tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/30-minute-city-25814/articles30-minute city – The Conversation2020-07-01T02:17:34Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1393862020-07-01T02:17:34Z2020-07-01T02:17:34Z3 planning strategies for Western Sydney jobs, but do they add up?<p><em>This is the third of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/western-sydney-jobs-deficit-88804">three articles</a> based on newly released <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/cws/policy">research</a> on the impacts of a lack of local jobs on the rapidly growing Western Sydney region.</em></p>
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<p>The problem of not enough jobs in Western Sydney has been in the public spotlight for half a century. At the same time, though, <a href="https://theconversation.com/governments-population-plan-is-more-about-maximising-win-wins-than-cutting-numbers-114190">record immigration levels</a> and cheap housing on new residential estates way out on the urban fringe have fuelled growth in the region’s labour force. <a href="https://theconversation.com/jobs-deficit-drives-army-of-daily-commuters-out-of-western-sydney-139384">Long-distance commuting by car</a> is one consequence. </p>
<p>Our estimate in our newly released research <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/cws/policy">reports</a> is that by 2036, should nothing change, Western Sydney’s 1.5 million resident workers will confront a shortage of 325,000 jobs. This will mean a daily outflow from the region of over 560,000 workers. And that would be a planning disaster.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jobs-deficit-drives-army-of-daily-commuters-out-of-western-sydney-139384">Jobs deficit drives army of daily commuters out of Western Sydney</a>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342608/original/file-20200618-41209-fu1yuj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342608/original/file-20200618-41209-fu1yuj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342608/original/file-20200618-41209-fu1yuj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342608/original/file-20200618-41209-fu1yuj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342608/original/file-20200618-41209-fu1yuj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342608/original/file-20200618-41209-fu1yuj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342608/original/file-20200618-41209-fu1yuj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342608/original/file-20200618-41209-fu1yuj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Centre for Western Sydney, Data: .id</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The good news is that governments are aware of the problem. Perhaps they have been sensitised by <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-14/federal-election-2019-the-battle-for-western-sydney/11076762?nw=0">increasingly close election results</a> in Western Sydney seats. </p>
<p>Governments are looking to three strategies to solve the problem – although none has yet generated a permanent job. A COVID-19 recession has arrived to make start-up even more difficult. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/recession-will-hit-job-poor-parts-of-western-sydney-very-hard-139385">Recession will hit job-poor parts of Western Sydney very hard</a>
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<h2>Plan A: Western Sydney Airport</h2>
<p>The first strategy is the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/Background_Papers/bp9798/98BP20">Western Sydney Airport</a>. A first runway is planned for 2026 and a second around mid-century. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-23425">federal government</a> and <a href="https://www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au/sites/default/files/47-volume-3-references.pdf">impact statements</a> say a fully operational airport by 2063 will generate 88,000 airport jobs. It will also create 25,000 jobs on an adjoining business park and a further 29,000 jobs elsewhere around Western Sydney. If realised, these impressive numbers would make a major contribution to the region’s job needs – but not for a long time yet.</p>
<h2>Plan B: Western Sydney City Deal</h2>
<p>The second strategy is the <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/city-deals/western-sydney/files/western-sydney-city-deal.pdf">Western Sydney City Deal</a>, which includes the promise of what it calls an <a href="https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-41486">aerotropolis</a>. This is the idea an airport can attract high-value enterprises to its vicinity. A <a href="https://www.wcaa.sydney/about-us">Western City and Aerotropolis Authority</a> (WCAA) has been established with the promise of 200,000 jobs across a new <a href="https://www.greater.sydney/metropolis-of-three-cities/vision-of-metropolis-of-three-cities/western-parkland-city-vision">Western Parkland City</a>. </p>
<p>It’s a hugely ambitious project. Many have <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-future-of-sydney-a-tale-of-three-cities-88568">questioned</a> both the <a href="https://theconversation.com/flying-into-uncertainty-western-sydneys-aerotropolis-poses-more-questions-than-answers-73682">idea of an aerotropolis</a> and the possibility of one in Western Sydney yielding 200,000 permanent jobs.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/western-sydney-aerotropolis-wont-build-itself-a-lot-is-riding-on-what-governments-do-97462">Western Sydney Aerotropolis won't build itself – a lot is riding on what governments do</a>
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<h2>Plan C: Metropolis of 3 Cities</h2>
<p>The third strategy is the set of plans in the Greater Sydney Commission’s <a href="https://www.greater.sydney/metropolis-of-three-cities">A Metropolis of Three Cities</a>. The plans divide Western Sydney into two cities, the <a href="https://www.greater.sydney/metropolis-of-three-cities/vision-of-metropolis-of-three-cities/central-river-city-vision">Central River City</a> and the <a href="https://www.greater.sydney/metropolis-of-three-cities/vision-of-metropolis-of-three-cities/western-parkland-city-vision">Western Parkland City</a>, broadly the inner (and older) and outer (and newer) districts of the region. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342622/original/file-20200618-41238-1i0xc8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342622/original/file-20200618-41238-1i0xc8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342622/original/file-20200618-41238-1i0xc8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=676&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342622/original/file-20200618-41238-1i0xc8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=676&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342622/original/file-20200618-41238-1i0xc8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=676&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342622/original/file-20200618-41238-1i0xc8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342622/original/file-20200618-41238-1i0xc8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342622/original/file-20200618-41238-1i0xc8f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=849&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Greater Sydney Commission’s ‘Three Cities’ strategy has commendable goals but is vague about where all the jobs will come from.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Greater Sydney Commission</span></span>
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<p>Commendably, the commission stresses the need to integrate population, housing and job targets into Sydney’s land-use planning. The commission aspires to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/access-across-australia-mapping-30-minute-cities-how-do-our-capitals-compare-117498">30-minute city</a> as a daily travel range for every Sydney household.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-close-is-sydney-to-the-vision-of-creating-three-30-minute-cities-115847">How close is Sydney to the vision of creating three 30-minute cities?</a>
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<p>The commission estimates 817,000 extra jobs are needed from 2016-36 to accommodate metropolitan Sydney’s labour force growth. Western Sydney’s share of this total, according to <a href="https://opendata.transport.nsw.gov.au/dataset/employment-projections">Transport for NSW</a>, is 49.6%, equal to 405,000 jobs.</p>
<p>The commission’s plans contain forecasts of job growth in each of the metropolitan area’s strategic centres. For the Central River City, centred on Parramatta, the commission nominates ten strategic centres and predicts a baseline growth of 71,400 jobs for 2016-36. For the Western Parkland City, the fringe suburbs plus the airport, the plan proposes only three strategic centres and predicts growth of only 24,000 jobs for 2016-36. </p>
<p>So, the total growth in jobs from 2016-36 assigned to Western Sydney’s strategic centres is 95,400. That leaves over 300,000 jobs to be found by 2036 from growth somewhere else in Western Sydney.</p>
<p>While the commission acknowledges the importance of the airport and aerotropolis for jobs in the Western Parkland City, it fails to attach job targets to these ventures. This makes sense, given the uncertainty about the level of jobs generation that will flow from these projects. And neither of these ventures is expected to become fully operational until after mid-century.</p>
<p>Absent airport-aerotropolis jobs, the commission nods in the direction of greenfields employment areas to provide more than 57,000 jobs over the next 30 years. A fancy <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/thinktank-meet-to-discuss-australias-5bn-smart-city">science park</a> to accompany a new residential estate at Luddenham is to deliver 12,000 jobs. But little detail is provided in either case.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reimagining-sydney-with-3-cbds-how-far-off-is-a-parramatta-cbd-102197">Reimagining Sydney with 3 CBDs: how far off is a Parramatta CBD?</a>
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<h2>Huge risks and uncertainties remain</h2>
<p>So each of the three interventions carries risk. The airport is being constructed at a time of great volatility for air travel. There is a high degree of uncertainty about the nature and volume of air traffic in the longer term. In any case, the airport’s big benefits won’t come until the 2050s. </p>
<p>The spillover effects from the airport into an aerotropolis are untested and, like the airport, can only ramp-up around mid-century. </p>
<p>Then, to get 50,000 jobs from greenfields industrial areas in Western Sydney would mean a monumental shift from a pattern of transport and logistics investments with low job creation that have dominated equivalent sites over the past decade.</p>
<p>There’s not much here to give confidence that a Western Sydney planning disaster will be averted. The region’s chronic jobs deficit is central to the problem. More detailed planning, rigorous assessment and generous resourcing are all urgently needed.</p>
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<p><em>The Centre for Western Sydney has released three reports on Western Sydney’s growing jobs deficit. You can read the reports <a href="https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/cws/policy">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139386/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phillip O'Neill 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>A new airport, aerotropolis and development of two of the ‘three cities’ in the metropolitan strategy all aim to create jobs in Western Sydney. But right now the only certainty is a huge jobs deficit.Phillip O'Neill, Director, Centre for Western Sydney, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1311932020-02-19T19:01:59Z2020-02-19T19:01:59ZPeople love the idea of 20-minute neighbourhoods. So why isn’t it top of the agenda?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316041/original/file-20200218-10976-1gi67en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C219%2C4248%2C3107&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-october-20-2016-richmond-503074843">Nils Versemann/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We were heavily involved in the consultation program for Melbourne’s long-term land-use plan, <a href="https://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/">Plan Melbourne</a>. The idea that resonated most with many participants was shaping the city as a series of 20-minute neighbourhoods. </p>
<p>People generally loved the thought that most (not all) of the things needed for a good life could be within a 20-minute public transport trip, bike ride or walk from home. These are things such as shopping, business services, education, community facilities, recreational and sporting resources, and some jobs (but probably not brain surgery).</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>Creating a city of 20-minute neighbourhoods is a key policy direction of <a href="https://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/">Plan Melbourne 2017-2050</a>. As the plan <a href="https://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/highlights/healthy,-vibrant-and-inclusive-neighbourhoods">states</a>:</p>
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<p>The 20-minute neighbourhood is all about ‘living locally’ – giving people the ability to meet most of their everyday needs within a 20-minute walk, cycle or local public transport trip of their home.</p>
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<p>This planning idea has gained Melbourne recognition in international planning circles. For example, Singapore’s recent <a href="https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltagov/en/who_we_are/our_work/land_transport_master_plan_2040.html">Land Transport Master Plan 2040</a> is based on shaping the city and its transport systems to achieve 20-minute towns within a 45-minute city. Officials who prepared the report have acknowledged to one of us Melbourne’s leadership with the concept. </p>
<p>The concept is not about travel by car. It is about active transport (walking, cycling) and the use of public transport. The goal is that this combination of modes would offer a reasonably sized catchment area in which people, jobs and services, including recreational opportunities and nature, are accessible.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/god-save-us-greenspace-oriented-development-could-make-higher-density-attractive-126204">GOD save us: greenspace-oriented development could make higher density attractive</a>
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<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315667/original/file-20200217-10976-sx3sli.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315667/original/file-20200217-10976-sx3sli.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/315667/original/file-20200217-10976-sx3sli.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315667/original/file-20200217-10976-sx3sli.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315667/original/file-20200217-10976-sx3sli.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315667/original/file-20200217-10976-sx3sli.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315667/original/file-20200217-10976-sx3sli.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/315667/original/file-20200217-10976-sx3sli.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=571&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/policy-and-strategy/planning-for-melbourne/plan-melbourne/20-minute-neighbourhoods">State Government of Victoria</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Inner parts of Australia’s capital cities and parts of their middle suburbs already meet a 20-minute neighbourhood test. Very few of the outer suburbs would do so. However, new developments such as the <a href="https://www.greaterspringfield.com.au/">City of Springfield</a> in outer Brisbane are encouraging.</p>
<h2>Key ingredients of 20-minute neighbourhoods</h2>
<p>If outer suburbs, in particular, are to become 20-minute neighbourhoods, then two key requirements must be met. </p>
<p>First, local development densities need to be increased. This means ensuring minimum density levels of around 25-30 dwellings per hectare, which will better support local activity and services provision. </p>
<p>Consultations with council planners suggest new developments in Melbourne’s outer north, for example, are typically running at about 18 dwellings. The density of developments was about 12 just a decade ago.</p>
<p>Accompanying more dense residential development is the need to integrate a mix of uses within these neighbourhoods. This would bring more jobs and services close to where people live. They would also have a range of housing to support a mix of household types, income levels and age groups. </p>
<p>So we need not just density but also a mix of land uses within a neighbourhood. This is often known as density plus diversity.</p>
<p>Second, local public transport service levels need to be greatly improved. To achieve 20-minute neighbourhoods requires local weekday public transport services running every 20 minutes or better, from around 5am until 11pm (start of last run). That’s a minimum of 55 services per stop per day per direction. </p>
<p>The map below shows very few parts of outer Melbourne have services anywhere near this level. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313621/original/file-20200205-20014-ppvhia.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313621/original/file-20200205-20014-ppvhia.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313621/original/file-20200205-20014-ppvhia.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313621/original/file-20200205-20014-ppvhia.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313621/original/file-20200205-20014-ppvhia.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=441&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313621/original/file-20200205-20014-ppvhia.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313621/original/file-20200205-20014-ppvhia.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313621/original/file-20200205-20014-ppvhia.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=554&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Public transport service levels across Melbourne (dark green is best, dark red is worst).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: PTV GTFS feed</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-what-our-cities-need-to-do-to-be-truly-liveable-for-all-83967">This is what our cities need to do to be truly liveable for all</a>
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<h2>What would it cost to achieve?</h2>
<p>Gross funding increases of about 50% for local public transport services (essentially buses) would be needed to meet this basic service standard for 20-minute neighbourhoods across Melbourne. Based on scaling up the <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/budgetfiles201920.budget.vic.gov.au/2019-20+State+Budget+-+Service+Delivery.pdf">cost of current bus services</a> in Melbourne, we estimate the cost would be about A$250 million a year, or A$4 billion over the long term, in present values.</p>
<p>This is a modest amount compared to current capital commitments for rail. These total <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/budgetfiles201920.budget.vic.gov.au/2019-20+State+Budget+-+State+Capital+Program.pdf">A$30-40 billion</a>, depending on what share of the <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/budgetfiles201920.budget.vic.gov.au/2019-20+State+Budget+-+State+Capital+Program.pdf">cost of level-crossing removals</a> is attributed to rail. Development of the government’s proposed <a href="https://suburbanrailloop.vic.gov.au/en">Suburban Rail Loop</a> around the city will add an <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/victorian-government-says-melbournes-suburban-rail-loop-will-be-an-operationally-independent-railway">estimated A$50 billion</a>. Annual payments for metropolitan train services add <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/budgetfiles201920.budget.vic.gov.au/2019-20+State+Budget+-+Service+Delivery.pdf">A$1.1 billion</a>. </p>
<p>Trains now carry only <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/budgetfiles201920.budget.vic.gov.au/2019-20+State+Budget+-+Service+Delivery.pdf">twice as many passengers</a> as buses do. So the suggestion that an extra A$4 billion or so be spent on bus services, in capitalised terms, is very modest compared to the commitments being made to rail. The amount includes an allowance for infrastructure works to improve operating speeds – such as bus lanes and B-lights, which give buses priority through intersections.</p>
<p>The tram network could make an equally strong argument for extra funding, relative to trains, given the relative passenger loads carried and <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/budgetfiles201920.budget.vic.gov.au/2019-20+State+Budget+-+State+Capital+Program.pdf">small new capital program</a> in place for trams (hundreds of millions rather than tens of billions).</p>
<p>Melbourne has recently had a massive jump in spending on capital projects, particularly transport projects. This investment is needed to tackle the backlog from years of neglect and cope with one of the <a href="https://sustainable.unimelb.edu.au/publications/research-papers/melbourne-how-big">fastest population growth rates</a> of any similar-sized city in the developed world. </p>
<p>The 2019-20 state budget, for example, suggests <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/budgetfiles201920.budget.vic.gov.au/2019-20+State+Budget+-+State+Capital+Program.pdf">capital spending will average A$13.9 billion a year</a> over the four years to 2022-23. It was less than A$5 billion a year from 2005-06 to 2014-15. </p>
<h2>It’s about more than walkability</h2>
<p>In stark contrast, implementation of 20-minute neighbourhoods has been limited to <a href="https://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/current-projects/20-minute-neighbourhoods/pilot-program">three pilot studies</a>, in <a href="https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/428910/Strathmore-Our-20-minute-neighbourhood.pdf">Strathmore</a>, <a href="https://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/515242/Croydon-South-Our-20-minute-neighbourhood.pdf">South Croydon</a> and <a href="https://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/515240/Sunshine-Our-20-minute-neighbourhood.pdf">Sunshine West</a>. These studies appear to be focused heavily on developing walkable neighbourhoods, rather than on improving access by walking, cycling and public transport, which was the original intent of the idea.</p>
<p>Walkable neighbourhoods are an important part of 20-minute neighbourhoods, but only one part. Increased neighbourhood densities and more mixed-use development across local active transport and public transport catchments, together with better walking, cycling and local public transport opportunities, need far greater attention if 20-minute neighbourhoods are to be created in outer and middle suburbs. </p>
<p>We expect a much stronger focus at the neighbourhood level will deliver very high social, environmental and economic returns from small outlays. But, for this to be achieved, much greater urgency is needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131193/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Stanley was a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Plan Melbourne and Plan Melbourne 2017-2050.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roz Hansen was Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Plan Melbourne and Plan Melbourne 2017-2050.</span></em></p>Only the inner suburbs of Melbourne and other capital cities meet the 20-minute neighbourhood test. But we could transform the other suburbs for much less than the cost of current transport projects.John Stanley, Adjunct Professor, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, University of Sydney Business School, University of SydneyRoz Hansen, Adjunct Professor, Deakin University; Professorial Fellow, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/800822017-08-06T20:09:47Z2017-08-06T20:09:47ZA 20-minute city sounds good, but becoming one is a huge challenge<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180667/original/file-20170802-11382-1xbgm6d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Melbourne's ambitions to be a '20-minute city' aren't likely to be achieved by its recently updated planning strategy.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-melbourne-australia-taken-hot-177735629?src=ALOQk24fsIPUiH_kUmIhVg-1-16">Nils Versemann / shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Liveability is an increasingly important goal of Australian planning policy. And creating cities where residents can get to most of the services they need within 20 to 30 minutes has been proposed, at both <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/politics/prime-minister-malcolm-turnbull-reveals-plan-to-streamline-road-and-rail-transport-in-cities/news-story/85f81d42bbef834721e696db113b3a36">federal</a> and <a href="https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2016/05/30/turnbulls-30-minute-city-serious-election-issue/">state</a> level, as a key liveability-related mechanism. </p>
<p>The previous federal government’s 2010 <a href="https://infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure/pab/files/Our_Cities_National_Urban_Policy_Paper_2011.pdf">National Urban Policy</a> stated:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Liveable cities are socially inclusive, affordable, accessible, healthy, safe and resilient to the impacts of climate change … Liveable cities provide choice and opportunity for people to live their lives, and raise their families, to their fullest potential.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-30-minute-city-how-do-we-put-the-political-rhetoric-into-practice-56136">‘The 30-minute city’: how do we put the rhetoric into practice?</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>In Victoria, keeping Melbourne “attractive and liveable” is the cornerstone of the state government’s newly updated <a href="http://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/377206/Plan_Melbourne_2017-2050_Strategy_.pdf">Plan Melbourne 2017-2050</a> strategy. Liveability is seen as a way to stay globally competitive, attracting more business and more international students, <a href="http://economicdevelopment.vic.gov.au/victorian-economy-in-focus/priority-industries-sectors/international-education">Victoria’s most profitable service export</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.communityindicators.net.au/files/docs/Liveability%20Indicators%20report.pdf">Our summary</a> of research on liveability indicators also points to strong links with general population health and environmental sustainability. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/377206/Plan_Melbourne_2017-2050_Strategy_.pdf">Plan Melbourne’s</a> vision of liveability involves:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… a city of 20-minute neighbourhoods … where people can access most of their needs within a 20-minute walk, cycle or public transport trip. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The plan discusses people’s need for access to a long list of local services – shopping centres, health facilities, schools and lifelong learning opportunities, playgrounds and parks (including community gardens, green spaces and recreation facilities), affordable housing (including the ability to age in place) and “local public transport”. </p>
<p>It also values attributes such as “safe”, “walkable” and “attractive”. Specifically excluded is a 20-minute commute to most employment, although the plan mentions local work opportunities. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-a-difference-a-month-makes-but-victoria-can-still-do-more-to-get-housing-and-planning-right-74233">Victoria can still do more to get housing and planning right</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>To create a city of 20-minute neighbourhoods over Plan Melbourne’s 30-year time frame, at least three strategic planning challenges must be overcome. </p>
<h2>How do we define and measure success?</h2>
<p>First, the plan fails to specify what access means and how it is measured, as well as what local needs are key. For instance, the average speed of a leisurely walk by a healthy adult along a relatively flat footpath is <a href="http://www.usroads.com/journals/p/rej/9710/re971001.htm">five kilometres per hour</a>. Older and younger pedestrians may be slower. </p>
<p>Including the time lost to stopping at intersections and meandering footpaths, a <a href="http://www.activehealthycommunities.com.au/plan/gis-analysis/walking-cycling-pedshed-analysis/">“pedshed” analysis</a> often equates a 20-minute walk with a distance of 800 metres. </p>
<p>Plan Melbourne does not list the essential social infrastructure or distance measurement methods that will be used to create the 20-minute radius for each neighbourhood. This poses problems for the important task of tracking progress. </p>
<p>In contrast, the US city of Portland’s <a href="http://www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan/?a=288547&c=52256">strategic plan</a> for a 20-minute city requires four key pieces of social infrastructure located close to affordable residential housing. These are: public primary schools, grocery stores, green parks, and public transport stops with <a href="http://atrf.info/papers/2012/2012_Curtis_Scheurer.pdf">minimum travel frequency standards</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180670/original/file-20170802-11403-1nhdx6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180670/original/file-20170802-11403-1nhdx6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/180670/original/file-20170802-11403-1nhdx6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180670/original/file-20170802-11403-1nhdx6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180670/original/file-20170802-11403-1nhdx6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180670/original/file-20170802-11403-1nhdx6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180670/original/file-20170802-11403-1nhdx6r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/180670/original/file-20170802-11403-1nhdx6r.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"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Regular public transport is one of four key pieces of social infrastructure that Portland’s strategic plan specifies must be close to affordable housing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/portland-oregon-usa-september-20-2014-643210243?src=A62MgmJEzQRXXX92L02Bnw-1-19">Dee Browning / Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Australia, given our <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-27/australians-are-older-ethnically-diverse-and-less-religious/8654440">growing elderly population</a>, bulk-billing health services might also be required infrastructure in each 20-minute neighbourhood. </p>
<h2>Infrastructure deficit is daunting</h2>
<p>In 1995, homes selling for A$100,000 or less were well within the means of median-income households in areas with good public transport access, like Maribyrnong, Dandenong and Heidelberg. </p>
<p>By 2015, homes selling for $415,000 (the new 25th percentile) were in areas like Gippsland, Sunbury and Bacchus Marsh. That’s well beyond the reach of metropolitan public transport. </p>
<p>Plan Melbourne does talk of “two cities” – the well-serviced, unaffordable central city, and underserviced middle and outer suburbs. But the plan does not adequately recognise the city’s severe and unfairly distributed infrastructure deficit. </p>
<p>The words “liveable” and “liveability” appear 40 times in 152 pages (with prefixes such as “protect”, “improve” and “world-renowned”); “equitable” and “equity” only five times. </p>
<p>This infrastructure deficit casts a daunting shadow over Plan Melbourne. To provide adequate transport and health services to Melbourne’s outer suburbs, <a href="http://ngaa.org.au/media/1065/cost_benefit_analysis_final_report.pdf">SGS Economics and Planning</a>, working with the National Growth Areas Authority, estimated funding of $5 billion a year will be needed over the next 15 years. </p>
<p>The Grattan Institute <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/should-you-worry-about-a-schools-shortage-it-really-depends-on-where-you-live/">has calculated</a> that Victoria will need around 220 new schools, mostly in outer suburbs, over the next ten years. Each primary school costs an average of $15 million to build, and high schools more than twice that. </p>
<p>In May, the state auditor <a href="http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/publications/20170511-School-Infrastructure/20170511-School-Infrastructure.pdf">highlighted</a> the chronic underfunding of 1,500 existing primary schools as a concern. The report also emphasised the need to greatly improve strategic planning for new schools. </p>
<p>Social housing, recognised as a vital priority in Infrastructure Victoria’s recent <a href="http://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/sites/default/files/images/IV%2030%20Year%20Strategy%20WEB%20V2.PDF">30-year strategy</a>, is a critical shortfall across Melbourne. The shortfall is particularly acute in areas with adequate infrastructure. The strategy estimates 75,000 to 100,000 low-income households’ needs are unmet. </p>
<p>To keep pace with population growth, 50,000 dwellings a year must be built. At least half would need to be accessible to households in the bottom half of the income scale. </p>
<p>A Commonwealth <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook45p/HousingAffordability">advisory report</a> on housing affordability found almost half of Australian renters are in housing stress, as median home ownership costs have risen from the recommended 2.5 times annual household income to well over six times. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/tackling-housing-unaffordability-a-10-point-national-plan-43628">Tackling housing unaffordability: a 10-point national plan</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>The well-serviced central cities have the highest housing prices, with Sydney and Melbourne the worst. </p>
<p>Plan Melbourne talks about housing affordability in general terms. What it lacks is specific affordable housing targets for inner and middle suburbs with adequate infrastructure to overcome inequalities in delivering the 20-minute city.</p>
<h2>Tax system hinders funding</h2>
<p>The state is responsible for strategic planning and most infrastructure provision, but the Commonwealth controls most of Australia’s tax revenue. The result is that, despite being home to one in four Australians, Victoria <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-03/pm-denies-victoria-is-being-ripped-off-infrastructure-spending/8494450">gets only about 8%</a> of federal infrastructure spending.</p>
<p>And the federal government is one of the main contributors to the affordable housing crisis by subsidising housing speculation through <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/872-Hot-Property.pdf">negative gearing and capital gains tax exemption</a>. </p>
<p>The Grattan Institute estimates these measures cost the budget almost <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/hot-property/">$11.7 billion</a> per year. That’s enough to fund essential infrastructure improvements across Australia. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/negative-gearing-windbacks-could-deliver-5-3bn-a-year-grattan-58277">Negative gearing windbacks could deliver $5.3bn a year: Grattan</a></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>Possible pathways to improvement</h2>
<p>So what is the prognosis for 20-minute cities? What could be done to increase the chances of achieving this important goal? </p>
<p>The state government could clarify its definition of key access indicators, and begin mapping 20-minute access by neighbourhood to monitor progress, as <a href="http://www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan/?a=288547&c=52256">Portland does</a>.</p>
<p>Vancouver, Canada, has included access <a href="http://guidelines.vancouver.ca/H004.pdf">indicators</a> in its planning for family-friendly, high-density housing since 1992. The indicators include a maximum distance of 800 metres to a community centre, a grocery store, a public primary school and associated play area, daycare centre and after-school care; and 400 metres to a playground and a frequently serviced public transport stop.</p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.sarkissian.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/FCN-POE-Compilation-Report-FINAL.pdf">evaluation</a> of the 50,000 residents in the central Vancouver community of False Creek North showed high levels of satisfaction among households that settled there.</p>
<p>Victoria could also follow Portland’s example of giving priority to improving infrastructure in under-serviced areas and to providing affordable housing in well-serviced areas. Plan Melbourne still lacks mechanisms to achieve this.</p>
<p>The 20-minute city is a worthy goal. As difficult as it may be to imagine at the moment, federal, state and local governments must collaborate, along with private developers and investors, if the access needs of all city residents are to be met.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80082/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolyn Whitzman 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>While many talk about 30-minute cities, some aim for residents to be able to get to most services within 20 minutes. But cities like Melbourne have an awful lot of work to do to achieve their goal.Carolyn Whitzman, Professor of Urban Planning, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/591612016-05-24T00:54:35Z2016-05-24T00:54:35Z‘30-minute city’? Not in my backyard! Smart Cities Plan must let people have their say<p>The federal government’s <a href="https://cities.dpmc.gov.au/smart-cities-plan">Smart Cities Plan</a> is framed around the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-30-minute-city-how-do-we-put-the-political-rhetoric-into-practice-56136">30-minute city</a>”. In this city, journeys will <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2016/malcolm-turnbull-to-borrow-big-in-multibilliondollar-smart-cities-plan-20160428-gohbym.html">take no more than half an hour</a>, regardless of your location.</p>
<p>The recently released plan has significant implications for population, transport provision and land-use intensity in neighbourhoods – the places where people live and how they get around. The realisation of its goals will require ongoing densification of Australian suburbs.</p>
<h2>Cities with more houses, more people, more NIMBYs</h2>
<p>The doubling of the population in some Australian cities by 2045 is likely to generate fierce opposition to housing and transport projects.</p>
<p>Many medium-density housing projects prompt residents <a href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/2238/AHURI_Final_Report_No197_Resident_third_party_objections_and_appeals_against_planning_applications.pdf">to act strategically to protect their neighbourhoods</a>, even when these projects improve housing affordability and access to jobs and services.</p>
<p>Resistance is also directed at major infrastructure. Fierce campaigns are being (or have been) waged against Melbourne’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sky-rail-saga-can-big-new-transport-projects-ever-run-smoothly-54383">“sky rail” project</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/east-west-link-shows-miserable-failure-of-planning-process-40232">East West Link</a>, Sydney’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-versus-light-rail-we-need-to-rethink-skewed-urban-planning-values-57206">ANZAC Parade light rail</a> and <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/opposition-to-westconnex-grows-as-council-blocks-contractors-from-streets-20160407-go0j3i.html">Westconnex</a> projects, and the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-23/shorten-to-commit-to-1bn-metronet-rail-in-wa-if-elected/7436062">Perth Freight Link</a>.</p>
<p>Such opposition is not only felt through the planning system. Residents also <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08111146.2015.1081845">use political channels</a> to stop projects, <a href="http://usj.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/08/27/0042098015602649.abstract">as with the East West Link</a>.</p>
<h2>How should government respond to community resistance?</h2>
<p>Contestation over city planning should not be shut down. Rather, we need to think about citizen opposition as a constructive process for working through difference. Here are five points to consider when including people in the delivery of the 30-minute city.</p>
<p><strong>Point 1: We need active governments and active citizens</strong></p>
<p>Private-sector lobbyists argue government is poorly placed to deliver small- and large-scale infrastructure. But think about a city with no roads, sewers, hospitals or schools. Without government-led planning, our cities would be dysfunctional places to live.</p>
<p>However, governments are not benevolent institutions. Active citizenries have long scrutinised the efficacy of government decisions. </p>
<p>The introduction of private and non-government infrastructure providers <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-uneasy-marriage-planners-public-and-the-market-struggle-to-work-well-together-54405">further complicates</a> the relationship between citizens and governments. Whose interests does urban development then serve – a local community, regional community, or developers?</p>
<p>Governments need to be ready to answer questions about the role of the private sector and to change their plans following <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07293682.2015.1135816">community input</a>. </p>
<p><strong>Point 2: More than finding better participation tools</strong></p>
<p>Urban planning systems play important roles in engaging residents. However, community consultation has been sporadic. Neighbourhood meetings and letterbox notifications often fail to ignite engagement. </p>
<p>Then there is the question of representation. Community consultations attract the “usual suspects”. Time-poor working-age households and young professionals find it difficult to fit engagement with planning into their busy lives. Even more rarely does planning engage with youth and children about their visions and hopes for cities.</p>
<p>Local and state governments are aware of the need for new ways to bring citizens into decision-making. Infrastructure Victoria’s <a href="http://yoursay.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/citizen-jury">citizen jury panels</a> are meeting mid-2016. Social media is also being considered as a way to <a href="http://participate.melbourne.vic.gov.au/future">engage a broader public about city futures</a>. </p>
<p>However, when planning departments use social media the uptake by communities is poor. Our research suggests <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07293682.2015.1019755">opponents to planned projects</a>, rather than planning departments, are more likely to use social media.</p>
<p>The problem with current participation tools is their failure to account for conversations, debates and protests that <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08111146.2015.1077804">take place outside</a> the formal planning process. We need ways to include these discussions.</p>
<p><strong>Point 3: Moving beyond NIMBYism</strong></p>
<p>Not all community campaigns are the same. The dominant narrative around community participation in urban planning centres on the pejorative idea of “the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-5871.2012.00751.x/abstract">NIMBY</a>” (not in my backyard). </p>
<p>The term NIMBY is frequently used to delegitimise the claims of citizens opposing planned developments. They are characterised as self-interested residents who resist the inclusion of new social groups in their neighbourhoods, or any change to the built or natural environment.</p>
<p>Deliberately labelling these residents as self-interested fails to recognise the positive roles they can play. Local resident campaigns can focus on city-wide or local issues. They can range from <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07293682.2013.776982">unwavering opposition to more flexible and reflexive engagement</a> in an urban discussion. </p>
<p>Some community campaigns might be viewed as vital forms of urban citizenship. Others are seen as “protecting their patch” against the best interests of the broader citizenry. Both views should be part of our discussion about city planning.</p>
<p><strong>Point 4: The conversation never stops</strong></p>
<p>An active citizenry is involved in short-term “one-off” planning and long-term strategic planning. Too often, public participation roles are confined to one end of this spectrum. For example, the NSW government recently attempted to <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07293682.2014.889183">limit public participation</a> to high-level strategic planning documents, reducing community input into individual developments.</p>
<p>Most people have little knowledge of the urban planning system. A <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837714000301">recent study</a> found only 24% of Sydney residents surveyed were aware of the <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Plans-for-Your-Area/Sydney/A-Plan-for-Growing-Sydney">Sydney metropolitan plan</a>. Confining participation to upfront strategic consultation limits community involvement.</p>
<p>For most people, engagement with planning and development issues will be reactionary. People engage with the planning system when a development is proposed for their area.</p>
<p>However, a recent national survey revealed that 65% of responses believed urban residents should be involved in each stage of the strategy-making process. Most will not be involved, but options for participation should not be confined to upfront consultation.</p>
<p>By engaging the community in an ongoing discussion we can listen and respond to local interests without compromising the broader strategic and long-term vision for our cities.</p>
<p><strong>Point 5: Metropolitan-wide but locally situated debate</strong></p>
<p>There will be winners and losers in the 30-minute city. Houses will be acquired, buildings will be demolished and sections of the natural environment will make way for new infrastructure.</p>
<p>Over the last decade, the idea of consensus has dominated participatory approaches. However, consensus-seeking is not always the best way to work through community disagreement. In some cases, consensus can be manipulative, or useful for mobilising resident opposition. </p>
<p>We need to recognise that cities are home to many different people who hold diverse views and values, and who will not always agree. Rather than aiming for consensus, we should set our sights on metropolitan-wide, locally situated debate, which supports an active citizenry. </p>
<p>In the end, the difference between no action and implementation may be in “agreeing to disagree” through open discussion about the planning of the city.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article draws on research by the authors and recent discussions about a possible crisis of participation in Australian cities at a <a href="http://cur.org.au/events/urban-theory-symposium-series/">symposium in Sydney in April 2016</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59161/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Crystal Legacy receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dallas Rogers receives funding from the Henry Halloran Trust.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristian Ruming receives funding from the Australian Research Council and UrbanGrowth NSW.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Cook 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>Cities are home to many different people who will not always agree. We need to learn to embrace public debate as an ongoing, constructive process for working through diverse views and values.Crystal Legacy, Australian Research Council (DECRA) Fellow and Vice Chancellor's Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT UniversityDallas Rogers, Lecturer in Urban Studies, Western Sydney UniversityKristian Ruming, Associate Professor in Urban Geography, Macquarie UniversityNicole Cook, Researcher, School of Geography, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/591672016-05-11T23:33:21Z2016-05-11T23:33:21ZPerth Green Growth Plan puts strategic environmental assessments to the city test<p>City planning has many approaches that have been used to enable better economic, social and environmental outcomes. The planning profession has been doing strategic assessments of urban land development opportunities and constraints for over a hundred years but has only recently adopted the techniques of strategic environmental assessment (SEA), a tool developed by the environmental assessment profession. </p>
<p>The draft <a href="http://www.planning.wa.gov.au/publications/8220.asp">Green Growth Plan for Perth</a> is a federal and state government initiative to trial whether SEA can be integrated into the planning of an Australian city. It is a process in parallel with the traditional strategic plan, which in Perth is the draft <a href="http://www.planning.wa.gov.au/publications/3.5million.asp">Perth and Peel @ 3.5 Million Plan</a>.</p>
<p>Town planning and environmental assessment have largely been competing for the past 30 years to show who knows best about managing urban land. Planning has mostly been setting broad strategic directions based on infrastructure and land zoning, with day-to-day statutory planning devolved to local governments on what should be approved or modified. Environmental protection authorities (EPAs) have set major strategic directions about protection of biodiversity, water and other resources like basic raw materials, as well as making day-to-day decisions on major projects. </p>
<p>Often the division of labour has been to have planning in control of cities and EPAs doing most of the work in regions. This is especially the case in a state like Western Australia where most major projects are in the regions. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122067/original/image-20160511-18152-gam1xo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122067/original/image-20160511-18152-gam1xo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122067/original/image-20160511-18152-gam1xo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122067/original/image-20160511-18152-gam1xo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122067/original/image-20160511-18152-gam1xo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=643&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122067/original/image-20160511-18152-gam1xo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=808&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122067/original/image-20160511-18152-gam1xo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=808&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122067/original/image-20160511-18152-gam1xo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=808&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 urban development of Perth has sprawled over a very large area in recent decades.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2211181">Landsat 7/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>EPAs get to provide an opinion on urban land releases or urban regeneration projects, but mostly town planning has the final say in cities. However, there has been a sense that the cumulative effects of lots of small incremental planning decisions, especially urban sprawl, could be having serious impacts on biodiversity, water and the availability of resources like basic raw materials. Growing disquiet about town planning’s ability to manage the environmental side of cities has led to the development of strategic environmental assessment.</p>
<p>SEA takes a broad approach to a large land area and assesses the cumulative impacts over a planning horizon of 50 years or more. The techniques when applied to cities have been based on a combination of old tools, like the <a href="http://www.ou.edu/class/webstudy/fehler/E3/go/introduction.html">McHarg overlays</a> of all the different landscape features from the 1960s, as well as 21st-century tools of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-planners-new-best-friend-we-can-now-track-land-use-changes-on-a-scale-of-centimetres-53493">digital visualisation</a> and modelling.</p>
<p>SEAs have been sold as helping to reduce the time and cost of environmental and planning approvals. With a strategic plan adopted, it not only shows where development should be avoided but clears the way for development in other areas (see <a href="https://espatial.planning.wa.gov.au/mapviewer/Index.html?viewer=greengrowthplan">here</a> for the detailed draft map). So it promises better environmental outcomes and faster processes. </p>
<h2>Perth pioneers whole-city SEA</h2>
<p>The SEA process is legislated under the federal <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about">Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act</a> while town planning is a state responsibility. The SEA promises much and has been helpful in a number of regional assessments across Australia, including two fringe areas of Melbourne and Sydney. Applying this process to whole cities is a different matter, so many people have been closely watching the first SEA of a city in Australia – the Green Growth Plan for Perth. </p>
<p>The draft report was guided by a partnership between the federal environment department and 20 state government agencies represented on the state steering committee. The report has much detail on “matters of national environmental significance” (MNES). In other SEAs there have been impacts on seven to nine MNES; the Perth Green Growth Plan has impacts on 92 MNES. This is partly due to the complexities of a large city SEA, but mostly it is due to Perth being in the heart of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-south-west-a-hotspot-for-wildlife-and-plants-that-deserves-world-heritage-status-54885">major global biodiversity hotspot</a>. </p>
<p>There is a recommendation to set aside for protection a further 170,000 hectares of natural areas. Most of this is in government ownership but 20,000 ha needs to be purchased. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122091/original/image-20160511-18128-1ku65q7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122091/original/image-20160511-18128-1ku65q7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122091/original/image-20160511-18128-1ku65q7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122091/original/image-20160511-18128-1ku65q7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122091/original/image-20160511-18128-1ku65q7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122091/original/image-20160511-18128-1ku65q7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122091/original/image-20160511-18128-1ku65q7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122091/original/image-20160511-18128-1ku65q7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Existing and proposed conservation reserves in the area covered by the strategic assessment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/Consultation/StrategicAssessment/Documents/10-02-Conservation-Reserves-Map.pdf">WA Department of Premier and Cabinet</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In terms of contiguous green belts that can enable <a href="https://theconversation.com/cocky-count-how-perths-green-growth-plan-could-wipe-out-was-best-loved-bird-56442">biodiversity to be managed</a>, the majority of the natural space to be set aside is in the northern corridor. In reality this corridor is already close to 100 kilometres long and the cessation of development here will only be mourned by a few developers. Most of the damage has been done. </p>
<p>The southern corridor has much fewer constraints on development. The area is mostly poor agricultural land, so the Green Growth Plan suggests a few small areas for protection. It also proposes some significant new measures to avert decline in the Peel Harvey estuary, notably regulation to improve farm fertiliser management. </p>
<p>Thus, if the SEA is to enable faster development, it will be in the southern corridor along the Kwinana Freeway heading beyond Mandurah towards Bunbury. </p>
<h2>Filling in the grey areas</h2>
<p>Should this plan be adopted as the basis of Perth’s long-term future? In terms of environmental protection, especially biodiversity, it is a strong statement. It is a literal line in the sand, especially to the north where Perth has sprawled for the past 40 years. </p>
<p>But it is not the whole story. The federal government’s new <a href="https://cities.dpmc.gov.au/smart-cities-plan">Smart Cities Plan</a> is designed to help cities do more innovative planning. In particular, it is trying to enable <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-30-minute-city-how-do-we-put-the-political-rhetoric-into-practice-56136">30-minute cities</a>. </p>
<p>This has been highlighted in much planning discourse as the basis of a more sustainable, liveable and productive city as the travel time budget is being exceeded in all our big cities. As shown below, Sydney has been over 30 minutes for a long time. Perth moved rapidly into this league in its recent boom. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122086/original/image-20160511-18140-155tbxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122086/original/image-20160511-18140-155tbxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/122086/original/image-20160511-18140-155tbxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122086/original/image-20160511-18140-155tbxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122086/original/image-20160511-18140-155tbxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122086/original/image-20160511-18140-155tbxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122086/original/image-20160511-18140-155tbxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/122086/original/image-20160511-18140-155tbxl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Average commuting times in the four biggest Australian cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Quite simply this means we need more urban regeneration and less urban sprawl. How do we do this? </p>
<p>Greenfield development is easy because developers can roll out large precincts for development. Brownfield development on old industrial sites in the inner-city areas (like <a href="http://www.places.vic.gov.au/precincts-and-development/docklands">Docklands</a> in Melbourne and <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/barangaroo">Barangaroo</a> in Sydney) are also relatively easy as they are big sites. </p>
<p>But in between we have millions of individual lots, all owned privately. Here, the only option for developers is to do low-quality infill in backyards. This is not working. </p>
<p>To <a href="http://www.swinburne.edu.au/magazine/21/371/greening-the-greyfields/">redevelop in these greyfields</a> requires creative, clever <a href="http://www.lanecove.nsw.gov.au/CouncilConsultations/Pages/StLeonardsSouthDraftMasterPlan.aspx">planning that finds large sites for regeneration</a> and brings all the owners together, as occurred recently in <a href="http://www.domain.com.au/news/neighbours-selling-entire-blocks-in-castle-hill-to-developers-20150723-giisln/">Castle Hill</a>, <a href="http://www.domain.com.au/news/selling-entire-blocks-of-houses-to-developers-is-the-way-of-the-future-agents-20150814-giynqh/">St Leonards and Baulkham Hills</a> in Sydney. Unlocking the area for regeneration, using significant innovations in buildings, energy, water, waste, walkability, jobs, services and biodiversity, requires the creation of significant amenity. </p>
<p>This is the basis of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-build-better-cities-get-the-private-sector-involved-in-rail-projects-52204">entrepreneur rail model</a> that is meant to provide a rail link to enable such urban activity. The Smart Cities Plan wants cities to prepare <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-budget-2016-deliver-a-new-deal-for-australian-cities-58581">City Deals</a> that set out how they can do such things. </p>
<p>The Green Growth Plan is a good base to work from, but it cannot be all that is needed for a future town plan. The draft Perth and Peel @ 3.5 Million Plan suggests ways to consolidate 47% of the next period of urban growth. It suggests that 100% consolidation would be too difficult. </p>
<p>The redevelopment agenda could do with a makeover in Perth to further complement the Green Growth Plan. More Smart City ideas are needed or else the never-ending sprawl of our cities will continue its unsustainable and unproductive march. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Public comment on the Perth Green Growth Plan is being accepted until 5pm on Friday, May 13, 2016.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/59167/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Newman 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>With a strategic plan adopted, it not only shows where development should be avoided but clears the way for development in other areas. So Perth needs to get it right.Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/561362016-03-17T19:21:39Z2016-03-17T19:21:39Z‘The 30-minute city’: how do we put the political rhetoric into practice?<p>Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/malcolm-turnbull-puts-highspeed-rail-to-sydneys-second-airport-on-fast-track-20160310-gng45p.html#ixzz42eyAjx9d">promoted the benefits</a> of a “<a href="http://www.afr.com/news/politics/election/federal-election-2016-turnbulls-plan-for-30minute-cities-20160620-gpn6tw">30-minute city</a>” in explaining his approach to cities and urban transport. The opposition infrastructure spokesman, Anthony Albanese, notes he <a href="http://anthonyalbanese.com.au/address-to-the-national-press-club-canberra">talked about this idea</a> at the National Press Club in 2014.</p>
<p>The reality is that the 30-minute city is hardly a new idea in town planning, but it is good to see political leaders recognising its value and grappling with what it means. It’s likely to bring <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/turnbulls-budget-will-be-big-and-bold-and-about-boom-20160315-gnjd2y.html">significant change to how we build our cities</a>.</p>
<h2>The urban time travel budget</h2>
<p>People across the world, in every city and in all historical cities, have an <a href="https://theconversation.com/defying-the-one-hour-rule-for-city-travel-traffic-modelling-drives-policy-madness-53099">average travel time budget of one hour</a> – around 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening. The historic walking city spread out only 2-4km across, the tram city about 10km and the steam train city about 20km, before the car city went 40-50km out. All were 30-minute cities.</p>
<p>Some people choose to live where they can have a much lower travel time and some choose much longer, especially in far outer suburbs. But the average is around 30 minutes for the journey to work.</p>
<p>Only when a city is becoming dysfunctional does the average start to blow out. Data shows this in Sydney outer areas in recent decades. When this happens people demand faster transit options. The real estate market trend is for people to move into areas where they can reduce travel times.</p>
<p>The 30-minute city concept has become very useful for town planning as it helps plan <a href="http://islandpress.org/book/the-end-of-automobile-dependence">more strategically</a> for where development should happen or not happen. </p>
<p>Although history suggests there is a strong market for living within the 30-minute city, the politics of land development usually interferes. Land owners on the urban fringe will always be looking to make squillions out of rezoning their land for suburbs rather than rural purposes. And there are always people who are ready to stop any density increases in their neighbourhood as the redevelopment market requires.</p>
<p>Why it is very important to see bipartisan support for the 30-minute city is that Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth are already way out of kilter with this goal. Any city that has sprawled more than 50km will be unable to keep those suburbs within a 30-minute travel time budget – traffic congestion keeps average speeds in most cities below 40km/h. The average morning and evening commute in these four big cities <a href="http://islandpress.org/book/the-end-of-automobile-dependence">is now more than 30 minutes</a>.</p>
<p>All the strategic plans of these cities are therefore suggesting that redevelopment must be increased and assisted. Infrastructure can help density. As <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/2016-03-11/interview-wendy-harmer-abc-sydney">Turnbull says</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you invest in good transport infrastructure, then density gives greater amenity because there are more things to do, you’re closer to work, you’re closer to university.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Tony Abbott era presented cities with very large road projects that would just <a href="http://theconversation.com/the-east-west-link-is-dead-a-victory-for-21st-century-thinking-34914">increase urban sprawl</a>. These projects ultimately would not have reduced travel times as they would not help create redevelopment.</p>
<p>So how do we help our cities achieve 30-minute travel times?</p>
<h2>The urban package</h2>
<p>Turnbull often refers to three factors that are emerging as the government’s urban package: urban rail, urban density and urban land value capture. These are the approaches that can be seen in cities globally.</p>
<p>1) <strong>Urban rail</strong></p>
<p>Several speeches have indicated the Turnbull government is agnostic about the modes of transport it favours. Turnbull <a href="http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/prime-minister-malcolm-turnbull-reveals-plan-to-streamline-road-and-rail-transport-in-cities/news-story/85f81d42bbef834721e696db113b3a36">has said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Coalition governments have been very reluctant to fund rail, support rail, (they) prefer to support road. My government will support transport infrastructure regardless of its mode. It depends on what makes most sense. And the reality is it will be a mixture of both (road and rail).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What is left of the road package from the Abbott government is being supported. Rural communities will put up their hands for more roads. But Turnbull’s overwhelming message (his consistent personal stance for decades) is that he likes <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-build-light-rail-in-our-cities-without-emptying-the-public-purse-39255">new urban rail systems</a>. He wants a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-11/badgerys-creek-airport-hopes-rail-link-will-be-ready-for-opening/7239098">fast rail link to Sydney’s second airport</a> when it opens. </p>
<p>Before he was prime minister, Turnbull said the Gold Coast Light Rail was his favourite in the world. There was not much doubt he would fund its small extension for the Commonwealth Games. Most significantly, it showed urban rail was <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-light-rail-genie-is-out-of-the-bottle-but-how-many-cities-will-get-their-wish-48669">back on the federal agenda</a>.</p>
<p>Cities across the country have thus been gearing up to put urban rail back into their priority plans. This is not just an Australian phenomenon; cities worldwide are finding new rail technology <a href="http://islandpress.org/book/the-end-of-automobile-dependence">helps them create 30-minute cities</a>.</p>
<p>2) <strong>Urban density</strong></p>
<p>Turnbull has stressed that rail projects enable density in activity centres across the city. He understands how infrastructure is <a href="http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/lachlan-macquarie-lecture">needed for “an integrated investment</a> that creates amenity, value, liveability, affordability and economic growth” and that “communities need smart, well-designed, walkable density”.</p>
<p>In other words, cities need infrastructure and redevelopment that create activity centres where people can live and work within 30 minutes by foot, cycle, bus, car or train/tram. This is the agenda for all our big cities. It has been a big agenda for all state governments in the past decade: the need for strong urban centres that can compete with other global cities for private capital and jobs. </p>
<p>“Walkable density” … I think we will hear that many more times. So how do we achieve that?</p>
<p>3) <strong>Urban land value capture</strong></p>
<p>We need to find ways to fund urban rail and urban activity centres together. We need transit-oriented development, but so often we get transit without the land development, or density without the transit. </p>
<p>The secret seems to be combining government and business to do both as one package. The private sector is necessary – after all, it does the land development in cities – but the approach globally is now to seek ways to have the private sector build both the land development and the transit.</p>
<p>The new mantra is to fund the integrated agenda through urban land value capture. This makes use of the fact that when urban rail is built it increases land value around stations. </p>
<p>This agenda has yet to be fully explained. As NSW Opposition Leader <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/malcolm-turnbull-puts-highspeed-rail-to-sydneys-second-airport-on-fast-track-20160310-gng45p.html">Luke Foley said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Our governments need to spell out what … [they] are doing when they talk about value capture. Walk into any pet store in the nation and the resident budgerigar is squawking on about value capture.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Transforming how cities develop</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.curtin.edu.au/research/cusp/local/docs/Rail_Model_Report.pdf">CUSP Entrepreneur Rail Model</a> explains the concept and takes it further. It redefines the core players away from transport planners and suggests land-development expertise should lead the exercise of rail building.</p>
<p>This offers a focused approach for urban areas ripe for intensification. The model shows how governments can best capture the value created from higher densities around new rail stations in direct partnership with the rail builders. </p>
<p>Private land development expertise is needed to recognise where the potential exists for significant accessibility-based land value increase. Private bids can therefore create opportunities to <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-build-%20better-cities-get-the-private-sector-involved-in-rail-projects-52204">directly fund the railway</a>. If governments can’t enable this process, then you don’t get the rail or the land development – they depend on each other.</p>
<p>The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure Transport and Cities has been <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/ITC/Transport_connectivity">taking submissions on</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The role of transport connectivity in stimulating infrastructure and economic activity. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=1a39de67-0b67-40bb-b2b2-fc4348938bfb&subId=408950">submission on the Entrepreneur Rail Model</a> prompted two hours of questioning. One questioner said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Your paper is about the reconceptualisation of the role of government agencies.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He is right.</p>
<p>The committee’s questions left little doubt that there is a mood for change in how we build our cities. As Torkel Patterson, from Central Japan Railways Company, said at a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/stars-are-aligning-for-australia-to-build-high-speed-rail-says-international-expert-20160301-gn75i6.html">recent Sydney rail conference</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s not transportation, it’s transformation that we need.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is serious debate across Australia about this. Most state governments have little room for more capital spending and are under pressure to provide urban rail. </p>
<p>But the approach that provides money for transport projects at will – treating Treasury like an ATM, as <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/malcolm-turnbull-warns-of-trouble-and-expense-of-raising-gst/news-story/f7e56e2574cb6dfc4d7ceb2651ae4755">Turnbull says</a> – and isn’t integrated with the 30-minute city redevelopment agenda, is not what we need in our cities. </p>
<p>If cities want help with urban rail, they will need the private sector to provide much of the funding, with outcomes that create the 30-minute centres we desperately need. They can do this only if the states develop a mechanism that enables redevelopment opportunities, their activity centres, to be the basis of integrated rail and land development. This is not what states have been doing. They must begin now.</p>
<p>If the 30-minute city goal can indeed guide urban rail investment, then we can unlock the necessary dense activity centres. This is the holy grail of town planning. Such a model is used in Japan, so can we make an Australian model work?</p>
<p>Our leaders’ speeches on the 30-minute city should be a signal for intense activity by federal, state and local government agencies as well as private sector firms. Government processes and consortia will need to gear up to deliver this emerging agenda.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56136/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Newman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The ‘30-minute city’ goal is about more than urban rail and other transit projects. It means transforming our cities into centres of activity where work, study and services are all close by.Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.