Middle-class houses in the US have grown ever larger. The average single-family home is almost twice the size of a home in the 1960s. It’s time to consider the downsides of sizing up.
Smart bus use can transform public transport in cities, as EMBARQ is doing in Brazil.
EMBARQ Brasil/Flickr
Trains and trams get most attention, but ‘tweaking’ bus transit can transform cities. Buses can be more cost-effective and deliver better service, especially for small to mid-sized cities.
Police march down Swanston Street in Melbourne.
Nils Versemann / Shutterstock.com
Security in cities can make some people feel safe while excluding others. New ways of planning and policing public space are needed to ensure cities are safe and accessible for all.
Remnants of the tram system can be found across Kyoto. Japan’s oldest tram is in the gardens of Heian Shrine in central Kyoto.
In the 1970s, both Kyoto and Melbourne made fateful decisions about their transport networks. Melbourne today enjoys the benefits of trams, while Kyoto lives with the consequences of losing them.
Victorians who opposed the East West Link before the November 2014 election would have felt not much had changed when the new government announced the West Gate Tunnel in March 2015.
Courtney Biggs/AAP
Transport infrastructure has such an impact on what kind of city we become that more democratic planning is long overdue. But public consultation is typically limited and focused on design issues.
Free public transport could be one way to get more people to ditch the car.
Only in a few active travel strongholds, typically in the inner city, do Australian cycling and walking rates get close to those in Europe.
Andrew Robinson/Flickr
A comparison of Australian cities reveals cyclists and walkers are still very much a minority of commuters, despite the economic, health and environmental costs. Action on three fronts is needed.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance and the Coalition government are under pressure to fix long-standing problems with Sydney’s train system which have now come to a head.
Daniel Munoz/AAP
The real challenge is finding appropriate ways to invest in public transport that will not only take pressure off the system but also support improved travel on all modes, including cars.
Having a pet dog turns out to be a highly car-dependent affair.
Australian cities generally don’t allow pet dogs on public transport. Instead, owners need their own vehicle to travel with their dogs, and it’s a surprisingly important factor in our car dependency.
A survey revealed that 15% of Londoners had experienced some form of unwanted sexual attention on public transport.
Lots of parking: the extraordinary amount of valuable land used to park cars in most cities could soon be freed up for other uses.
Antonio Gravante/Shutterstock
Cities around the world are starting to rethink the vast areas of land set aside for parking. The convergence of several trends likely will mean this space becomes available for other uses.
Public transport is consistently identified as one of the most notorious spaces for public harassment.
shutterstock
A new campaign targeting sexual assault on public transport is a positive development in some respects, but is unlikely to generate substantive, longer-term change.
Having to own multiple cars comes at a cost to the finances and health of residents in the sprawling outer suburbs.
David Crosling/AAP
One of the most effective ways to reduce health inequalities across Australia is to design neighbourhoods that free residents from having to rely on cars for transport.
In Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney, just over a third of dwellings are within 400 metres of a public transport stop with services every 30 minutes, but the proportions are much lower in other cities.
Angela Brkic/AAP
Governments, developers and urban planners all aspire to create liveable cities. Yet when it comes to Australian cities, the rhetoric and reality don’t quite match.
Christo Venter, University of Pretoria and Gary Hayes, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
South Africa needs to review its approach to rolling out Bus Rapid Transit systems as the current model is proving to be too expensive and unsustainable.
Staying physically active can play a big part in ageing well – and a well-designed neighbourhood helps with that.
Maylat/shutterstock
Our ageing population presents several social and economic challenges, particularly for the health sector. Physical activity can tackle many of these.
The government appears willing to roll over the contract with the operator of a third of Melbourne’s buses despite poor performance.
Bus Association Victoria, used with permission
No matter whether competitive tendering or negotiation is used, operators that do not meet clear and transparent service benchmarks should be shown the door.