a> to expand bike lanes, tree planting and safer sidewalks. The changes encouraged residents to walk more and get more exercise. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1189629243732430849"}"></div></p>
<h2>Cities as machines</h2>
<p>It will be expensive to create healthier cities. But a recent <a href="https://www.surveyofmayors.com/reports/Menino-Survey-of-Mayors-2019-Key-Findings.pdf">survey of mayors</a> revealed that a majority believes their cities were too car-centric. Many wanted to invest more in bike infrastructure, parks and public sports complexes. Cities with high levels of obesity typically <a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/fattest-cities-in-america/10532/#methodology">don’t make these features a priority</a>. </p>
<p>The U.S. health care system, with its emphasis on tests and interventions to treat individual illness rather than on prevention, is the <a href="https://pnhp.org/news/perspective-from-anne-case-angus-deaton-and-robert-putnam/">most expensive in the world</a> with only modest levels of health outcomes and life expectancy compared to similarly wealthy countries. Integrating better diets and more physical activity into everyday urban life can help Americans become healthier more effectively, and at less cost.</p>
<p>[<em>Insight, in your inbox each day.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=insight">You can get it with The Conversation’s email newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130858/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>Four out of 5 Americans live in cities, so urban planning can make a big difference in our lifestyles – especially if it promotes healthy diets and physical activity.John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1308812020-02-04T18:57:28Z2020-02-04T18:57:28ZSmart city or not? Now you can see how yours compares<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313443/original/file-20200204-41490-1vuw9gm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C104%2C2699%2C1638&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">f11photo/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The highest-ranked areas in an Australia-wide assessment of smart city performance are all in metropolitan regions with higher population densities. “Australia’s 60 top-performing local government areas house more than quarter of the nation’s population,” we note in the newly released <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/136873/">Smart Cities Down Under</a> report.</p>
<p>As well as highlighting major regional disparities, our analysis reveals the local government areas we assessed against four smart city indicator areas generally perform strongly in one of these, “Liveability and Well-being”. Performances are weaker in “Sustainability and Accessibility” and “Governance and Planning”. High performance in “Productivity and Innovation” existed only in the top-performing areas.</p>
<p>We assessed 180 local government areas (out of 563 in Australia), representing more than 85% of the nation’s population, against <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/123317/">smart city criteria</a>. We included all local government areas in metropolitan Australia (<a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1270.0.55.001%7EJuly%202016%7EMain%20Features%7EGreater%20Capital%20City%20Statistical%20Areas%20(GCCSA)%7E10003">Greater Capital City Statistical Areas</a>) and regional local government areas with populations of more than 50,000. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313419/original/file-20200203-41532-pt7dd4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313419/original/file-20200203-41532-pt7dd4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313419/original/file-20200203-41532-pt7dd4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313419/original/file-20200203-41532-pt7dd4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313419/original/file-20200203-41532-pt7dd4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313419/original/file-20200203-41532-pt7dd4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313419/original/file-20200203-41532-pt7dd4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313419/original/file-20200203-41532-pt7dd4.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Locations of investigated local government areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This study is an expanded version of the <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/118349/">Smart Cities of the Sunshine State 2018</a> report.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/just-how-city-smart-are-local-governments-in-queensland-106601">Just how 'city smart' are local governments in Queensland?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>It’s not all about technology</h2>
<p>Cities are complex systems and should be evaluated in a holistic way. This means not placing excessive weight on technological achievements – such as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49674533">tech for tech’s sake</a> – in lieu of economic, social, environmental and governance outcomes.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/smart-cities-worlds-best-dont-just-adopt-new-technology-they-make-it-work-for-people-124939">Smart cities: world's best don't just adopt new technology, they make it work for people</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/132495/">conceptual framework</a> to evaluate <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/118033/">smartness levels</a> was built on the four pillars of economy, society, environment and governance. The evaluation criteria are shown below.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313427/original/file-20200203-41532-1gtwmto.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313427/original/file-20200203-41532-1gtwmto.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313427/original/file-20200203-41532-1gtwmto.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313427/original/file-20200203-41532-1gtwmto.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313427/original/file-20200203-41532-1gtwmto.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313427/original/file-20200203-41532-1gtwmto.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1227&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313427/original/file-20200203-41532-1gtwmto.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1227&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313427/original/file-20200203-41532-1gtwmto.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1227&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We categorised the 180 local government areas we assessed into three performance categories:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>leading</strong>, the best-performing cities</p></li>
<li><p><strong>following</strong>, the cities with achievements and potential, but not at the level of the best performers</p></li>
<li><p><strong>developing</strong>, the cities with some progress and potential, but not as substantial as the other two categories.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Who’s leading the way?</h2>
<p>All areas in the leading category were completely contained within capital city metropolitan areas.</p>
<p>New South Wales ranked first with 20 local government areas. Then came Western Australia (14), Victoria (12), South Australia (9), Northern Territory (2) and Queensland, Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania (1 each). In terms of population in leading areas, the ranking changed to: NSW (2,348,388 people), Victoria (1,477,964), Queensland (1,131,155), WA (557,163), ACT (397,397), SA (370,719), NT (112,590) and Tasmania (50,439).</p>
<p>You can see below how the combined results for each of leading, following and developing performers compare against the four smart city indicator areas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313429/original/file-20200203-41503-l2qcgs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313429/original/file-20200203-41503-l2qcgs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313429/original/file-20200203-41503-l2qcgs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313429/original/file-20200203-41503-l2qcgs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313429/original/file-20200203-41503-l2qcgs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=935&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313429/original/file-20200203-41503-l2qcgs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1175&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313429/original/file-20200203-41503-l2qcgs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1175&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313429/original/file-20200203-41503-l2qcgs.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1175&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Comparison of leading, following and developing cluster performances.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>You can see the smart city performance matrix of your local government area <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/136873/">here</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-smart-cities-1-0-to-2-0-its-not-only-about-the-tech-73851">From Smart Cities 1.0 to 2.0: it's not (only) about the tech</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Key steps towards smarter cities</h2>
<p>Metropolitan local government areas dominate the leading performance category. Mechanisms such as the Australian government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/city-deals-26196">City and Regional Deals</a> and funding through the <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/smart-cities/">Smart Cities and Suburbs Program</a> have delivered some tangible impacts. </p>
<p>The performance is less strong in regional Australia. A national smart city strategy and guidelines are needed to help make these localities and communities smarter.</p>
<p>This policy should take on the following findings of our <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/135135/">international study of smart cities</a>: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>smart cities that focus only on technology seldom work</p></li>
<li><p>local governments should adopt the role of facilitator</p></li>
<li><p>risks need to be shared with the private sector</p></li>
<li><p>local governments should be open to innovations and learn from mistakes</p></li>
<li><p>smart cities should focus on being inclusive</p></li>
<li><p>resource consumption must be considered, particularly in relation to the longevity of technological infrastructure</p></li>
<li><p>long-term sustainability depends on renewable resources</p></li>
<li><p>smart cities require a smart community that is knowledgeable, conscious, forward-thinking, engaged, united and active.</p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-does-a-city-get-to-be-smart-this-is-how-tel-aviv-did-it-94898">How does a city get to be 'smart'? This is how Tel Aviv did it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/smartcity/home/people/urban-studies-lab/">Urban Studies Lab</a> at Queensland University of Technology prepared the report in partnership with the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communication. Our <a href="https://research.qut.edu.au/smartcity/">Smart City Research Team</a> has had conversations with city managers, mayors, local government professionals and key community stakeholders (e.g., businesses, not-for-profits, NGOs and academic institutions, among others). These conversations confirm local governments have a critical role to play if Australia is to manage vexing societal challenges from climate change to accessing economic opportunities, and even dealing with transformations driven by information technologies such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/driverless-vehicles-could-bring-out-the-best-or-worst-in-our-cities-by-transforming-land-use-84127">automation</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/valleys-alleys-and-roundabouts-innovating-beyond-a-precinct-24290">innovation</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/artificial-intelligence-should-benefit-society-not-create-threats-36240">artificial intelligence</a>). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-cities-grow-the-internet-of-things-can-help-us-get-on-top-of-the-waste-crisis-127917">As cities grow, the Internet of Things can help us get on top of the waste crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Local governments do not function well in isolation. Any local government is only as strong as the other local governments within its vicinity. They must interact to share and access public resources. </p>
<p>Leading cities can learn from the <a href="https://www.planetizen.com/node/67338">frugal innovations</a> of their less fortunate peers. Our best-performing cities are similar to incumbents in the industry sector in that they face their own challenges to modernise. </p>
<p>Too often these cities seek solutions that are not frugal and cannot leverage indigenous knowledge. Less well-resourced communities must engage in different modes of innovation. We believe better networks need to be set up to foster dialogue and exchange practices across communities.</p>
<p>The good news in our report is that our leading cities fare well. The not-so-good news is that the other local governments need to be brought along on a transformation journey. No city is an island, and no country can treat cities as independent elements. </p>
<p>Australia, we believe, should consolidate its <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/103038/">local governance and planning</a> culture to lead the change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130881/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tan Yigitcanlar receives funding from the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments for his current research on the planning of smart and sustainable cities and innovation districts.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Vella receives funding from the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments for research into stakeholder engagement and governance arrangements for sustainable action. She is affiliated with Reef Check Australia as a Non Executive Director. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Clyde Desouza receives funding from International City/County Management Association for his current research on smart cities, digital technologies and urban governance, and urban innovation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Butler and Nayomi Kankanamge 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>A new report assesses the smart city performance of local government areas representing 85% of Australia’s population. NSW leads the way, and all the leading performers are in the major cities.Tan Yigitcanlar, Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, Queensland University of TechnologyKaren Vella, Associate Professor and Head, School, Built Environment, Queensland University of TechnologyKevin Clyde Desouza, Professor of Business, Technology and Strategy, Queensland University of TechnologyLuke Butler, Research Assistant, Queensland University of TechnologyNayomi Kankanamge, PhD Candidate, School of Built Environment, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1269272019-12-01T18:59:10Z2019-12-01T18:59:10ZComeback city? Lessons from revitalising a diverse place like Dandenong<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301985/original/file-20191115-66953-egwvm9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C97%2C3264%2C2203&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Greater Dandenong Civic Centre was completed in 2014 with new council chambers, a library and Harmony Square.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Hayley Henderson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the 1990s, central Dandenong in Melbourne’s southeast was in decline. But, over the past decade and a half, this trend has been halted and in some areas reversed. Our <a href="https://sustainable.unimelb.edu.au/research/research-projects/collaborative-governance-under-austerity">research</a> has identified key elements in this revitalisation, including strong roles for both public sector and non-government participants. </p>
<p>Importantly, the approach has delivered new opportunities for the culturally diverse local community.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kebab-urbanism-melbournes-other-cafe-makes-the-city-a-more-human-place-112228">Kebab urbanism: Melbourne's 'other' cafe makes the city a more human place</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>At the time these efforts began, a shrinking manufacturing sector and poor urban planning decisions had drained vitality from the centre. New shopping malls and suburban estates enticed people to live and shop elsewhere. Public spaces were dilapidated. Many retail buildings were vacant. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, local population levels were stagnating. Affordable rents and a community with strong networks of support attracted some new residents, most from <a href="https://www.communityprofile.com.au/greaterdandenong/">culturally and linguistically diverse</a> backgrounds. However, once settled, many people faced barriers to employment, training and adequate public facilities.</p>
<h2>Who is behind the project?</h2>
<p>The Victorian government and the City of Greater Dandenong were keen to reverse these trends. They wanted to reinstate the neighbourhood as Melbourne’s second-most-important urban centre. The state government funded the <a href="https://www.development.vic.gov.au/projects/revitalising-central-dandenong">Revitalising Central Dandenong</a> project from 2006. </p>
<p>Since then, and particularly since 2011, the process has also been propelled by local government action and the coordinated efforts of local leaders. They represent business, education, faith communities and social services. These interlinked activities across sectors have arguably been effective in kick-starting the project. </p>
<p>However, some important shortcomings have limited the potential for revitalisation. In particular, the benefits have not reached all of the community.</p>
<p>For example, many female migrants have not had access to suitable employment opportunities. Services are lacking for some marginalised community members, including asylum seekers. </p>
<p>Other concerns include persistent barriers to retail activation (including rising rents and parking costs), emergent threats of gentrification and a lack of major private investment in residential and office development.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://sustainable.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/3227267/Dandenong_final_web_26112019.pdf">research briefing</a> explains our findings in detail, including some of these problems.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-creatives-are-remaking-canberras-city-centre-but-at-a-social-cost-97322">New creatives are remaking Canberra's city centre, but at a social cost</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303151/original/file-20191122-74580-1dgrwou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303151/original/file-20191122-74580-1dgrwou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303151/original/file-20191122-74580-1dgrwou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303151/original/file-20191122-74580-1dgrwou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303151/original/file-20191122-74580-1dgrwou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303151/original/file-20191122-74580-1dgrwou.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303151/original/file-20191122-74580-1dgrwou.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">The development of central Dandenong is continuing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Hayley Henderson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What are the key elements that work?</h2>
<p><strong>1. A commitment to redistributive policy</strong></p>
<p>A significant one-off Victorian government investment of <a href="https://www.development.vic.gov.au/projects/revitalising-central-dandenong">A$290 million</a> was the cornerstone of the project, and it has been carefully designed. Experienced professionals appointed to the government development agency, then known as <a href="https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/articles/vicurban-is-now-places-victoria/">VicUrban</a>, crafted the program.</p>
<p>The early focus was on catalyst projects and the removal of roadblocks to the considered development to follow. These actions included:</p>
<ul>
<li>special zoning</li>
<li>transferring planning powers to the state government</li>
<li>acquiring about 150 sites for reconfiguration and development. </li>
</ul>
<p>Given the entrenched decline, revitalisation was unlikely to occur without significant public commitment. </p>
<p>Following the state government’s energetic program start, the local government has taken the reins since 2011. The council gave priority to revitalising works in the centre (see the table of major project spending below) and to covering gaps in the original strategy. This included a housing strategy in response to emerging gentrification. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303601/original/file-20191125-74584-1bqh99m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303601/original/file-20191125-74584-1bqh99m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303601/original/file-20191125-74584-1bqh99m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303601/original/file-20191125-74584-1bqh99m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303601/original/file-20191125-74584-1bqh99m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303601/original/file-20191125-74584-1bqh99m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303601/original/file-20191125-74584-1bqh99m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303601/original/file-20191125-74584-1bqh99m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data source: City of Greater Dandenong annual reports, 1999-2016</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Because macro-policy in urban planning often fluctuates, local communities cannot depend on secure, long-term funding for discretionary renewal projects. To achieve revitalisation through redistribution, local government leadership is vital for maintaining focus on one area over others. </p>
<p>Refined skills in urban planning strategy and financial management have also been indispensable to the project.</p>
<p><strong>2. Strong local networks</strong></p>
<p>The public program was enhanced because community leaders already knew each other and were predisposed to work together. They ranged from education providers (such as Chisholm TAFE and Deakin University) and faith groups (such as Interfaith Network) to trade associations (such as South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance) and private sector groups (such as the Committee for Dandenong). These groups worked both together with and separately from the publicly funded program.</p>
<p>Active and organised local leaders provided vital input on strategy design, partnered or led delivery of specific initiatives and put their organisations to work on gaps in the program. They also powerfully advocated for governments to remain focused on revitalisation.</p>
<p>Overall, these strong local networks enabled smoother policy development and delivery. Having an organised and receptive community to engage with was important. </p>
<p>Our research underscores the value of acknowledging the effectiveness of existing local strategies and community capacities. It highlights the need to work collaboratively. This includes a focus on the “soft side” of practice – that is, building relationships. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/create-to-regenerate-cities-tap-into-talent-for-urban-renewal-63992">Create to regenerate: cities tap into talent for urban renewal</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>3. A focus on pluralism</strong></p>
<p>Enhanced opportunities have been created for many culturally and linguistically diverse communities. How so? </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Policies generally support cultural pluralism, as diversity is accommodated and promoted.</p></li>
<li><p>Affordability across diverse housing types has been maintained. This supports social mixing between people and a place identity based on cultural diversity. </p></li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Diversity in housing types in Dandenong and Greater Melbourne</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303397/original/file-20191125-74572-25iy13.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303397/original/file-20191125-74572-25iy13.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303397/original/file-20191125-74572-25iy13.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303397/original/file-20191125-74572-25iy13.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303397/original/file-20191125-74572-25iy13.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303397/original/file-20191125-74572-25iy13.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303397/original/file-20191125-74572-25iy13.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/303397/original/file-20191125-74572-25iy13.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changes in housing diversity in Dandenong and Melbourne (% houses versus units/terraces), 2001-2016.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: developed from ABS Census data 2001, 2006, 2011 & 2016</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ol>
<li>The well-curated mix of land uses in the centre brings in many people and activates public spaces. This approach supports safety, casual encounters and understanding between people. </li>
</ol>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304030/original/file-20191127-112539-1hf8ov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304030/original/file-20191127-112539-1hf8ov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304030/original/file-20191127-112539-1hf8ov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304030/original/file-20191127-112539-1hf8ov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304030/original/file-20191127-112539-1hf8ov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304030/original/file-20191127-112539-1hf8ov.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304030/original/file-20191127-112539-1hf8ov.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">Dandenong Market has been refurbished by the City of Greater Dandenong.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo take by Hayley Henderson</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ol>
<li><p>We found some local services also provided opportunities for people to make lasting connections – for example, language courses run by churches and neighbourhood houses.</p></li>
<li><p>Many migrants took up local education, training and employment opportunities (with some important exceptions, especially female migrants).</p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-neighbourhoods-become-dangerous-look-to-local-strengths-for-a-lifeline-94418">When neighbourhoods become dangerous, look to local strengths for a lifeline</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our forthcoming analysis on <a href="https://www.policyforum.net/">Policy Forum</a> further explains the ethic of cultural pluralism in policy and society. </p>
<p>Overall, urban centres cannot avoid fallout from broader economic restructuring, nor are they immune to poor strategic planning decisions or funding cuts that affect their prospects. Central Dandenong shows revitalisation can occur despite significant disadvantage. It has been achieved through a combination of public sector leadership and an interconnected and active local community.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126927/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors received funding to conduct this research from the Economic and Social Research Council, UK under Grant (Ref: ES/L012898/1)—Collaborative Governance Under Austerity: An Eight-Case Comparative Study.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Gleeson receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Sullivan receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>A major investment in renewing the urban centre of Dandenong is starting to pay dividends. But while research has found three keys to success, the benefits haven’t reached everyone.Hayley Henderson, Postdoctoral fellow, Australian National UniversityBrendan Gleeson, Director, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, The University of MelbourneHelen Sullivan, Professor and Director, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1216012019-10-08T22:39:19Z2019-10-08T22:39:19ZSidewalk Labs proposals put the fox in charge of the henhouse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288964/original/file-20190821-170906-105dezx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=41%2C0%2C6839%2C4435&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An artist's rendering of Toronto's shoreline in 2050. Regulating the future city poses new challenges for different levels of government.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sidewalktoronto.ca/press/">Picture Plane/Heatherwick Studio for Sidewalk Labs</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sidewalk Labs’ nearly 1,500-page <a href="https://quaysideto.ca/sidewalk-labs-proposal-master-innovation-and-development-plan/">Master Innovation and Development Plan</a> was released in June 2019. The document exhaustively detailed proposals for a smart city on Toronto’s eastern waterfront. </p>
<p>Following nearly two years of often-contentious public consultations, this master plan is also intended to put to rest criticism that Sidewalk Labs, a Google sister company, would unfairly dominate the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-sidewalk-toronto-is-not-a-smart-city/">project by controlling data and the intellectual property rights of any technologies developed</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/time-to-reset-waterfront-torontos-smart-city-public-consultations-120636">Time to reset Waterfront Toronto's Smart City public consultations</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Instead of easing concerns, however, the plan starkly reveals the power that Sidewalk Labs proposes it should be granted, as well as its goal of becoming the dominant player in Toronto’s smart-city project. </p>
<p>Sidewalk Labs proposes multiple roles for itself as public planner, real-estate developer, builder and manager of critical physical and digital infrastructure and a creator of the rules and standards that will affect all businesses and residents within the smart city. </p>
<p>As legal scholars Ellen Goodman and Julia Powles observe, in these roles Sidewalk Labs is not only defining the problems and solutions of the smart city, but is also <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3390610">often positioning itself as uniquely qualified to provide those solutions directly</a>. </p>
<h2>Smart urban policy?</h2>
<p>To understand the implications of Sidewalk Labs’ roles as both public planner and private vendor, recognize that Sidewalk Labs is not simply a technology company; it’s also “<a href="https://blaynehaggart.wordpress.com/2019/09/10/no-longer-liveblogging-sidewalk-labs-master-innovation-and-development-plan-bonus-entry-9-can-sidewalk-labs-find-any-independent-experts-to-support-it/">Google’s Division of Urban Policy</a>,” as Brock University’s Blayne Haggart puts it. </p>
<p>In this role, Sidewalk Labs is in the position of setting rules and standards for physical and digital infrastructure which, if the project goes ahead, will govern the smart city for decades to come. And it’s doing so in a way that would unfairly privilege its own commercial interests. </p>
<p>This is not simply a case of a vendor proposing to build streets or buildings in a certain way, with vendors retaining proprietary interests in the technologies they invent. For example, it wouldn’t be unusual for a company to propose rolling out its prototype modular pavement, composed of interlocking pre-cast concrete pavers, for streets in Quayside, as Sidewalk Labs is proposing. </p>
<p>But Sidewalk Labs also proposes to grant itself the capacity to set the rules that will govern the urban infrastructure within the project neighbourhood. </p>
<p>Sidewalk Labs’ master plan goes far beyond planning the smart-city features like heated sidewalks, timber skyscrapers and self-driving vehicles that were the focus of much of its public consultations. </p>
<p>Its most consequential proposal was one that was hardly discussed during the public consultations: namely the creation of five powerful regulatory bodies, managed wholly or in part by a public administrator.</p>
<p>I’ve written about these proposed regulatory bodies, their possible funding models, <a href="https://blaynehaggart.wordpress.com/2019/07/21/liveblogging-sidewalk-labs-master-innovation-and-development-plan-guest-post-an-analysis-of-all-the-new-public-agencies-proposed-in-the-midp/">and the changes that Sidewalk Labs proposes to existing laws and municipal bylaws to bring them into being</a>. Each new regulatory entity would have yet-to-be-determined relationships with existing provincial and municipal government agencies, and would likely depend on public revenue to supplement their proposed user-fee models. </p>
<h2>Assigning responsibility</h2>
<p>Needless to say, it’s very unusual for a private-sector vendor to call for the creation of five new bureaucracies to deliver its infrastructure plan. Sidewalk Labs’ actual proposals aren’t helped by the fact that it doesn’t account for the funding and resources needed to run these agencies in its master plan.</p>
<p>But the problems with these proposals go far beyond their viability and the economic burden they’d impose on Torontonians. Most importantly, Sidewalk Labs’ proposed overhaul of existing regulatory structures asks the fundamental question: Who governs? Or, more precisely, who <em>should</em> govern? </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296063/original/file-20191008-128686-174l8xe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296063/original/file-20191008-128686-174l8xe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/296063/original/file-20191008-128686-174l8xe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296063/original/file-20191008-128686-174l8xe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296063/original/file-20191008-128686-174l8xe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296063/original/file-20191008-128686-174l8xe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296063/original/file-20191008-128686-174l8xe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/296063/original/file-20191008-128686-174l8xe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Municipal, provincial and federal governments will need to be involved in the regulation of various aspects of the smart city, providing oversight for issues like privacy and infrastructure.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In essence, Sidewalk Labs is planning the bureaucracy that will govern the waterfront’s smart neighbourhood. Typically, we expect elected officials to create public regulatory bodies through publicly drafted legislation, with a clear, costed detailing of the regulatory powers and relationship with existing bodies. </p>
<p>That’s not happening here.</p>
<p>What’s more, for the public to perceive regulatory bodies as legitimate, they need to be seen as being independent from those they regulate. Simply put, regulators should not be created by those they will govern.</p>
<p>Sidewalk Labs breaks this norm with its proposal of an <a href="https://www.sidewalklabs.com/blog/an-update-on-data-governance-for-sidewalk-toronto/">urban data trust</a>, an independent body that would set rules on data collection in public spaces and how that data can be used and commercialized. By putting forward its ideas of data collection and consent in public spaces, with an emphasis on maximizing collection and minimizing privacy, the company is shaping the framework in which the urban trust would operate.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sidewalk-torontos-master-plan-raises-urgent-concerns-about-data-and-privacy-121025">Sidewalk Toronto's master plan raises urgent concerns about data and privacy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Problematic requirements</h2>
<p>While Sidewalk Labs’ plan raises significant issues, to say the least, Waterfront Toronto also bears responsibility for these regulatory bodies. </p>
<p>Waterfront Toronto, the public body composed of appointees from three levels of government, which issued the smart-city project bid back in 2017, required the successful bidder to propose governance structures. Its <a href="https://waterfrontoronto.ca/nbe/wcm/connect/waterfront/3f21abe9-a5bb-4665-8cd3-322e1e13811f/Waterfront+Toronto+-+RFP+No.+2017-13.pdf?MOD=AJPERES">request for proposals</a> stated the bidder would “work closely with Waterfront Toronto” to “create the required governance constructs […] including legal frameworks (e.g. Intellectual Property, privacy, data sharing).”</p>
<p>Sidewalk Labs is fulfilling the (problematic) requirements that Waterfront Toronto set. However, it is fundamentally undemocratic that a private company is drafting the blueprints that would set the agenda for public regulators.</p>
<p>Torontonians have been placed in a difficult spot: They are being asked to debate a surprisingly vague proposal that would create significant new bureaucracies, drafted in response to a process that never should have placed “governance constructs” on the table.</p>
<p>These are such fundamental problems with both process and proposal that it’s hard to see any good coming of it, no matter what changes are made. But at the very least, public consultations — and a final decision — on Sidewalk Labs’ master plan must include a thorough discussion of these problematic proposed governance structures. </p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=thanksforreading">Thanks for reading! We can send you The Conversation’s stories every day in an informative email. Sign up today.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121601/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natasha Tusikov receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </span></em></p>Regulating Sidewalk Labs proposed developments poses new challenges for assigning responsibility and oversight.Natasha Tusikov, Assistant Professor, Criminology, Department of Social Science, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1178392019-07-24T19:57:58Z2019-07-24T19:57:58ZA patchwork of City Deals or a national settlement strategy: what’s best for our growing cities?<p>Australia has no enduring tradition of having a national urban policy, unlike the UK, from where we sometimes import policies. The Commonwealth government has a long history of intervening in cities, from addressing housing shortages to funding urban infrastructure, but has shied away from a formal national settlement strategy.</p>
<p>Sometimes the Commonwealth claims to have no constitutional case for involvement in city planning. Yet we’re comfortable with spatial planning at the local, metropolitan and regional scale, so planning at the national level makes sense too. </p>
<p>We also seem comfortable with the federal government doing investment deals with individual cities and regions – so-called <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/city-deals/index.aspx">City Deals</a>. Why not use this fiscal clout to drive a more systematic program of reform? Reform priorities include how our metropolitan areas are governed and how they finance much-needed investment in infrastructure.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/spills-and-city-deals-what-turnbulls-urban-policy-has-achieved-and-where-we-go-from-here-102184">Spills and City Deals: what Turnbull's urban policy has achieved, and where we go from here</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To date, <a href="https://citydeals.infrastructure.gov.au/">nine City Deals</a> have been announced. These cover <a href="https://citydeals.infrastructure.gov.au/townsville">Townsville</a>, <a href="https://citydeals.infrastructure.gov.au/launceston">Launceston</a>, <a href="https://citydeals.infrastructure.gov.au/western-sydney">Western Sydney</a>, <a href="https://citydeals.infrastructure.gov.au/darwin">Darwin</a>, <a href="https://citydeals.infrastructure.gov.au/hobart">Hobart</a>, <a href="https://citydeals.infrastructure.gov.au/geelong">Geelong</a>, <a href="https://citydeals.infrastructure.gov.au/adelaide">Adelaide</a>, <a href="https://citydeals.infrastructure.gov.au/perth">Perth</a> and <a href="https://citydeals.infrastructure.gov.au/south-east-queensland">Southeast Queensland</a>. Could this seemingly ad hoc collection of City Deals become part of a more coherent and effective national settlement strategy? And are we up to the enduring challenge of translating these plans and strategies into action?</p>
<h2>Are we alone in this?</h2>
<p>In the UK, urban policy was for many years based on the principle of “<a href="https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11251433">bending main programs</a>” to focus on areas judged most in need of government assistance. This was sometimes used to justify having little or no new money allocated to urban policy initiatives. However, it also reflected the reality that the main spending programs of national government are often altogether bigger with much more fiscal clout on the ground.</p>
<p>We also need to recognise that there is more to growth and development than investing in hard infrastructure like roads and railways. Schools, hospitals, parks and cultural facilities play a vital role in creating liveable communities at any spatial scale. </p>
<p>When these facilities lag behind the rapid construction of homes, our towns and cities are poorer places to live in. Nor are they places of resilience where we are better able to cope with the environmental changes and technological disruptions of the 21st century.</p>
<h2>Why a national strategy?</h2>
<p>The UN Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg11">SDG 11</a>, recognise that having a national urban policy is an important foundation for achieving sustainable urban development. But in Australia we have not established long-term federal funding agreements for the sustainable development of major cities. Nor are there incentives to reform how we govern and deliver public services and infrastructure at the metropolitan scale.</p>
<p>A strategy of establishing metropolitan governance and financial reforms would assist Australian cities to compete and be successful in a 21st-century, globally connected world. At the same time, it would still enable decisions to be based on local preferences and capabilities. This reform could be the central feature of a national approach to partnership with cities.</p>
<p>This national cities partnership could provide a much better framework in which individual City Deals become more effective. An agreement could include national performance outcomes and help drive reforms to metropolitan governance and financing. It could also provide a platform for a national settlement strategy that finally gets to grips with where our growing population might live and live well.</p>
<p>By focusing on the metropolitan scale, we will also be better placed to answer difficult questions like “who should serve as Australia’s metropolitan leaders?” and “who represents metropolitan communities and works with them to make hard decisions about their future?”.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/all-the-signs-point-to-our-big-cities-need-for-democratic-metro-scale-governance-92417">All the signs point to our big cities' need for democratic, metro-scale governance</a>
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<p>Currently, we have States and their agencies working at the metropolitan level. We have local governments that, understandably, focus on their local issues. Only occasionally do local councils build cooperative structures at a regional or metropolitan scale. Local government amalgamation is not a solution to this issue, as there remains an important role for local as well as metropolitan-scale institutions. </p>
<h2>What would a national cities partnership look like?</h2>
<p>Australia has five metropolitan areas with populations over 1 million people. When regional cities with populations over 100,000 are also considered, there are 17 major cities and metropolitan areas that could join in developing a national cities partnership agreement.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-policy-goes-regional-90856">Cities policy goes regional</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The core principles for this partnership could be:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>collaboration between different levels of government at scales that make economic sense and are socially meaningful – e.g. metropolitan regions for big cities, and perhaps major regional cities and their hinterlands in rural and regional areas</p></li>
<li><p>reforms to allow for the emergence of city and metropolitan leaders, who can talk on behalf of major urban communities and work with stakeholders such as business and non-government actors</p></li>
<li><p>working hard to engage the public as well as peak bodies in thinking about the future of their region</p></li>
<li><p>translating plans into action, through ongoing community support and concerted and coherent Commonwealth investment programs.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Commonwealth needs to take the lead</h2>
<p>Disengagement at this time by the Commonwealth government would be disastrous, so we wish Minister Alan Tudge well in keeping cities on the government’s policy agenda.</p>
<p>A business-as-usual approach to federal intervention may not make things worse, but it won’t set up the reforms Australian cities need to thrive and grow sustainably.</p>
<p>A strategy to establish a national-city partnership agreement offers a way forward. It would provide a framework to make City Deals more effective. The partnership could enable the emergence of a new breed of metropolitan and city leaders to help elevate public dialogue about the future of our cities and drive financial reforms that would allow them to deliver and be responsible to their communities.</p>
<p>All of this should appeal to those in government who want to see policy evolve and develop and our cities grow into more prosperous, liveable and resilient places.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article draws on separate presentations made by the authors at the 2019 <a href="https://piacongress19.com.au/">National Congress of the Planning Institute of Australia</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117839/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Burton sits on the National Education Committee and the Queensland Committee of the Planning Institute of Australia. The Cities Research Institute receives support from the City of Gold Coast.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Nicholls is Principal and Partner with SGS Economics and Planning, and was one of the local government negotiators for the Western Sydney City Deal.</span></em></p>The seemingly ad hoc collection of nine City Deals announced so far falls short of a national settlement strategy that finally gets to grips with where our growing population might live and live well.Paul Burton, Professor of Urban Management and Planning & Director, Cities Research Institute, Griffith UniversityLuke Nicholls, Associate, Institute for Public Policy and Governance, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1162662019-05-01T20:18:06Z2019-05-01T20:18:06ZIndonesia isn’t the only country planning new cities. Why not Australia?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271893/original/file-20190501-136784-1vrb4zb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indonesia plans to relocate its capital from the sprawling city of Jakarta – and it isn't the only country with plans to build whole new cities.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AsiaTravel/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The announcement that President Joko Widodo’s government will <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-29/jakarta-to-no-longer-be-capital-of-indonesia-planning-minister/11056306">move Indonesia’s capital</a> to another location, due to the severity of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-29/jakarta,-a-city-under-pressure-from-a-growing-population/8480226">human-induced degradation in Jakarta</a>, highlights a key tension for cities today. In the face of increasingly unsustainable urban environments, do we retrofit existing cities, or relocate and build new cities to achieve greater sustainability? </p>
<p>The answer is both. But each has its challenges.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-cities-its-an-idea-worth-thinking-about-for-australia-92990">New cities? It's an idea worth thinking about for Australia</a>
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<h2>Creating new cities</h2>
<p>The goal of turning cities from sustainability problems to solutions is driving a suite of “future city” innovations. These include the planning and development of whole new cities.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/08/smart-cities-forest-city-belmont/">increasing number of countries</a> are planning to build cities from scratch using technological innovation to achieve more sustainable urban development. <a href="https://www.nst.com.my/property/2018/09/411211/forest-city-%E2%80%94-model-other-cities">Forest City in Malaysia</a>, <a href="http://smartcityaz.com/">Belmont smart city</a> in the United States and the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/aug/06/five-years-ago-there-was-nothing-inside-duqm-the-city-rising-from-the-sand-oman-city-sand-luxury-hotels-housing">Sino-Oman Industrial City</a> are just some of the examples. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ctkERUu7sdU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Forest City is Malaysia’s biggest development project.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The urban ambition includes creating carless and walkable cities, green cities able to produce oxygen through eco-skyscrapers, high-speed internet embedded in the urban fabric, the capacity to convert waste into energy, and reclaiming land to create new strategic trade opportunities. </p>
<p>However, striking the right balance between innovative ideas and democratic expectations, including the public right to the city, remains a challenge.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-habitat-iii-defend-the-human-right-to-the-city-57576">Will Habitat III defend the human right to the city?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="http://www.mxcfilm.com/">The Minnesota Experimental City</a> offers a cautionary tale. The aim was to solve urban problems by creating a new city. It would use the latest technology including nuclear energy, automated cars and a domed roof enclosure. </p>
<p>Despite significant government and financial backing, including its own state agency, the Minnesota project failed due to a lack of public understanding and local support for a top-down futuristic project.</p>
<h2>Who gets left behind?</h2>
<p>In 1960, Brazil moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to the futuristic city of <a href="https://brasilialifeafterdesign.com/">Brasilia</a>. While the city was designed to accommodate both rich and poor, it quickly became unaffordable for the average family. Half a century on, it was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20632277">reported</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The poor have been shunted out to satellite cities, which range from proper well-built cities to something more like a shanty town.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271890/original/file-20190501-136787-19tjt88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271890/original/file-20190501-136787-19tjt88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271890/original/file-20190501-136787-19tjt88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271890/original/file-20190501-136787-19tjt88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271890/original/file-20190501-136787-19tjt88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271890/original/file-20190501-136787-19tjt88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=724&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271890/original/file-20190501-136787-19tjt88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=724&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271890/original/file-20190501-136787-19tjt88.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=724&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 Indonesian capital Jakarta is part of a larger mega-city.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/vector-map-indonesian-megacity-urban-area-1306511566?src=cXVttw8d5C49wehUebYppg-1-1">Rainer Lesniewski/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Indonesia, more than 30 million people – <a href="https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/09/20/the-need-a-national-urban-development-policy-indonesia.html">a fifth of the nation’s urban residents</a> and more than a tenth of the <a href="http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/indonesia-population/">269 million population</a> – live in Greater Jakarta. The capital city Jakarta is just one part of a larger mega-city agglomeration, the world’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakarta">second-largest after Greater Tokyo</a>. This vast connected urban meta-region is known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabodetabek">Jabodetabek</a>, from the initials of the cities within it: Jakarta (with a population of 10 million), Bogor (1 million), Depok (2.1 million), Tangerang (2 million), South Tangerang (1.5 million) and Bekasi (2.7 million). </p>
<p>A key reason for moving the capital is that Jakarta is prone to serious flooding and is <a href="https://www.deltares.nl/app/uploads/2015/09/Sinking-cities.pdf">rapidly sinking</a>. Jakarta also suffers <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-29/jakarta,-a-city-under-pressure-from-a-growing-population/8480226">overpopulation, severe traffic gridlock, slums</a> and a lack of critical urban infrastructure such as drainage and sanitation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sea-isnt-actually-level-why-rising-oceans-will-hit-some-cities-more-than-others-68378">The sea isn't actually 'level': why rising oceans will hit some cities more than others</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Relocating the capital away from the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-29/jakarta-to-no-longer-be-capital-of-indonesia-planning-minister/11056306">crowded main island of Java</a> offers the opportunity to better plan the political and administrative centre using the latest urban design features and technology.</p>
<p>Two key questions arise. If environmental degradation and overpopulation are the key issues, what will become of the largely remaining population of Greater Jakarta? At a national scale, how will this relocation help overcome the <a href="https://theconversation.com/two-decades-of-economic-growth-benefited-only-the-richest-20-how-severe-is-inequality-in-indonesia-101138">socio-economic and spatial disparities</a> that exist in Indonesia?</p>
<p>Egypt, for example, is <a href="https://theconversation.com/egypt-is-building-a-new-capital-city-from-scratch-heres-how-to-avoid-inequality-and-segregation-103402">building a new capital city</a> to overcome severe urban congestion and overcrowding in Greater Cairo. But there is no guarantee the new capital will resolve these issues if the emphasis is solely on technological innovation, without adequate attention to urban equity and fairness.</p>
<h2>More of the same in Australia</h2>
<p>The Australian population is <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/3222.0">projected to grow to 36 million in the next 30 years</a>. This is focusing political, policy and public attention on what this means for the future of the nation’s cities. </p>
<p>Despite all the advances that have occurred in technology, the arts, architecture, design and the sciences, there is surprisingly little innovation or public discussion about what might be possible for 21st-century Australian settlements beyond the capital cities.</p>
<p>Future Australian city planning and development focuses largely on enlarging and intensifying the footprints of existing major cities. The current urban policy trajectory is in-fill development and expansion of the existing state capital mega-city regions, where <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3218.0Main%20Features12017-18?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3218.0&issue=2017-18&num=&view=">two-thirds of the population live</a>. But what is lost through this approach? </p>
<p>In Australia only two ambitious “new city” plans have been put forward in the last 50 years: <a href="https://crawford.anu.edu.au/pdf/pep/pep-283.pdf">the Multifunction Polis</a> (MFP) and <a href="http://www.clara.com.au/index.html">the CLARA Plan</a>. </p>
<p>In the late 1980s the MFP was envisaged as a high-tech city of the future with nuclear power, modern communication and Asian investment. It failed to gain the necessary political, investment and public support and was never built. </p>
<p>The current CLARA Plan proposes building up to eight new regional smart cities connected by a high-speed rail system linking Sydney and Melbourne via Canberra. Each of these cities is designed to be compact, environmentally sustainable and just a quick train trip away from the capital cities. </p>
<p>CLARA has outlined a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-value-capture-and-what-does-it-mean-for-cities-58776">value capture</a>” business model based on private city land development, not “government coffer” funding. How these new cities propose to function within the constitutional framework of Australia is as yet unclear and untested.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7FJ7sXTdQ2k?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The privately funded CLARA plan is to build up to eight compact, sustainable, smart cities connected via high-speed rail.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/high-speed-rail-plan-still-needs-to-prove-economic-benefits-will-outweigh-costs-63330">High speed rail plan still needs to prove economic benefits will outweigh costs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A bipartisan challenge</h2>
<p>Are we thinking too narrowly when we talk about future Australian cities?</p>
<p>The “future city” prompts us to rethink and re-imagine the complex nature and make-up of our urban settlements, and the role of critical infrastructure and planning within them. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-critical-about-critical-infrastructure-73849">What's critical about critical infrastructure?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The future of Australian cities will require creativity, vision (even courage) to respond effectively to the challenges and opportunities of sustainable development. </p>
<p>This will not be the remit of any one political party, but a bipartisan national urban settlement agenda that affects and involves all Australians.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116266/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Steele receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is an Urban Scholar with the UN Global City Compact and member of the Australasian Cities Research Network.</span></em></p>Other countries are planning new cities using technological innovation to achieve more sustainable development. Such plans aren’t new for Australia, but existing city growth is the focus of attention.Wendy Steele, Associate Professor, Centre of Urban Research and Urban Futures Enabling Capability Platform, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1140492019-04-12T10:40:05Z2019-04-12T10:40:05ZCivic crowdfunding reduces the risk of ‘bikelash’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268873/original/file-20190411-44818-bk86ri.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Downtown Seattle's busy, protected bike lanes</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdot_photos/15157758178/in/photolist-p6rtqf-p6qT3j-p6qRU7-p6qRw3-e8AmuT-23sKrPg-6rWMnd-REkogH-doqiNA-a5HFcB-a5LwPQ-a5HEir-a5LwL5-a5Lx29-a5HEnH-a5Lwkf-pnUbAY-aqKjWZ-p6qVym-p6qSGu-pnDtEr-pkTLhU-doqiLq-pkTHGJ-pnVJM2-oiSWfS-dopTiJ-doqaAF-KLQ258-2fkBUxg-pnVQxk-doqj1q-dopHTX-dopJ38-a5LxCN-p6rwzw-9T7tLr-ZyEzj6-SE7WuN-doqbtt-doqbXv-9UEKRd-9Rhajt-dWT8ur-aDoe8b-PSAhLE-j4TYe4-doqaMc-cHTZcw-doqc6i">Seattle Department of Transportation</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/bike-share-companies-are-transforming-us-cities-and-theyre-just-getting-started-95267">Bike-sharing</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/bike-share-companies-are-transforming-us-cities-and-theyre-just-getting-started-95267">dockless bike</a> ventures are spreading as <a href="https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/02/11/walking-and-biking-are-hurt-by-lack-of-national-leadership-report/">more people get around on two wheels</a>. Cyclists, planners, environmentalists and others are excited to see these initiatives thrive. </p>
<p>At the same time, there are reasons for concern. Nearly <a href="http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/178248.aspx">800 American cyclists</a> died in 2017 after being hit by cars or trucks. Those fatalities were <a href="https://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/pedestrians-and-bicyclists/fatalityfacts/bicycles/2017">up 25%</a> from 2010, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. </p>
<p>I’ve learned two things from accidentally becoming a <a href="https://gpc.stanford.edu/kate-gasparro">bike lane expert</a> through my research on community engagement. Transportation experts and bike enthusiasts agree that building more “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21650020.2014.955210">protected bike lanes</a>,” which physically separate motorized vehicle and bike traffic with planters, curbs, parked cars or posts, are a good way to reduce some of these risks. And it looks like <a href="https://www.fundable.com/learn/resources/guides/crowdfunding/what-is-crowdfunding">crowdfunding</a>, raising money collectively and online, helps ensure that local communities will welcome this infrastructure.</p>
<h2>Bikelash</h2>
<p>There are nearly <a href="https://peopleforbikes.org/green-lane-project/inventory-protected-bike-lanes/">550 U.S. protected bike lanes</a>, most of them built since 2013. Not everyone is cheering, though. Many communities have rejected the new lanes, due to hostility toward cycling and cyclists known as “<a href="https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2014/09/why-bike-lovers-should-be-happy-about-bikelash/380219/">bikelash</a>.” </p>
<p>Consider what occurred with the four-block-long <a href="http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_28898059/decrying-vitriol-boulder-council-decides-folsom-will-return">Folsom Street</a> protected bicycle lane in <a href="https://peopleforbikes.org/blog/as-other-cities-build-protected-bike-lanes-boulder-plans-a-rollback/">Boulder, Colorado</a>. Even though the city of more than 100,000 people is among the nation’s most <a href="https://www.bicycling.com/culture/a23676188/best-bike-cities-2018/">bike-friendly</a>, <a href="http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_29117964/boulders-right-sizing-reversal-how-folsom-re-alignment">residents objected</a> to the project over the heavier traffic it caused and shortcomings in the public comment process.</p>
<p>The opposition grew so strong that the authorities felt compelled to dismantle it only <a href="https://peopleforbikes.org/blog/as-other-cities-build-protected-bike-lanes-boulder-plans-a-rollback/">11 weeks after it was built</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268654/original/file-20190410-2905-1cv6ekn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268654/original/file-20190410-2905-1cv6ekn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268654/original/file-20190410-2905-1cv6ekn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268654/original/file-20190410-2905-1cv6ekn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268654/original/file-20190410-2905-1cv6ekn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268654/original/file-20190410-2905-1cv6ekn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268654/original/file-20190410-2905-1cv6ekn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/268654/original/file-20190410-2905-1cv6ekn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bikelash signs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ubrayj02/8595945065/in/photostream/">Umberto Brayj/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Folsom protected bike lane’s demise was no anomaly. Since 2015, similar objections have also toppled protected bike lanes in <a href="https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/tamalpais-ave-closed-saturday-6-2-for-removal-of-bike-lane/">San Rafael, California</a>, <a href="https://bikeportland.org/2018/02/21/protestors-make-show-of-force-against-odots-unnecessary-removal-of-26th-avenue-bike-lanes-268980">Portland, Oregon</a>, and Manhattan’s <a href="https://patch.com/new-york/washington-heights-inwood/new-dyckman-street-bike-lanes-could-be-removed-report-says">Washington Heights</a> neighborhood. </p>
<p>I’ve found that many places that have avoided bikelash as they roll out new protected bike lanes have something in common: a creative approach to <a href="https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/philadelphia-cites-safety-data-for-bike-plan-decisions">cultivating public support</a>. Instead of encouraging residents to attend public meetings, city officials and local civic groups are <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17450101.2017.1408950">meeting community members where they live and work</a>. </p>
<h2>Civic crowdfunding</h2>
<p><a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2434615">Civic crowdfunding</a> has become a popular approach for engaging communities affected by local infrastructure projects, including protected bike lanes. It’s a good way for local governments to choose where <a href="https://www.raisethehammer.org/article/2124/high_quality_cycling_infrastructure_saves_money">relatively low-cost</a> but potentially controversial infrastructure belongs. Going this route means that the authorities can back projects that have already attracted some dollars and public support.</p>
<p>Also known as community-focused crowdfunding or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444814558914">hyperlocal crowdfunding</a>, it allows community organizations to raise funds for local infrastructure projects from residents and community members. This approach has helped to build neighborhood parks, community centers and protected bike lanes for the past decade.</p>
<p>The practice took off when ioby.org – the first civic crowdfunding platform – launched in 2009. Since then, the thousands of <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2434615">civic crowdfunding campaigns</a> launched around the world on that platform and similar ones like Patronicity.com and Spacehive.com have raised over US$50 million, according to my calculations. </p>
<p>During a <a href="https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/S0163-786X20180000042010">four-year study of civic crowdfunding</a>, I found that this collective fundraising technique has been used to support projects like protected bike lanes in non-monetary ways, such as building consensus. This is often a primary motivation for starting the campaign. The buy-in that crowdfunding brings about often proves far more valuable than any help paying the tab.</p>
<p>This happens because community organizations engage community members around the project. They convene discussions about the project in <a href="https://peopleforbikes.org/blog/the-summer-of-demos-one-day-protected-bike-lanes-sweep-across-america/">public spaces</a> and at <a href="http://www.hydefoundation.org/news/2013/11/01/memphis-mayor-joins-efforts-to-build-hampline-bike-path.693746">local businesses</a>. During these events, nearby residents become acquainted with the proposed plans and voice their concerns before it’s too late to change course.</p>
<h2>Public engagement</h2>
<p>This strategy worked well in Denver. Colorado’s biggest city, 30 miles southeast of Boulder, built its <a href="https://denver.streetsblog.org/2015/12/03/mayor-hancock-cuts-ribbon-on-parking-protected-bike-lanes-promises-3-more/">Arapahoe Street</a> protected bike lane after the Folsom Street debacle – heeding what it saw happen there.</p>
<p>Instead of holding a short public comment period, community organizations engaged residents and business owners early in the design process. This made a huge difference. The Downtown Denver Partnership, a local business group, initiated the project based on what it had <a href="https://www.ioby.org/project/arapahoe-street-protected-bike-lane">heard from business leaders</a>. To build on this public support, it launched a <a href="https://peopleforbikes.org/blog/qa-lessons-from-denvers-crowdfunded-bike-lane-success/">crowdfunding campaign</a> to cover $35,000 of the design costs.</p>
<p>“Our mission wasn’t just to raise money for this bike lane,” explained the Partnership’s <a href="https://peopleforbikes.org/blog/qa-lessons-from-denvers-crowdfunded-bike-lane-success/">Aylene McCallum</a>. “Our mission was to build a community that supported this. Our mission was to build advocates in the business community and in the larger community.”</p>
<p>As part of this effort, the group engaged local businesses and residents about the Arapahoe protected bike lane. This allowed the community to debate the project’s design and impacts. The group worked with city officials to redesign parts of the project to address the concerns that surfaced, such as parking spot removals and access routes. This consensus-building exercise seems to have <a href="https://denver.streetsblog.org/2017/07/24/of-course-the-lawrence-and-arapahoe-protected-bike-lanes-made-ridership-soar/">staved off bikelash</a> so far.</p>
<p>People who live nearby have championed Denver’s protected bike lanes, often <a href="http://thingsinbikelanesdenver.com/">alerting city officials to any issues</a> that arise, such as parked cars intruding into the lanes or damaged posts.</p>
<p>Similar civic crowdfunding strategies have worked in <a href="https://www.mlive.com/business/2017/05/patronicity_medc_crowdfunding.html">various Michigan locales</a> and <a href="https://www.locavesting.com/spotlight/los-angeles-taps-community-and-crowfunding-to-transform-its-streets/">Los Angeles</a>. In these cases, government officials have themselves launched these initiatives to rally support for local infrastructure projects. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1115353181494628353"}"></div></p>
<h2>Role of wealth</h2>
<p>But, does this strategy have built-in equity issues?</p>
<p>After all, you might assume that only rich people can crowdfund infrastructure or that these projects will only take off in wealthy areas. So far, that does not appear to be the case. Civic crowdfunding tends to pay for only a small portion of what’s needed, raising less than 5% of the budget for projects like protected bicycle lanes.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://peopleforbikes.org/blog/memphis-is-about-to-build-the-countrys-first-crowdfunded-bike-lane/">Memphis</a>, for example, crowdfunding raised nearly $70,000 for a protected bike lane. That covered only 1% of <a href="https://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2014/feb/27/hampline-recalls-overton-park-interstate-plans/">total project costs</a> of the 2013 project, which served one of the city’s lowest-income neighborhoods. The crowdfunded dollars helped rally community support and attracted even more money for the project. </p>
<p>Letting communities vote with their dollars isn’t just about budgets. It is much more about letting local residents and businesses know early on about the project and allowing them to participate in a meaningful way.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114049/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Gasparro receives funding from the National Science Foundation, </span></em></p>This collective fundraising technique helps defuse anti-cyclist sentiment before it dooms protected bike lanes and other new infrastructure.Kate Gasparro, Graduate Research Fellow of Sustainable Design and Construction, Stanford UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1146822019-04-02T10:42:04Z2019-04-02T10:42:04ZNew York gets serious about traffic with the first citywide US congestion pricing plan<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266893/original/file-20190401-177167-nxno5w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Traffic flows into Manhattan from Brooklyn over the Williamsburg Bridge. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Manhattan-Tolls/831c1ae9c35b48d9b0a3a5a8137b70a8/3/0">AP Photo/Mary Altaffer</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After years of debate, New York state has adopted <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/nyregion/what-is-congestion-pricing.html">congestion pricing</a> to deal with traffic problems in New York City. Starting in 2021, fees will be imposed on all vehicles entering a pricing zone that covers lower Manhattan, from 60th Street at the southern edge of Central Park to the southernmost tip of the island. </p>
<p>This approach has succeeded in cities including London, Singapore and Stockholm. For scholars like me who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oMPNYhQAAAAJ&hl=en">focus on urban issues</a>, New York’s decision is welcome news. Properly used, congestion pricing can make crowded cities safer, cleaner and easier for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians to navigate.</p>
<p>The details matter, including the size and timing of charges and the area that they cover. Congestion charges also raises equity issues, since rich people are best able to move closer to work or change their schedules to avoid the steepest costs.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266903/original/file-20190401-177181-1ut7g3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266903/original/file-20190401-177181-1ut7g3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/266903/original/file-20190401-177181-1ut7g3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266903/original/file-20190401-177181-1ut7g3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266903/original/file-20190401-177181-1ut7g3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=711&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266903/original/file-20190401-177181-1ut7g3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266903/original/file-20190401-177181-1ut7g3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=894&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/266903/original/file-20190401-177181-1ut7g3m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=894&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 proposed New York City congestion pricing zone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/01/19/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-congestion-pricing-plan-from-cuomos-fix-nyc-panel/">Fix NYC via Streetsblog</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The downside of density</h2>
<p>Cities concentrate people close together for good economic reasons. Clustering activities allows transfers of information, knowledge and skills. At their best, cities create deep pools of labor and large markets of consumers, and make it possible to provide public goods such as mass transit and trash collection efficiently. Planners should be encouraging cities to <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-the-economy-to-grow-its-time-to-look-at-cities-and-efficiency-54517">become bigger and more dense</a> if we want to improve economic performance.</p>
<p>But growing concentration also imposes costs, and one of the largest is traffic congestion. Drivers spend valuable time sitting idly in traffic jams, while <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-noise-pollution-is-worst-in-poor-and-minority-neighborhoods-and-segregated-cities-81888">noise</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-us-cities-are-becoming-more-dangerous-for-cyclists-and-pedestrians-111713">accidents</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-air-pollution-making-you-sick-4-questions-answered-91605">pollution</a> impose heavy burdens on city residents. </p>
<h2>Should road use be free?</h2>
<p>The idea of charging for use of public roads is not new. Economist Arthur Pigou discussed the issue <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Economics-Welfare-Classics-Economics/dp/0765807394/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517221260&sr=1-4&keywords=Arthur+Pigou">as early as 1920</a> as part of his attempt to remedy the suboptimal workings of the market system. In 1963 Canadian-born economist William Vickrey argued that roads were scarce resources that should be valued by <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1823886?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">imposing costs on users</a>. </p>
<p>Consumers intuitively understand differential pricing. We expect to pay more for airline tickets at peak travel times and for hotel rooms at popular times of the year. Congestion pricing also forces users to think about the cost of making a trip, and thus to evaluate their travel patterns.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0iKFgEPOk20?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A cyclist’s perspective on traffic in lower Manhattan, filmed in 2018.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And it can be effective. A 2008 <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/wide-use-of-tolls-could-unclog-roads-seattle-study-says/">study</a> gave drivers in Seattle a hypothetical cash sum to spend on trips, charged them tolls linked to traffic congestion levels, and let them keep money they did not spend. Their cars were fitted with equipment to monitor driving patterns. </p>
<p>The results: Travelers altered their schedules, took different routes or collapsed multiple trips into single journeys. Collectively, these changes reduced congestion at peak time, lessened wait times and increased average travel speeds in the study’s regional traffic model.</p>
<h2>Success in Europe and Asia</h2>
<p>Evidence from cities around the world shows that charging motorists fees for driving into city centers during busy periods is a rarity in urban public policy: a measure that works and is cost-effective. Congestion pricing has succeeded in cities including <a href="https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop08047/02summ.htm">London, Singapore and Stockholm</a>, where it has eased traffic, sped up travel times, reduced pollution and provided funds for public transport and infrastructure investments. </p>
<p>It also can produce some <a href="http://www.ires.nus.edu.sg/workingpapers/IRES2016-013.pdf">unintended consequences</a>. In London, house prices within the congestion charge zone increased – bid upward by consumers who were willing to pay to avoid traffic and enjoy improved environmental conditions. Over the long term, the congestion tax lubricated the gentrification of central London. </p>
<p>But this process is common to many other big cities, with or without congestion pricing: The rich preempt central city locations and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Unequal-City-Resurgence-Displacement-Inequality/dp/1138280372/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">displace the less wealthy to the suburbs</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204945/original/file-20180205-14064-l53kcc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204945/original/file-20180205-14064-l53kcc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/204945/original/file-20180205-14064-l53kcc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204945/original/file-20180205-14064-l53kcc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204945/original/file-20180205-14064-l53kcc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204945/original/file-20180205-14064-l53kcc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204945/original/file-20180205-14064-l53kcc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/204945/original/file-20180205-14064-l53kcc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=542&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">London’s Congestion Charge zone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-charge/congestion-charge-zone">Transport for London</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Congestion pricing in the United States</h2>
<p>Although the United States has <a href="https://www.ibtta.org/sites/default/files/documents/MAF/2014_TollingBrief_0.pdf">over 5,000 miles of toll roads</a>, congestion pricing is uncommon. One exception is Interstate Route 66 in the Washington, D.C. metro region, where <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-40-toll-for-a-10-mile-trip-this-is-the-new-infrastructure-math-2017-12-07">fluctuating tolls</a> were introduced in late 2017. Pricing for express lanes changes every six minutes during rush hour eastbound in the morning and westbound in the afternoon. The toll hit US$40 for a 10-mile stretch the day after it was introduced. </p>
<p>So far, local officials say the policy <a href="https://wtop.com/dc-transit/2019/01/average-i-66-price-speeds-from-first-year-of-tolls-and-extended-hov-hours/">appears to be working</a>. Carpooling has increased, while backups and crashes have declined. The average toll is currently $8.02 during morning hours and $4.47 during afternoon hours.</p>
<p>But this is just one well-used road, and there are many other routes into central Washington. The I-66 tolls are more about generating revenue on one road than reducing congestion citywide. </p>
<p>New York City is the best U.S. candidate for congestion pricing because it is densely developed and has an extensive public transportation system. Congestion pricing is unlikely to be as feasible in lower-density cities with limited public transportation.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1111736359138615296"}"></div></p>
<p>Some observers, such as environmental advocates, are <a href="https://www.edf.org/media/new-york-makes-history-congestion-pricing">celebrating New York’s decision</a>. But there is pushback from others who claim that it <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/27/nyregion/newyorktoday/nyc-news-congestion-pricing.html">will be regressive</a>. Congestion charges do raise equity issues, but only 4 percent of people who commute into New York City travel by car, and of those, only 5,000 could be classified as <a href="http://fortune.com/2018/01/25/nyc-congestion-fees/">working poor</a>. Funding from congestion fees will increase investment in mass transit, which <a href="https://www.lohud.com/story/news/transit/2019/02/08/cuomo-mta-congestion-pricing-plan/2594681002/">New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says</a> will benefit the vast majority of New Yorkers who commute by bus or subway. </p>
<p>Details remain to be decided, but under a <a href="http://www.hntb.com/HNTB/media/HNTBMediaLibrary/Home/Fix-NYC-Panel-Report.pdf">previous proposal</a>, cars would have been charged $11.52 to enter the zone on weekdays during business hours, while trucks would have paid $25.34. Taxis and app-based rides such as Uber and Lyft would have been charged $2 to $5. Fees will be assessed by a committee of experts and collected by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority through an electronic tolling system that is already widely used for bridges, tunnels and tolled motorways across the country. </p>
<p>Unlike other taxes that can be easily dismissed as imposing costs and killing jobs, congestion pricing improves market efficiencies because it forces people to think about their travel and leads to a more rational use of our public roads. It is a powerful policy whose time has definitely come. </p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-traffic-clogged-us-cities-ready-for-congestion-pricing-90814">article</a> originally published on Feb. 7, 2018.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114682/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>Starting in 2021, drivers will pay a fee to enter midtown and lower Manhattan during busy times of day. Will this clear New York’s air and streets?John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1117132019-02-20T11:36:12Z2019-02-20T11:36:12ZWhy US cities are becoming more dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259831/original/file-20190219-43255-lz5jw5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cycling advocates set up 'ghost bikes,' like this one in Brooklyn, in memory of bikers killed in traffic.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/556oZe">Nick Gray</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As cities strive to improve the quality of life for their residents, many are working to promote walking and biking. Such policies make sense, since they can, in the long run, lead to less traffic, cleaner air and healthier people. But the results aren’t all positive, especially in the short to medium term.</p>
<p>In Washington D.C., for example, traffic fatalities as a whole declined in 2018 compared to the year before, but the number of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/pedestrians-continue-to-be-at-high-risk-on-washington-regions-roads-data-show/2019/02/09/e6a4e7a8-1f52-11e9-8b59-0a28f2191131_story.html?utm_term=.bf31bf0e0b04">increased by 20 percent</a>. Pedestrian deaths also have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/01/nyregion/traffic-deaths-decrease-nyc.html">risen in New York</a>, and pedestrian and cycling fatalities have <a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/2313301/would-you-ride-bike-los-angeles">increased in Los Angeles</a> in the past several years.</p>
<p>Across the nation, cyclist fatalities have increased by 25 percent since 2010 and pedestrian deaths have risen by <a href="https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/facts_stats/">a staggering 45 percent</a>. More people are being killed because cities are encouraging residents to walk and bike, but their roads are still dominated by fast-moving vehicular traffic. As <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17450100903434998">my research has shown</a>, this shifting mix can be deadly.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259833/original/file-20190219-43264-wwnrt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259833/original/file-20190219-43264-wwnrt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/259833/original/file-20190219-43264-wwnrt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259833/original/file-20190219-43264-wwnrt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259833/original/file-20190219-43264-wwnrt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=378&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259833/original/file-20190219-43264-wwnrt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259833/original/file-20190219-43264-wwnrt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/259833/original/file-20190219-43264-wwnrt9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cyclists walk their bikes through a downtown Los Angeles intersection on a car-free day in parts of the city, Oct. 18, 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Car-Free-LA/215e737e5f294e0fb449f1db6350c573/9/0">AP Photo/Richard Vogel</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The long decline in traffic fatalities</h2>
<p>From a long-term perspective, traffic fatalities in the United States <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year#/media/File:US_traffic_deaths_per_VMT,_VMT,_per_capita,_and_total_annual_deaths.png">are declining</a>. In the early 1970s, almost 55,000 Americans were killed in traffic accidents yearly, including people in vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. By 2017 that figure had fallen to around 40,000, even with an increase in the number of vehicle miles driven. </p>
<p>The overall decline is a confirmation of Smeed’s Law, named after <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2984177?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">R.J. Smeed</a>, a scholar at the United Kingdom’s Road Research Laboratory. Smeed found that initially, with the early introduction of motor vehicles, traffic deaths tend to rise. Around the world, almost <a href="https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2018/en/">1.35 million people die each year</a> in traffic accidents, but 93 percent of those fatalities occur in low- and middle- income countries where mass vehicle usage is a recent phenomenon. </p>
<p>As manufacturers produce safer vehicles, cities improve roads and drivers become more adept, fatalities <a href="http://real.mtak.hu/30558/7/is_smeeds_law_still_valid.pdf">tend to decline</a>. But Smeed’s Law only seems to hold up for people in cars – not for other road users. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2018/en/">global status report</a> shows that road traffic injuries are now the single biggest cause of death for children and young adults, and that more than half of all traffic deaths are pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. In the United States, driver fatalities fell from 27,348 in 2006 to 23,611 in 2017, but <a href="https://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/pedestrians-and-bicyclists/fatalityfacts/pedestrians">pedestrian and cyclist fatalities increased</a> from 5,567 to 6,760. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vaWqbQf3ZqY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Lower-density cities that are heavily car-dependent, such as Phoenix, tend to be more dangerous for pedestrians.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The vehicle-centric city</h2>
<p>Modern U.S. cities are designed largely for motor vehicles. At the turn of the 20th century, people and cars shared city streets, which served as places for children to play, adults to walk and neighbors to meet. From the 1900s to the early 1930s <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/fighting-traffic">a battle was fought</a> as motor vehicles became increasingly dominant. As traffic fatalities rose, angry mobs <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan-history/2015/04/26/auto-traffic-history-detroit/26312107/">dragged reckless drivers from their cars</a>, and some cities printed “murder maps” showing where people had been killed in traffic.</p>
<p>However, automotive interests won out. From the 1950s forward, city streets lost their conviviality. Roads were engineered for fast-moving and unhindered vehicular traffic, with few pedestrian crossings or bike lanes. </p>
<p>Even today, motorists in many cities are able to turn onto streets at intersections where pedestrians are also crossing. Most pedestrians and bicyclists are killed or injured while they are <a href="https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2018/05/01/anita-kurmann-bicycle-crash-boston/">obeying the law</a>.</p>
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<h2>A new Wild West</h2>
<p>In the 21st century, a new city ideal has emerged of a more bike-friendly, walking-oriented city. But piecemeal implementation of bike lanes, pedestrianized zones and traffic calming measures often just adds to the confusion. </p>
<p>Many bike lanes and pedestrianized zones only extend for short distances. Most American drivers have yet to fully appreciate that urban streets are to be shared. And even in the best of times, cars and trucks are not good at sharing the road. Vehicle drivers are often <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3122986.3123009">moving too fast to identify and respond</a> to pedestrians and bicyclists. Blind spots for drivers can be <a href="http://commuteorlando.com/wordpress/2008/11/30/what-cyclists-need-to-know-about-trucks/">death traps for other road users</a>. </p>
<p>Then there’s the asymmetry. Drivers are operating fast-moving lethal weapons, and are encased in a protective shield. And speed literally kills. A car hitting a pedestrian at 36 to 45 mph per hour is <a href="https://one.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/research/pub/hs809012.html">four times more likely to cause death</a> than a vehicle traveling between 26 to 30 mph. </p>
<p>Adding to the dangers are <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-value-of-unplugging-in-the-age-of-distraction-43572">distracted drivers and pedestrians</a> and the introduction of <a href="https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2018/10/31/506097.htm">electric scooters</a>. Some observers also believe an epidemic of <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201401/why-is-narcissism-increasing-among-young-americans">narcissism</a> is causing <a href="https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/motr/narcissism-is-a-driving-hazard-research-suggests.html">more aggressive driving</a>. </p>
<p>All of these factors are making walking and bicycling more dangerous. While pedestrian deaths in Norway declined by 37 percent from 2010 to 2016, in the United States they increased by 39 percent. Non-driver traffic fatalities are increasing in the United States at <a href="https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/irtad-road-safety-annual-report-2018_0.pdf">higher rates than most other wealthy nations</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Large trucks turning right are particularly dangerous for cyclists.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A better vision</h2>
<p>Vision Zero, a strategy first proposed in Sweden in 1997, imagines cities with <a href="https://visionzeronetwork.org">no traffic fatalities or serious injuries</a>. At least 18 U.S. cities and states have signed on to reach that goal by 2024, including <a href="https://www.boston.gov/transportation/vision-zero">Boston</a>, <a href="http://visionzerochicago.org">Chicago</a>, <a href="http://visionzero.lacity.org">Los Angeles</a>, <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/visionzero/index.page">New York</a> and <a href="https://ddot.dc.gov/page/vision-zero-initiative">Washington D.C.</a></p>
<p>Strategies vary from one city to another. Boston, for example, has <a href="https://visionzeronetwork.org/cities-can-look-to-boston-iihs-for-inspiration-to-reduce-speed-limits/">reduced the city speed limit</a> from 30 miles per hour to 25 mph. Washington D.C. is improving 36 intersections that pose threats to pedestrians and enacting more bicycle-friendly policies. These cities still have far to go, but they are moving in the right direction.</p>
<p>There are many more options. Manufacturers can make vehicles <a href="https://www.rospa.com/rospaweb/docs/advice-services/road-safety/vehicles/pedestrian-protection.pdf">less threatening to pedestrians and bicyclists</a> by reducing the height of front bumpers. And cities can <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/10/26/18025000/walkable-city-walk-score-economy">make streets safer</a> with a combination of speed limit reductions, traffic calming measures, “road diets” for neighborhoods that limit traffic speed and volume, and better education for all road users. </p>
<p>Initiatives to create more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly infrastructure should also be sensitive to <a href="https://theconversation.com/bike-friendly-cities-should-be-designed-for-everyone-not-just-for-wealthy-white-cyclists-109485">social and class differences</a> that may shape local priorities. And advocates contend that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2015.04.003">shifting to autonomous vehicles</a> could make streets safer, although the <a href="https://theconversation.com/even-self-driving-cars-need-driver-education-97644">verdict is still out on this claim</a>. </p>
<p>The most radical shift will require not only re-engineering urban traffic, but also <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0631158243/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i9">reimagining our cities</a>. In my view, we need to think of them as shared spaces with slower traffic, and see neighborhood streets as places to live in and share, not just to drive through at high speed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/111713/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>US cities were designed and engineered around cars. Now some are working to increase walking and biking, but the shift isn’t easy.John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1094852019-02-08T11:31:46Z2019-02-08T11:31:46ZBike-friendly cities should be designed for everyone, not just for wealthy white cyclists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257793/original/file-20190207-174890-1b39po7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This narrow street, lined with parked cars but devoid of people, is both unwelcoming and unsafe for cyclists.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anne Lusk</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Designing for bikes has become a hallmark of forward-looking modern cities worldwide. <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40567218/these-are-the-best-cities-for-biking-in-the-u-s">Bike-friendly city ratings</a> abound, and advocates promote cycling as a way to reduce problems ranging from <a href="https://bycs.org/our-work/bicycle-mayors/">air pollution to traffic deaths</a>.</p>
<p>But urban cycling investments tend to focus on the needs of wealthy riders and neglect lower-income residents and people of color. This happens even though the <a href="https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2015/10/the-poor-bike-the-rich-bike-share/413119/">single biggest group of Americans</a> who bike to work live in households that earn less than $50,000 and this group includes many who earn less than $10,000, and studies in lower-income neighborhoods in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2011-0429">Brooklyn</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2017.01.006">Boston</a> have found that the majority of bicyclists were non-white. </p>
<p>I have <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=o8dc4GsAAAAJ&hl">worked on bicycle facilities for 38 years</a>. In a 2019 study, I worked with colleagues from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston groups focused on health and families to learn from residents of several such neighborhoods what kinds of bike infrastructure they believed <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/3/484">best met their needs</a>. Some of their preferences were notably different from those of cyclists in wealthier neighborhoods.</p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/213680801" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Thanks to recent investments, New Yorkers can ride an almost continuous stretch of protected bike lanes, greenways and bridges for 25 miles through four boroughs of the city.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Cycling infrastructure and urban inequality</h2>
<p>Bike equity is a powerful tool for increasing access to transportation and reducing inequality in U.S. cities. Surveys show that the fastest growth in cycling rates since 2001 has occurred among <a href="https://www.bikeleague.org/sites/default/files/equity_report.pdf">Hispanic, African-American and Asian-American riders</a>. But minority neighborhoods have fewer bike facilities, and riders there face <a href="https://peopleforbikes.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/EquityReport2015.pdf">higher risk of accidents and crashes</a>.</p>
<p>Many U.S. cities have improved marginalized neighborhoods by investing in grocery stores, schools, health clinics, community centers, libraries and affordable housing. But when it comes to bicycle infrastructure, they often add only the easiest and least safe elements, such as painting sharrows – stencils of bikes and double chevrons – or bike lane markings, and placing them next to curbs or between parked cars and traffic. Cycle tracks – bike lanes separated from traffic by curbs, lines of posts or rows of parked cars – are more common in affluent neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Compared with white wealthier neighborhoods, more bicyclists in ethnic-minority neighborhoods <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/wisniewski/ct-met-bike-tickets-getting-around-20180211-story.html">receive tickets for unlawful riding</a> or are involved in collisions. With access to properly marked cycle tracks, they would have less reason to ride on the sidewalk or against traffic on the street, and would be less likely to be hit by cars. </p>
<p>In my view, responsibility for recognizing these needs rests primarily with cities. Urban governments rely on public participation processes to help them target investments, and car owners tend to speak loudest because they want to maintain access to wide street lanes and parallel parking. In contrast, carless residents who could benefit from biking may not know to ask for facilities that their neighborhoods have never had. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257637/original/file-20190207-174883-wt7vwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257637/original/file-20190207-174883-wt7vwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257637/original/file-20190207-174883-wt7vwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257637/original/file-20190207-174883-wt7vwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257637/original/file-20190207-174883-wt7vwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257637/original/file-20190207-174883-wt7vwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257637/original/file-20190207-174883-wt7vwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257637/original/file-20190207-174883-wt7vwt.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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Substandard bike lanes, like this one in Seattle, expose cyclists to unsafe passing by motorists and collisions with cars turning right at intersections or pulling out of driveways.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/eEHMuy">Joshua Putnam</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Protection from crime and crashes</h2>
<p>For our study, we organized 212 people into 16 structured discussion groups. They included individuals we classified as “community-sense” – representing civic organizations such as YMCAs and churches – or “street-sense,” volunteers from halfway houses, homeless shelters and gangs. We invited the street-sense groups because individuals who have committed crimes or know of crime opportunities <a href="https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.sj.8340097">have valuable insights about urban design</a>. </p>
<p>We showed the groups photos of various cycling environments, ranging from unaltered streets to painted sharrows and bike lanes, cycle tracks and shared multi-use paths. Participants ranked the pictures according to the risk of crime or crashes they associated with each option, then discussed their perceptions as a group. </p>
<p>Studies have shown that awareness of criminal activity along bike routes <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2015.04.593">can deter cyclists</a>, and this is an important concern in low-income and minority neighborhoods. In a study in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, I found that African-American and Hispanic bicyclists were more concerned than white cyclists that their bikes could be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2017.01.006">stolen</a>. Some carried bikes up three flights of stairs to store them inside their homes.</p>
<p>From an anti-crime perspective, our focus groups’ ideal bike system was a wide two-way cycle track with freshly painted lines and bike stencils plus arrows, free of oil or litter. Conditions around the route also mattered. Our groups perceived areas with clean signs, cafes with tables and flowers, balconies, streetlights and no alleyways or cuts between buildings as safest. They also wanted routes to avoid buildings that resembled housing projects, warehouses and abandoned buildings.</p>
<p>For crash safety, participants preferred cycle tracks separated from cars by physical dividers; wide cycle track surfaces, colored red to designate them as space for bicyclists; and bike stencils and directional arrows on the tracks. In their view, the safest locations for bike facilities had traffic signals for bikers, clearly painted lines, low levels of traffic, and did not run near bus stops or intersections where many streets converged. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1015992716126228481"}"></div></p>
<h2>Rules for the road</h2>
<p>We compared our results with widely used bicycle design guidelines and <a href="http://www.cpted.net/">Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design</a> principles to see whether those sources reflected our participants’ priorities. The guidelines produced by the <a href="https://nacto.org/references/aashto-guide-for-the-development-of-bicycle-facilities-2012/">American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials</a> and the <a href="https://nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/">National Association of City Transportation Officials</a> provide engineering specifications for designing bicycle facilities that focus on road elements – paint, delineator posts and signs – but do not describe design features that would protect vulnerable humans bicycling through an environment at night. Our study asked people about what kinds of surface markings and features in the surrounding area made them feel most comfortable.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BkgBqn7Bs7S/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>As an example, our groups preferred street-scale lighting to brighten the surface of cycle tracks. In contrast, tall highway cobra-head lights typically used on busy urban streets reach over the roadway, illuminating the road for drivers in vehicles that have headlights.</p>
<p>In higher-income neighborhoods, cyclists might choose bike routes on side streets to avoid heavy traffic. However, people in our study felt that side streets with only residential buildings were less safe for cycling. This suggests that bicycle routes in lower-income ethnic-minority neighborhoods should be concentrated on main roads with commercial activity where more people are present. </p>
<p>Decisions about public rights-of-way should not be based on how many car owners or how few bicyclists show up at public meetings. Our study shows that city officials should create networks of wide, stenciled, red-painted, surface-lighted, barrier-protected, bicycle-exclusive cycle tracks in lower-income ethnic-minority neighborhoods along main streets. This would help residents get to work affordably, quickly and safely, and improve public health and quality of life in communities where these benefits are most needed. </p>
<p><em>This article has been updated to clarify the number of bike commuters in different income groups.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109485/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Lusk 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>Minorities are driving the bicycling boom, but bike infrastructure investments often neglect their needs. A new study explores what riders in low-income and minority neighborhoods want.Anne Lusk, Part Time Instructor, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1074262019-01-14T11:40:48Z2019-01-14T11:40:48ZChicago, New York discounted most public input in expanding bike systems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253331/original/file-20190110-43541-sdpb5z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Public bikes are meant to complement a city's existing mass transit network, so the location of docking stations is critical.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Entrance_to_Fulton_Center_through_135_William_St.JPG">MusikAnimal/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When <a href="https://nyti.ms/1GLVWVI">New York</a> and <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-red-1113-divvy-headquarters-20131112-story.html">Chicago</a> decided to expand their public bike share systems a few years back, city officials tried to go about it democratically. Using community meetings, workshops and interactive maps, they asked the public where they wanted new bike stations to be built. </p>
<p>“I have consistently found that local neighborhoods know their area better than anyone,” Joseph R. Lentol, a New York State assemblyman from Brooklyn, said after city officials in 2014 <a href="http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pr2014/pr14-087.shtml">announced a major expansion of New York’s year-old Citi Bike system</a>.</p>
<p>The Chicago Department of Transportation also thanked residents for their input in locating the 175 new bike stations it added in 2015.</p>
<p>“Chicagoans gave great suggestions for the locations of new stations, and we look forward to placing them where they were requested,” Transportation Commissioner Rebekah Scheinfeld <a href="https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/bike/news/2014/aug/DivvyExpansion.html">said</a>. </p>
<p>Ultimately, though, just a fraction of the docking stations were built in the places recommended by the public, according to our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2018.1476174">new research on participatory bike share planning in Chicago and New York</a>.</p>
<h2>Demands ignored</h2>
<p>New Yorkers suggested 2,000 sites as locations for new bike stations in their city, using <a href="http://nycbikeshare.herokuapp.com/page/about">the transportation department’s interactive online map</a>. But our study, published in the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjpa20/current">Journal of the American Planning Association</a>, shows that just 5 percent of bike docks built during the 2014-2015 expansion are located within 100 feet of suggested sites. </p>
<p>Chicago was slightly more responsive. Ten percent of docking stations built through 2015 were located at or near the spots residents identified on the <a href="http://suggest.divvybikes.com/page/about">interactive map</a>. </p>
<p>Our findings don’t imply that city officials weren’t listening. There are practical reasons why they weren’t able to put most bike stations where people asked.</p>
<p>Public bikes – a quick, green way of getting around town – are designed to complement buses and subways. So enlarging bike systems in New York and Chicago meant assessing gaps in each city’s transportation network. The results of that analysis may conflict with people’s desires about where new docks should be installed.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253338/original/file-20190110-43514-k339dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253338/original/file-20190110-43514-k339dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253338/original/file-20190110-43514-k339dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253338/original/file-20190110-43514-k339dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253338/original/file-20190110-43514-k339dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253338/original/file-20190110-43514-k339dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253338/original/file-20190110-43514-k339dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253338/original/file-20190110-43514-k339dt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New Yorkers can ask for more Citi Bikes using an interactive online map – but they won’t necessarily get their wish.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://nycbikeshare.herokuapp.com">NYC Dept. of Transportation</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Transit planners would also have disregarded suggested dock locations that lacked sidewalk space, or were too close to fire hydrants or utility services. </p>
<p>Cities often face resistance when building bike stations, too. Docks can take away coveted parking space, <a href="https://www.6sqft.com/nyc-lost-thousands-of-parking-spots-as-daily-bike-ridership-increased-80-percent-in-five-years/">outraging drivers</a>. In some historic districts, residents and planners see bike docks as <a href="https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/39/36/dtg-boerum-hill-surprise-citibike-station-2016-09-02-bk.html">incompatible with the atmosphere</a>. </p>
<p>Despite these challenges, officials tried to ensure equal access to the new bikes. </p>
<p>“What I’m shooting for is uniformity across every neighborhood,” New York’s bike share director, John Frost, <a href="https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2015/05/13/upper-west-siders-worry-about-big-gaps-between-planned-citi-bike-stations/">told residents at a community meeting in 2015</a>. </p>
<h2>Differences between neighborhoods</h2>
<p>Perfect uniformity is impossible, though. In both cities, we found that the government’s responsiveness to public input varied by neighborhood.</p>
<p>New bike stations in and around downtown Chicago were far more likely to be sited where suggested than those in more suburban areas: 12 percent versus 6 percent. This could be because stations on the outskirts of a system generally are used less, and so are not built as densely as cyclists might like.</p>
<p>The National Association of City Transportation Officials guidelines say that residents of a neighborhood served by bike share should live within a <a href="https://nacto.org/publication/bike-share-station-siting-guide/">five-minute walk</a> of a docking station.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253337/original/file-20190110-43510-bngxeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253337/original/file-20190110-43510-bngxeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/253337/original/file-20190110-43510-bngxeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253337/original/file-20190110-43510-bngxeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253337/original/file-20190110-43510-bngxeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253337/original/file-20190110-43510-bngxeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253337/original/file-20190110-43510-bngxeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/253337/original/file-20190110-43510-bngxeh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1007&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chicago’s Divvy bikes were more likely to be placed where cyclists wanted in downtown than in more suburban areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Closed_Divvy_Bike_Station_%2811809023254%29.jpg">Edward Stojakovic/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In New York, 9 percent of new docks in outerlying boroughs were built where residents asked. In the city’s financial core of Manhattan, just 3 percent of new docks were – likely because people requested more docks in areas of Manhattan already served by bikes, while city officials wanted to expand into new neighborhoods. </p>
<p>Neither city offered much guidance on these issues for people who went online to suggest locations for new bike stations. So residents just dropped their pin where they thought a dock would make most sense.</p>
<p>New York and Chicago are not the only cities to ask people for input in creating or expanding bike share only to end up with final plans that don’t necessarily reflect it. </p>
<p>Cincinnati, Ohio, used an interactive online map as part of a <a href="https://www.cincinnati-oh.gov/bikes/linkservid/241025ED-EFF8-8292-8C6AC74C67C3F7FA/showMeta/0/">feasibility study</a> in 2012 to guide the launch of its bike share. Planners got way more information than they could use: People suggested 330 sites for bike docks throughout the city, across the Ohio River and even into Kentucky. </p>
<p>The launch called for <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/up.v2i3.1013">just 29 stations</a>.</p>
<h2>Lessons for democracy</h2>
<p>The implications of our study go well beyond bike sharing. </p>
<p>Cities must frequently decide how to distribute scarce public resources like low-income housing, transit stations and parks. The experiences of New York, Chicago and Cincinnati offer useful lessons for cities hoping to engage residents in decisions that affect their neighborhoods. </p>
<p>All three made great efforts to gather input on locating new bike docks. But it might not appear so, given that just 5 or 10 percent of suggestions were implemented in the end. </p>
<p>With trust in government at <a href="http://www.people-press.org/2017/12/14/public-trust-in-government-1958-2017/">historic lows</a>, that could make people even more cynical. They don’t know whether requests for public input are genuine or just a show of democratic process – and a waste of time.</p>
<p>But our study found some positive results from the consultation process around bike shares in New York and Chicago, too. </p>
<p>The online maps enabled residents to take direct action in planning their cities, rather than just commenting on the ideas of planners – or waking up to discover a docking station had been built outside their door. </p>
<p>As recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0265813515610337">urban planning research</a> confirms, this kind of transparency – the online maps, community meetings, workshops and the like – also gives decisions more legitimacy. </p>
<p>It also leaves a record, allowing researchers like us to measure and evaluate the results. Understanding where and why people’s ideas were disregarded can be a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2015.1104203">learning experience for residents and governments alike</a>.</p>
<p>Ultimately, our study finds that cities wanting public input on big decisions must not only engage residents effectively – they must also explain the constraints they face. That helps residents make informed recommendations that are more likely to be implemented. </p>
<p>Locals know their neighborhoods best. We believe cities that really listen will find the best solutions to urban problems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greg Griffin receives funding from the United States Department of Transportation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Junfeng Jiao receives funding from the Cooperative Mobility for Competitive Megaregions (CM2) University Transportation Center funded by USDOT.
</span></em></p>Under 10 percent of new Citi Bike and Divvy bike docks are sited where residents suggested using interactive online maps, a new study shows. But that doesn’t mean city officials weren’t listening.Greg P. Griffin, PhD candidate, The University of Texas at AustinJunfeng Jiao, Assistant Professor of Community and Regional Planning and Director, Urban Information Lab, The University of Texas at AustinLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1084552018-12-12T11:42:45Z2018-12-12T11:42:45ZWhere’s my package? Common carrier freight lockers can ease city traffic and prevent failed deliveries<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250126/original/file-20181211-76971-10kq8ey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Unloading packages and arranging them for delivery in New York City.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Outtakes-AP-F-NY-USA-OTKNYML104-UPS/a31fd9039e5d491196028e414c721407/79/0">AP Photo/Mark Lennihan</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Online shopping is a big convenience for many Americans, but porch piracy can ruin the experience. For example, Mikaela Gilbert lived in a row house in West Philadelphia while she studied systems engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. By her junior year, Gilbert had lost enough packages to thieves that she devised an elaborate three-pronged security strategy. </p>
<p>Her first line of defense was having online purchases shipped to a friend who lived in a high-rise apartment where a doorman secured incoming packages. She also sent orders to her parents’ house in New Jersey when she had a visit home planned. But both of those options were hugely inconvenient, so sometimes she routed deliveries to her place after texting her seven housemates to be on the lookout.</p>
<p>When Amazon installed <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201530900">branded delivery lockers</a> near the center of campus, Gilbert began receiving packages there, which was less stressful than managing a small army of collaborators. But it limited her shopping to just one retailer. When Amazon didn’t have something she wanted, she had to fall back on her circle of friends.</p>
<p>Retailers delivering to a customers’ homes also want to avoid these situations. Research at our lab has identified a promising alternative: publicly accessible common carrier freight lockers where all retailers can leave packages for pickup. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250129/original/file-20181211-76980-4rxwh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250129/original/file-20181211-76980-4rxwh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250129/original/file-20181211-76980-4rxwh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250129/original/file-20181211-76980-4rxwh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250129/original/file-20181211-76980-4rxwh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=527&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250129/original/file-20181211-76980-4rxwh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250129/original/file-20181211-76980-4rxwh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250129/original/file-20181211-76980-4rxwh0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=663&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Common carrier locker pilot test at the Seattle Municipal Tower. Shown: Chris Eaves and Jude Willcher, Seattle Department of Transportation, and Barbara Ivanov, Urban Freight Lab.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barbara Ivanov</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>So many stops, so little time</h2>
<p>Like Amazon’s branded lockers, common carrier lockers are automated, self-service storage units that provide a secure location for customers to receive online purchases. However, any retailer or delivery firm can access them. Some private buildings have such lockers now, but those are only open to residents. <a href="https://depts.washington.edu/sctlctr/research/publications">Our study</a> examined the effectiveness of locating them in public spaces in dense urban areas, where they can be available to everyone. </p>
<p>The University of Washington’s <a href="https://depts.washington.edu/sctlctr/urban-freight-lab-0">Urban Freight Lab</a> is a structured research work group composed of leading retail, logistics and delivery firms. We partner with the Seattle Department of Transportation, collect and analyze data, and run pilot tests of promising solutions in Seattle’s Center City area. Our focus is on solving urban delivery issues in an age when e-commerce is exploding, city populations are expanding, and gridlock is reaching epic levels.</p>
<p>In its <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/sctlctr/sites/default/files/SCTL_Final_50_ES.pdf">first report</a>, published in early 2018, the lab analyzed the “Final 50 Feet” of the urban goods delivery system – the last leg of the supply chain. It begins when trucks pull into a parking space and stop moving, whether at the curb, in an alley, or at a building’s loading dock or internal freight bay. From there, it follows delivery people inside urban towers, ending where customers receive their packages. </p>
<p>Researchers discovered two especially thorny challenges in this segment of the chain: extended “dwell time,” when trucks are parked in load/unload spaces too long, and failed first delivery attempts due to causes that include porch piracy. Solving these puzzles could reduce delivery costs, traffic congestion and crime rates, and improve online shoppers’ experiences.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"973612889398489088"}"></div></p>
<p>Delivering packages one at a time to individual homes or offices is time-consuming and requires driving to multiple locations and parking in multiple spaces. It also results in failed first delivery rates of up to 15 percent in parts of some cities, according to some of our lab’s member companies. Instead, we decided to try creating delivery density in a single location right where the trucks unloaded.</p>
<h2>Centralized lockers where people live and work</h2>
<p>Accordingly, the Urban Freight Lab’s second research project pilot-tested placing a common carrier locker system in the 62-floor <a href="http://www.seattlemunicipaltower.com/Home.axis">Seattle Municipal Tower</a> in downtown Seattle’s financial district. This step <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/sctlctr/sites/default/files/SCTL_Muni_Tower_Test_Report_V4.pdf">cut the time required to make deliveries in the tower by 78 percent</a>. The next question was where to locate more of these delivery density points, or “mini-distribution nodes,” as the study called them.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249814/original/file-20181210-76962-els7or.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249814/original/file-20181210-76962-els7or.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249814/original/file-20181210-76962-els7or.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249814/original/file-20181210-76962-els7or.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249814/original/file-20181210-76962-els7or.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249814/original/file-20181210-76962-els7or.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249814/original/file-20181210-76962-els7or.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249814/original/file-20181210-76962-els7or.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">Urban Freight Lab student data collectors document delivery times in Seattle Municipal Tower pilot project.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Barbara Ivanov</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Amazon, which is headquartered in Seattle, had already approached regional transportation agency <a href="https://www.soundtransit.org/">Sound Transit</a> about locating its branded lockers at the agency’s Link light rail stations. But public stewards of the property – the Seattle Department of Transportation, Sound Transit and King County Metro – did not want to advantage one carrier or retailer over others. Instead, we suggested locating common carrier lockers. </p>
<p>The transit agencies saw that this could reduce delivery truck traffic in neighborhoods they served, easing congestion and reducing vehicle emissions. And their mobility hub policies aimed to create lively public spaces that offered not only multiple transportation modes but lots of convenient amenities.</p>
<p>In a survey of 185 riders at three transit stations, our lab’s third research study found <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/sctlctr/sites/default/files/SCTL_Executive_Summary_v8.pdf">strong interest in the lockers</a>, with up to 67 percent of respondents at each station willing to use them and the vast majority willing to carry a package three to six blocks to do so. These responses, plus the fact that some 137,000 people lived within a 30-minute walk of the three stations, suggested that tens of thousands of Seattle residents would be willing to use common carrier lockers at those stations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250036/original/file-20181211-76965-1aav9tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250036/original/file-20181211-76965-1aav9tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250036/original/file-20181211-76965-1aav9tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250036/original/file-20181211-76965-1aav9tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250036/original/file-20181211-76965-1aav9tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250036/original/file-20181211-76965-1aav9tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250036/original/file-20181211-76965-1aav9tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250036/original/file-20181211-76965-1aav9tc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Urban transit centers (shown: Fulton Transit Center in New York City) could become package pickup sites for people who live or work nearby.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fulton_Center_mezzanine_2014.jpg">MusikAnimal/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For retailers like Nordstrom, the lockers represent a potential solution to porch piracy and other glitches associated with online shopping. “Rather than leaving the package at a door, some carriers want customers to come to their location to collect the package, while others might redeliver,” Loren VandenBerghe, director of transportation for Nordstrom, told us. “Whatever the process, the customer has to track down the package. Instead, we’d prefer to get the package in our customer’s hands when they expect it.” </p>
<p>Researchers have developed criteria for selecting locker locations and chosen five possible sites at or near the transit stations for pilot testing. We have received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to expand use of common carriers lockers in public spaces to a larger area in Seattle’s dense urban core and start actively managing the load/unload space network with new technology. Delivery drivers will be able to pull right up to lockers and unload goods, and riders can pick up their packages when they hop on or off a bus – making it much more convenient than waiting for a truck and scanning the street for porch pirates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108455/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Urban Freight Lab members include Charlie's Produce, Expeditors International of Washington, Ford Motor Company, Kroger. Nordstrom, UPS and USPS.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Goodchild receives funding from the Seattle Department of Transportation, Urban Freight Lab members, and the US Department of Energy. </span></em></p>Rising e-commerce means more delivery trucks and urban gridlock. Lockers at transit centers, where carriers can leave packages for people who live or work nearby, are a potential solution.Barbara Ivanov, Director, Urban Freight Lab, University of WashingtonAnne Goodchild, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director, Supply Chain Transportation and Logistics Center, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/992002018-12-06T11:45:33Z2018-12-06T11:45:33ZFrom pledges to action: Cities need to show their climate progress with hard data<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249082/original/file-20181205-186061-w75c8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Port of Long Beach, California.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Port_of_Long_Beach,_California_-4.jpg">USCBP/Charles Csavossy/Wikimedia</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As world leaders negotiate rules for cutting greenhouse gas emissions at the COP24 meeting in Poland, U.S. cities have a vested interest in the outcome. About 85 percent of Americans live in cities, and urban areas produce <a href="https://carbon2018.globalchange.gov/downloads/SOCCR2_Ch4_Urban_Carbon.pdf">some 80 percent</a> of our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Many cities are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts such as flooding and heat waves. </p>
<p>Cities are central to shaping effective solutions, too. After President Donald Trump announced in 2017 that he planned to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/climate/trump-paris-climate-agreement.html">withdraw the United States</a> from the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement">Paris climate accord</a>, more than <a href="http://climatemayors.org">400 U.S. mayors</a> – representing 69 million people – <a href="https://www.wearestillin.com/">pledged to fulfill it</a>. Some cities are going further and aiming for net carbon neutrality by 2050. Their efforts are sorely needed: According to a Dec. 5 report from the Global Carbon Project, <a href="http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/carbonbudget/18/infographics.htm">global carbon dioxide emissions grew 2.7 percent in 2018</a>, the largest rise in seven years. </p>
<p>Mayors believe they can <a href="http://www.surveyofmayors.com/survey/2017/">make a climate impact</a> while making their communities greener and cleaner. To succeed, they will have to take bold policy actions and demonstrate that emissions are declining. However, tracking greenhouse gas emissions requires models, forecasting tools and lots of data. Today most of that information is organized at the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks">national</a> or <a href="https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/state-inventory-and-projection-tool_.html">state level</a>, not at city scales. </p>
<p>Now, though, this is changing. Over the last decade, our work on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=rzSGHqcAAAAJ&hl=en">urban greenhouse gas emissions</a> has shown that with the right combination of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-5_D6bUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">instruments, data and modeling techniques</a>, it is possible to independently quantify <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1803715115">carbon dioxide</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1416261112">methane</a> emissions from urban areas. Just as researchers measure local smog concentrations for public health, they now can measure local greenhouse gases for climate action.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249083/original/file-20181205-186052-1yrh62x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249083/original/file-20181205-186052-1yrh62x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249083/original/file-20181205-186052-1yrh62x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249083/original/file-20181205-186052-1yrh62x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249083/original/file-20181205-186052-1yrh62x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=360&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249083/original/file-20181205-186052-1yrh62x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249083/original/file-20181205-186052-1yrh62x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249083/original/file-20181205-186052-1yrh62x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, right, chats with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner during the Boston Climate Summit, June 7, 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Mayors-Climate-Summit/32d2ba5205fa472283efd093ccea302e/4/0">AP Photo/Charles Krupa</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Move fast and measure carefully</h2>
<p>Many steps cities need to take to hit their 2050 targets must be <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aah3443">undertaken within the next decade</a>. Investments in energy systems, transportation infrastructure and new housing stock can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.06.023">lock in consumption and emissions patterns</a> for decades to come. </p>
<p>As an example, by reducing urban and suburban vehicle travel, making electric vehicles more affordable, and expanding use of public transit, cities can cut carbon emissions and also reduce local air pollution. But such actions require very long lead times. The much-anticipated <a href="https://www.metro.net/projects/westside/">Westside subway extension project</a> in Los Angeles has a construction timeline of 14 years, but was preceded by decades of planning and negotiation. </p>
<p>To track actual progress over time, urban agencies also need to generate and share local-scale information. Nongovernment organizations like the <a href="https://www.cdp.net/en">Carbon Disclosure Project</a> and <a href="http://icleiusa.org/clearpath/">ICLEI</a> have produced tools that make this kind of data more accessible and transparent, but it is still challenging to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027359">accurately quantify city-scale emissions</a>. Resource constraints, data gaps and shifting local priorities make it difficult for many cities to regularly report emissions in a consistent way.</p>
<p>We work with a <a href="http://sites.bu.edu/co2usa">growing network of U.S. cities</a> where researchers are quantifying greenhouse gas emissions across urban regions. For example, in Boston we are analyzing how <a href="https://www.citylab.com/life/2016/12/where-forests-work-harder/511076/">trees within the city</a> influence greenhouse gas levels, and how local traffic congestion <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.05.091">increases emissions</a> of carbon dioxide as well as air pollutants. And in Salt Lake City, researchers have <a href="https://www.ksl.com/article/46331498/utah-emissions-study-a-blueprint-for-global-urban-centers">outfitted train lines</a> with sensors to measure greenhouse gases and air quality in real time.</p>
<p>Remote sensing is another promising data source. <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/358/6360">Several greenhouse gas observing satellites</a> are already <a href="http://www.tropomi.eu/gallery/tropomi-daily-coverage">in orbit</a>, with <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7039">more to follow</a>. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 <a href="https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/orbiting-carbon-observatory-3-oco-3/">(OCO-3)</a>, soon to be installed on the International Space Station, will focus on observing cities and urban areas across the globe. It will provide scientists and city governments regularly with vital data on local carbon dioxide concentrations.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/syU1rRCp7E8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Scientists can use models like this one from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2) satellite to better understand and predict where CO2 concentrations could be especially high or low, based on activity on the ground.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Avoiding surprises</h2>
<p>Regular air measurements aren’t just valuable for measuring progress. They also can help researchers identify unknown emissions sources through “atmospheric detective work,” spotting sources that aren’t well controlled or illicit “dumping” of pollutants into the atmosphere. </p>
<p>This happened in 2014, when scientists using satellite instruments to monitor atmospheric methane concentrations detected <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL061503">a giant methane hotspot</a> in northwestern New Mexico that did not appear in any existing emissions inventories. A targeted field campaign using aircraft and ground-based sensors narrowed down the source to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1605617113">leaks associated with oil and gas development in the San Juan Basin.</a>.</p>
<p>More recently, atmospheric measurements published in May 2018 detected <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/ozone-hole-chemicals-cfc-increase-mystery-source-east-asia-antarctica-a8354481.html">a rapid increase</a> in concentrations of a chemical known as CFC-11 that had been targeted for phaseout under the 1987 <a href="https://www.state.gov/e/oes/eqt/chemicalpollution/83007.htm">Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer</a>. Using atmospheric models, researchers narrowed down the source region of these emissions to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0106-2">somewhere in East Asia.</a>. Investigations subsequently identified over 18 companies in China <a href="https://eia-global.org/reports/20180709-blowing-it-illegal-production-and-use-of-banned-cfc-11-in-chinas-foam-blowing-industry">illicitly producing and selling CFC-11.</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229646/original/file-20180727-106530-13mb979.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=12%2C12%2C996%2C665&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229646/original/file-20180727-106530-13mb979.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229646/original/file-20180727-106530-13mb979.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229646/original/file-20180727-106530-13mb979.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229646/original/file-20180727-106530-13mb979.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229646/original/file-20180727-106530-13mb979.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229646/original/file-20180727-106530-13mb979.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=611&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nasa.gov/content/you-can-manage-only-what-you-can-measure">https://www.nasa.gov/content/you-can-manage-only-what-you-can-measure</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The problem with offsets</h2>
<p>Cities are unlikely to cheat on their own pledges in this way, but they may use strategies that are hard to measure or verify. A key example is buying energy and carbon credits instead of directly reducing emissions. In these transactions, buyers receive credit for investing in renewable energy or other green initiatives, such as planting trees, to “offset” their own carbon-intensive activities.</p>
<p>Buying offsets is a popular way to show support for the environment. For example, the ride sharing company Lyft has pledged to buy enough carbon offsets that “<a href="https://medium.com/@johnzimmer/all-lyft-rides-are-now-carbon-neutral-55693af04f36?referrer=carbon">every ride will now contribute to fighting climate change</a>.” And cities may meet clean energy commitments by <a href="https://www.c2es.org/content/city-action-on-clean-energy/">buying renewable energy credits</a> from power providers outside their limits. </p>
<p>Offset projects can be very cost-effective and important for reducing overall U.S. emissions, but they may not do anything for improving local air quality in cities. Those Lyft drivers will still be generating air pollution. So will the urban power plants that keep running while local governments buy green power credits from sources elsewhere. As these examples show, the more cities rely on offsets to meet their climate targets, the harder it will be to assess whether they are actually reducing their contributions to climate change.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1040966651355844609"}"></div></p>
<h2>You can’t manage what you can’t measure</h2>
<p>To sustain momentum and achieve their climate goals, we believe U.S. cities should embrace the transparency and validation that direct measurements can provide to show that progress is real and not just on paper. In our view, it also is time for a major push to connect local climate action plans across cities with observations and data. Ambitious climate targets are a key first step, but now cities need to show their residents – and each other – that they are making verifiable progress.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99200/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Conor K Gately receives funding from NASA and NOAA.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy Hutyra receives funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. </span></em></p>Hundreds of US cities have pledged to meet the carbon reduction targets in the Paris climate accord. Now it’s time for them to start showing results.Conor K Gately, Postdoctoral Associate, Boston UniversityLucy Hutyra, Associate Professor of Earth and Environment, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1066012018-11-27T19:06:19Z2018-11-27T19:06:19ZJust how ‘city smart’ are local governments in Queensland?<p>Many places around the world claim to be a “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07293682.2015.1019752">smart city</a>”, but what that means is often unclear. A smart city is widely seen as an urban area that uses technology to enhance performance and the quality of its services. In other words, it’s a happy marriage of <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781317575696">technology and the city</a>.</p>
<p>Before we look at what is being planned in Australia and what is being done overseas, an important question is: How smart are our cities now? The answer enables our cities to benchmark where we are now and then track progress over time. We <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/118349/">recently conducted a study</a> to evaluate the smartness of all local government areas in Queensland.</p>
<p>Queensland and Australian cities are responding to a global trend, with the Australian government releasing a <a href="https://infrastructure.gov.au/cities/smart-cities/plan/index.aspx">Smart Cities Plan</a> in 2016. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/smart-cities-plan-offers-signs-of-hope-but-are-turnbull-and-taylor-just-dreamin-58628">Smart Cities Plan offers signs of hope, but are Turnbull and Taylor just dreamin'?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/au/pdf/2017/smart-cities-australia-snapshot-2017.pdf">A snapshot of Australian initiatives</a> in 2017 revealed over a dozen local governments had strongly embraced the smart city agenda. A couple of dozen are finalising strategies. More than 100 are considering undertaking a smart city journey. </p>
<p>Smart city has become a global city planning movement and received enormous policy and media attention. Well <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/801167/project-of-global-smart-cities-by-region/">over 250 smart city projects</a> are under way <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/iese/2018/07/13/the-smartest-cities-in-the-world-in-2018/#253c56b92efc">in 178 cities</a> around the world. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccs.2017.06.004">India</a> alone hosts 100 of those initiatives. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2013.08.034">Songdo in South Korea</a> is recognised as the most advanced smart city in the making.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/early-experiments-show-a-smart-city-plan-should-start-with-people-first-60174">Early experiments show a smart city plan should start with people first</a></em></p>
<p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/smart-or-dumb-the-real-impact-of-indias-proposal-to-build-100-smart-cities-80458">Smart or dumb? The real impact of India’s proposal to build 100 smart cities</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>The focus of smart city projects is to increase their city’s “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.01.034">smartness</a>” through advanced technologies such as sensors, internet of things, data analytics, and networks. However, technology adoption alone does not make an urban area smart. A city needs a healthy mix of human, social, infrastructural, cultural, environmental, financial, knowledge, symbolic and relational <a href="https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=356227700529143;res=IELNZC;type=pdf">assets or capital</a> to be smart. </p>
<p>Taking a holistic view of smart cities helps us understand what is sustainable over time and what is not. An example of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2018.04.003">a holistic smart city framework</a> is shown below.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245263/original/file-20181113-194488-6oujqm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245263/original/file-20181113-194488-6oujqm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245263/original/file-20181113-194488-6oujqm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245263/original/file-20181113-194488-6oujqm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245263/original/file-20181113-194488-6oujqm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245263/original/file-20181113-194488-6oujqm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=630&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245263/original/file-20181113-194488-6oujqm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=630&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245263/original/file-20181113-194488-6oujqm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=630&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sustainable smart city conceptual framework.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors' own work</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Measuring urban smartness performance</h2>
<p>Local governments across the country have started to develop, or search for ways to develop, smart city strategies and solutions. Our research in Queensland based its analysis on four smart city indicator categories and 16 smartness indicators. The table below shows these. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244943/original/file-20181111-38373-ino8d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244943/original/file-20181111-38373-ino8d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244943/original/file-20181111-38373-ino8d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244943/original/file-20181111-38373-ino8d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244943/original/file-20181111-38373-ino8d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244943/original/file-20181111-38373-ino8d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=962&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244943/original/file-20181111-38373-ino8d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=962&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244943/original/file-20181111-38373-ino8d9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=962&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indicators of the assessment framework.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors' own work</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We then categorised the smartness levels of the <a href="http://www.qgso.qld.gov.au/products/maps/qld-lga-2014/index.php">78 local government areas</a> in the three performance clusters: leading, following, and developing.</p>
<p>The study results revealed a mixed performance across Queensland. The figure below shows this, with higher smart city performance in metropolitan Southeast Queensland and some major regional urban centres. </p>
<p>Of 78 local government areas, only ten stood out as high performing. These are: Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Cairns, Logan, Ipswich, Townsville, Moreton Bay, Gold Coast, Noosa and Scenic Rim.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245264/original/file-20181113-194488-3ujpq0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245264/original/file-20181113-194488-3ujpq0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245264/original/file-20181113-194488-3ujpq0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245264/original/file-20181113-194488-3ujpq0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245264/original/file-20181113-194488-3ujpq0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=821&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245264/original/file-20181113-194488-3ujpq0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245264/original/file-20181113-194488-3ujpq0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245264/original/file-20181113-194488-3ujpq0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1031&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Performance of local government areas, with the ten leading areas shown in green.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors' own work</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The performances of these cities differ significantly in the four dimensional measures considered. These are: </p>
<ul>
<li>productivity and innovation</li>
<li>liveability and well-being</li>
<li>sustainability and accessibility</li>
<li>governance and planning. </li>
</ul>
<p>In general, Queensland local government areas perform more strongly in liveability and well-being, and governance and planning. Performance is rather weak across the state in productivity and innovation, and sustainability and accessibility.</p>
<h2>Where is Queensland doing well, and why?</h2>
<p>We can draw some insights from the findings. For example, good performances on liveability and well-being might be a result of relatively positive health, safety, housing and social conditions. A <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/costs/cost-of-living-comparisons-australia-cheapest-and-most-expensive-places-to-live/news-story/4f674044c26fefbfabe573ca517add4d">cost-of-living study</a> found that Queensland is the most affordable Australian state when it comes to everyday expenses including rent, fuel, groceries, transport, utilities and education.</p>
<p>Similarly, the performance on governance and planning is relatively high across the state. This is most likely due to effective strategic development planning practice. </p>
<p>In some local governments, the policy focus includes smart city strategies. For example, about 15 cities in Queensland have recently developed their smart city strategies. Some have already incorporated these in their planning and development mechanisms. <a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/20170825_-_smart_connected_strategy.pdf">Brisbane</a>, <a href="https://www.ipswichsmartcity.com.au/">Ipswich</a>, <a href="https://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/smartcities">Sunshine Coast</a> and <a href="https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/49122/TCC-SmartCityDraftStrategy_A4.pdf">Townsville</a> are among those.</p>
<h2>And why the struggle on other measures?</h2>
<p>The study identified barriers to achieving urban smartness in Queensland. </p>
<p>The poor performance on productivity and innovation indicators may be a result of the state not being a notable contributor to the global knowledge and innovation economy. Fostering, attracting and retaining innovation industries and talented knowledge workers has been a major challenge for all urban localities in Queensland. State government efforts to advance Queensland in the <a href="https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783030032067">global knowledge and innovation economy</a> need sustained reinforcement to achieve this goal.</p>
<p>The weaker performance on sustainability and accessibility indicators relates to the lower level of adoption of sustainable solutions in energy, buildings, commuting and vehicles. While investing in technology is one approach to these challenges, societal behavioural change is also required. </p>
<p>Recent studies of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2018.1476794">Australian</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.01.034">UK</a> cities revealed that technology uptake by citizens and cities does not necessarily lead to sustainable commuting patterns and urban outcomes. Hence, searching for solutions beyond technology adoption is critical for cities — particularly when the evident <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-will-make-qlds-ecosystems-unrecognisable-its-up-to-us-if-we-want-to-stop-that-106679">risks of climate change in Queensland</a> are considered.</p>
<h2>Ways to improve urban smartness</h2>
<p>We found major <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2017.1358699">regional disparities</a> in Queensland. Along with much-needed state government investment and support, perhaps an expansion of Commonwealth funding and programs, particularly to regional cities, could help narrow the gap. The diagram below illustrates the current gap in the four performance categories. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244945/original/file-20181111-116820-1mm5ckz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244945/original/file-20181111-116820-1mm5ckz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244945/original/file-20181111-116820-1mm5ckz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244945/original/file-20181111-116820-1mm5ckz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244945/original/file-20181111-116820-1mm5ckz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244945/original/file-20181111-116820-1mm5ckz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244945/original/file-20181111-116820-1mm5ckz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244945/original/file-20181111-116820-1mm5ckz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Comparison of performance categories.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors' own work</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Commonwealth <a href="https://infrastructure.gov.au/cities/city-deals/index.aspx">City Deals</a> and <a href="https://www.business.gov.au/assistance/smart-cities-and-suburbs-program">Smart Cities and Suburbs</a> programs might be an opportunity to consolidate existing smart city efforts in Queensland’s top-performing cities.</p>
<p>We argue that a smart city should be seen as more than a marriage of technology and the city. Firstly, the technocentric approach takes its <a href="https://theconversation.com/technology-is-making-cities-smart-but-its-also-costing-the-environment-99296">toll on the environment</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/technology-is-making-cities-smart-but-its-also-costing-the-environment-99296">Technology is making cities 'smart', but it's also costing the environment</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Secondly, it prioritises technology-based quick fixes, while <a href="https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.7373/77140">neglecting deeper solutions</a> that have nothing to do with the technology. </p>
<p>We advocate a smart city to be seen as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>an urban locality functioning as a healthy system of systems with sustainable and balanced practices of economic, societal, environmental and governance activities generating desired outcomes and futures for all humans and non-humans.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is a demonstrated need for smart city projects to generate a range of desired outcomes – economic, societal, environmental and governance – in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10630732.2018.1524249">sustainable, balanced and inclusive</a> manner. An integrated, holistic approach is the way forward in Queensland and across Australia.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-does-a-city-get-to-be-smart-this-is-how-tel-aviv-did-it-94898">How does a city get to be 'smart'? This is how Tel Aviv did it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106601/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tan Yigitcanlar receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurie Buys receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Md. (Liton) Kamruzzaman receives funding from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. </span></em></p>How smart are our cities now? In Queensland, a study of all 78 local government areas reveals major gaps between the ten leading the way in becoming smart cities and the rest of the state.Tan Yigitcanlar, Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Development, Queensland University of TechnologyLaurie Buys, Professor, Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of TechnologyLiton Kamruzzaman, Associate professor of Urban Planning, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/972232018-05-30T10:38:49Z2018-05-30T10:38:49ZMany Republican mayors are advancing climate-friendly policies without saying so<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220344/original/file-20180524-117628-1gvs28h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, right, and California Governor Jerry Brown, left, discuss drought and water restrictions on August 11, 2015. Faulconer has championed renewable energy, water recycling and other climate-friendly policies.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Drought-Governor-Brown/11128eeaafb5425ba69d29f513f51094/3/0">AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Leadership in addressing climate change in the United States has shifted away from Washington, D.C. Cities across the country are organizing, networking and sharing resources to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and tackle related challenges ranging from air pollution to heat island effects.</p>
<p>But group photos at climate change summits typically feature big-city Democratic mayors rubbing shoulders. Republicans are rarer, with a few notable exceptions, such as <a href="https://www.sandiego.gov/mayor">Kevin Faulconer</a> of San Diego and <a href="http://www.carmel.in.gov/our-government/mayor">James Brainard</a> of Carmel, Indiana. </p>
<p>Faulconer co-chairs the Sierra Club’s <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/ready-for-100/mayors-for-clean-energy">Mayors for 100 Percent Clean Energy Initiative</a>, which rallies mayors around a shared commitment to power their cities entirely with clean and renewable energy. Brainard is a longtime champion of the issue within the <a href="https://www.usmayors.org/">U.S. Conference of Mayors</a> and the <a href="http://climatemayors.org/">Climate Mayors</a> network.</p>
<p>In our research at the <a href="https://www.bu.edu/ioc/">Boston University Initiative on Cities</a>, we found that large-city Republican mayors shy away from climate network memberships and their associated framing of the problem. But in many cases they advocate locally for policies that help advance climate goals for other reasons, such as fiscal responsibility and public health. In short, the United States is making progress on this issue in some surprising places.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1HpsaByBNBk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Miami, Florida Republican Mayor Tomás Regalado urged voters to support a $400 million bond in November 2017. About half of the money will be used to protect the city from sea level rise and flooding.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Climate network members are mainly Democrats</h2>
<p>In our initiative’s recent report, “<a href="http://surveyofmayors.com/survey/city_networks/">Cities Joining Ranks</a>,” we systematically reviewed which U.S. cities belong to 10 prominent city climate networks. These networks, often founded by mayors themselves, provide platforms to exchange information, advocate for urban priorities and strengthen city goverments’ technical capacities.</p>
<p>The networks we assessed included <a href="http://climatemayors.org/">Climate Mayors</a>; <a href="https://www.wearestillin.com/">We Are Still In</a>, which represents organizations that continue to support action to meet the targets in the Paris climate agreement; and <a href="http://icleiusa.org/">ICLEI USA</a>. </p>
<p>We found a clear partisan divide between Republican and Democrat mayors. On average, Republican-led cities with more than 75,000 residents belong to less than one climate network. In contrast, cities with Democratic mayors belonged to an average of four networks. Among the 100 largest U.S. cities, of which 29 have Republican mayors and 63 have Democrats, Democrat-led cities are more than four times more likely to belong to at least one climate network.</p>
<p>This split has implications for city-level climate action. Joining these networks sends a very public signal to constituents about the importance of safeguarding the environment, transitioning to cleaner forms of energy and addressing climate change. Some networks require cities to plan for or implement <a href="http://www.surveyofmayors.com/survey/city_networks/comparing_networks/">specific greenhouse gas reduction targets</a> and report on their progress, which means that mayors can be held accountable.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"998952626648592384"}"></div></p>
<h2>Constituents in Republican-led cities support climate policies</h2>
<p>Cities can also reduce their carbon footprints and stay under the radar - a strategy that is popular with Republican mayors. Taking the findings of the “Cities Joining Ranks” report as a starting point, I explored support for climate policies in Republican-led cities and the level of ambition and transparency in their climate plans.</p>
<p>To tackle these questions, I cross-referenced Republican-led cities with data from the <a href="http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us-2016/">Yale Climate Opinion maps</a>, which provide insight into county-level support for four climate policies: </p>
<ul>
<li>Regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant</li>
<li>Imposing strict carbon dioxide emission limits on existing coal-fired power plants</li>
<li>Funding research into renewable energy sources</li>
<li>Requiring utilities to produce 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources</li>
</ul>
<p>In all of the 10 largest U.S. cities that have Republican mayors and also voted Republican in the 2008 presidential election, county-level polling data showed majority support for all four climate policies. Examples included Jacksonville, Florida, and Fort Worth, Texas. None of these cities participated in any of the 10 climate networks that we reviewed in our report.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220868/original/file-20180529-80661-11phhy8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220868/original/file-20180529-80661-11phhy8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220868/original/file-20180529-80661-11phhy8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220868/original/file-20180529-80661-11phhy8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220868/original/file-20180529-80661-11phhy8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220868/original/file-20180529-80661-11phhy8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220868/original/file-20180529-80661-11phhy8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220868/original/file-20180529-80661-11phhy8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us-2016/?est=happening&type=value&geo=county">Yale Program on Climate Change Communication</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This finding suggests that popular support exists for action on climate change, and that residents of these cities who advocate acting could lobby their elected officials to join climate networks. Indeed, we have found that one of the top three reasons mayors join city policy networks is because it signals their priorities. A mayor of a medium-sized West Coast city told us: “Your constituents are expecting you to represent them, so we are trying politically to be their voice.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220806/original/file-20180529-80645-1r66fk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220806/original/file-20180529-80645-1r66fk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220806/original/file-20180529-80645-1r66fk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220806/original/file-20180529-80645-1r66fk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220806/original/file-20180529-80645-1r66fk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220806/original/file-20180529-80645-1r66fk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220806/original/file-20180529-80645-1r66fk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220806/original/file-20180529-80645-1r66fk8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mayors join networks to amplify their message, signal priorities to constituents and share information.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.surveyofmayors.com/survey/city_networks/why_mayors_join/">BU Initiative on Cities</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Climate-friendly strategies, but few emissions targets</h2>
<p>Next I reviewed planning documents from the 29 largest U.S. cities that are led by Republican mayors. Among this group, 15 have developed or are developing concrete goals that guide their efforts to improve local environmental quality. Many of these actions reduce cities’ carbon footprints, although they are not primarily framed that way.</p>
<p>Rather, these cities most frequently cast targets for achieving energy savings and curbing local air pollution as part of their <a href="https://urbanplanning.cityofomaha.org/images/stories/Master%20Plan%20Elements/EnvironmentElement2010.pdf">master plans</a>. Some package them as part of <a href="https://www.elpasotexas.gov/%7E/media/files/coep/sustainability/el%20paso%20tx%20%20livable%20city%20sustainability%20plan.ashx?la=en">dedicated sustainability strategies</a>. </p>
<p>These agendas often evoke images of <a href="http://today.oregonstate.edu/archives/2016/apr/framing-discourse-around-conservative-values-shifts-climate-change-attitudes">disrupted ecosystems</a> that need to be <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/04/republicans-framing-climate-change/360911/">conserved</a>, or that endanger human health and quality of life. Some also spotlight cost savings from designing infrastructure to cope with more extreme weather events. </p>
<p>In contrast, only seven cities in this group had developed quantitative greenhouse gas reduction targets. Except for Miami, all of them are in California, which requires its cities to align their greenhouse gas reduction targets with <a href="https://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/localgovernment/localgovernment.htm">state</a> <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2015/04/29/news18938/">plans</a>. From planning documents it appears that none of the six Californian cities goes far beyond minimum mandated emission reductions set by the state for 2020. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220336/original/file-20180524-90281-1msh92a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220336/original/file-20180524-90281-1msh92a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220336/original/file-20180524-90281-1msh92a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220336/original/file-20180524-90281-1msh92a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220336/original/file-20180524-90281-1msh92a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220336/original/file-20180524-90281-1msh92a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220336/original/file-20180524-90281-1msh92a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/220336/original/file-20180524-90281-1msh92a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Greenhouse gas reductions goals, with baselines, for the seven largest Republican-led cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nicolas Gunkel</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Watch what they do, not what they say</h2>
<p>The real measure of Republican mayors taking action on climate change is not the number of networks they join but the policy steps they take, often quietly, at home. While few Republican mayors may attend the <a href="http://www.wbur.org/news/2018/05/09/boston-climate-summit">next</a> <a href="https://globalclimateactionsummit.org/about/">round</a> of sub-national climate summits, many have set out policy agendas that mitigate climate change, without calling a lot of attention to it – <a href="https://theconversation.com/red-state-rural-america-is-acting-on-climate-change-without-calling-it-climate-change-69866">much like a number of rural U.S. communities</a>. Focusing narrowly on policy labels and public commitments by mayors fails to capture the various forms of local climate action, especially in GOP-led cities. </p>
<p>Carmel, Indiana Mayor James Brainard has suggested that some of his less-outspoken counterparts may <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/republican-mayor-jim-brainard-climate-change-e662f098c0a3/">fear a backlash</a> from conservative opinion-makers. “There is a lot of Republicans out there that think like I do. They have been intimidated, to some extent, by the Tea Party and the conservative talk show hosts,” Brainard has said.</p>
<p>Indeed, studies show that the news environment has become <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547018760334">increasingly polarized around accepting or denying climate science</a>. Avoiding explicit mention of climate change is enabling a sizable number of big-city GOP mayors to <a href="http://investor.firstsolar.com/news-releases/news-release-details/first-solar-build-solar-module-factory-mesa-arizona">pursue</a> <a href="http://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/gov-tulsa-climate-change-resilience-adaptation-flooding.html">policies</a> that advance climate goals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97223/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Boston University Initiative on Cities' Menino Survey, the program's flagship publication, as well as the compendium report "Cities Joining Ranks", which reviews membership and activities of city climate networks, are supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and Citi Community Development.</span></em></p>They may not say ‘climate change,’ but many Republican US mayors support clean energy, jobs in renewable industries, and other climate-friendly policies. And so do majorities of their constituents.Nicolas Gunkel, Research Fellow at Boston University Initiative on Cities, Boston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.