tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/suburbanisation-30807/articlesSuburbanisation – The Conversation2020-03-24T19:57:47Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1320522020-03-24T19:57:47Z2020-03-24T19:57:47ZWhy Nova Scotia has to take environmental racism seriously<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321741/original/file-20200319-22590-101avcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1077%2C52%2C3914%2C3270&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">African Canadian communities in Nova Scotia use community green spaces like parks, parking lots and other open spaces to gather, celebrate and strengthen community ties. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In February, a Nova Scotia MP introduced <a href="https://www.thetelegram.com/news/canada/nova-scotia-mps-bill-targets-environmental-racism-417068/">legislation aimed at tackling environmental racism</a>. When it comes to environmental racism, it is essential to understand its long history in Nova Scotia. </p>
<p>The African Canadian communities of Preston, East Preston, North Preston and Cherry Brook in Nova Scotia continue to confront land ownership disputes, environmental racism and green space expropriation challenges, both spatially and culturally. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-082508-094348">Environmental racism refers to racial discrimination in environmental policy making</a>.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322417/original/file-20200323-112694-s1wv4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322417/original/file-20200323-112694-s1wv4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322417/original/file-20200323-112694-s1wv4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322417/original/file-20200323-112694-s1wv4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322417/original/file-20200323-112694-s1wv4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322417/original/file-20200323-112694-s1wv4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322417/original/file-20200323-112694-s1wv4q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=551&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">Spencer Colley, chair of the East Preston Ratepayers Community Development Association, addresses the crowd as African-Nova Scotian Affairs Minister Tony Ince, right, and Fisheries Minister Keith Colwell, the local MLA, look on at a news conference in Cherry Brook, N.S., near Halifax in September 2017. The province spent $2.7 million over two years to help residents in five black communities obtain clear legal title to their land.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
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<p>For the Preston-area communities, marginalization and discrimination are still present. Dartmouth is a predominantly white community; <a href="https://www.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/about-the-city/regional-community-planning/Dartmouth-MPS-Eff-18May12-Case20436-TOCLinked.pdf">since 1996, it has continued to grow, creating constant pressure for landscape change and community fragmentation</a>.</p>
<p>Yet, the resilience and strong cultural identity of these Black communities means they maintain a firm commitment to being a vibrant, collective community through their own efforts.</p>
<h2>History of landscape challenges</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.halifax.ca/about-halifax/diversity-inclusion/african-nova-scotian-affairs/community-profiles">As the oldest and largest Black communities in Canada</a>, as well as having the highest concentration of African Canadians, this area’s complex history and relationship to the landscape continues to be at risk. </p>
<p>The Black Loyalists were forcibly settled in the late 18th century <a href="https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/423482/1/LIBRARY_COPY_After_The_Treaties_Final.pdf">after betrayal and deportation by the British</a>. Africville’s well-documented environmental racism in the 1950s also <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/1807/16566">led to forced relocation</a>. The Lincolnville landfill’s opening in 1974 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2012.692502">without community consultation and intimidation tactics</a> has continued feelings of mistrust. Lake Major’s community and economic development in Preston never happened; <a href="http://thedeepmag.ca/mustprestondie/">the land sale profits and land ownership were somehow directed to government agencies</a>.</p>
<p>As Dartmouth’s suburbs expanded rapidly in the 1970s and ‘80s, the sparsely developed Preston area was identified as the primary target. Loose property rights and land titles, formerly fully recognized, were revoked and transferred. It was decided that the local school would be closed and moved to a nearby predominantly white community. Through a galvanized community effort, these plans were repealed as noted in <a href="https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/schulich-school-of-law-dalhousie-university-a-lawyer-for-change/Content?oid=18176951">a 2017 report by the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society</a> entitled “This Land is Our Land: African Nova Scotian Voices from the Preston Area Speak Up.” </p>
<p>In 1991, the Metropolitan Authority, the group appointed by the provincial government to oversee the disposal of waste within the city of Halifax, proposed a dump location in East Lake and a recycling facility in East Preston. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/30032551">Both schemes ultimately failed due to local coordinated efforts by African Canadians</a>.</p>
<p>A recycling facility ultimately opened in Preston in 1997 — and subsequently closed in 2002 — but environmental cleanup has not occurred. Currently, the community of Preston is <a href="https://www.easternshorecooperator.ca/east_preston_ratepayers_community_development_association_letter_to_hrm_regarding_proposed_c_d_rezone">fighting the proposal to locate a construction demolition debris processing facility</a> adjacent to East Preston.</p>
<h2>Taking a fresh look at green spaces</h2>
<p>Green spaces are an important part of these residents’ everyday life. Whether parks or natural areas, playgrounds, forests, parking lots, church areas, shorelines or paths, these communities use green spaces for many benefits. </p>
<p>In Nova Scotia’s African Canadian communities, green spaces, open spaces and natural areas have substantial benefits: <a href="https://theconversation.com/girls-and-women-need-more-time-in-nature-to-be-healthy-104464">well-being, reduced stress, exercise</a>, sociability, sense of community, safety and happiness. With the team at the Green Infrastructure Performance Lab (GIPL) at Dalhousie University, I have <a href="https://www.gipl.land/publication">mapped these spaces so they are not lost or forgotten as landscape change occurs</a>. By doing this, we have also documented the many untitled green spaces that do not show up on any physical maps, drawings or planning documents.</p>
<p>Using an online, map-based survey, the team collected information about which green spaces residents visit and how they are being used in order to analyze their socio-cultural uses. Fifty-eight per cent of residents in these communities visited local green spaces to socially interact with neighbours and friends, to picnic or to play with children. Another 29 per cent also saw them as a place to relax and enjoy nature. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321738/original/file-20200319-22610-1rx7w3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321738/original/file-20200319-22610-1rx7w3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321738/original/file-20200319-22610-1rx7w3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321738/original/file-20200319-22610-1rx7w3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=345&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321738/original/file-20200319-22610-1rx7w3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321738/original/file-20200319-22610-1rx7w3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/321738/original/file-20200319-22610-1rx7w3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=434&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">An intensity map of North Preston showing where residents spent time in community green spaces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Richard le Brasseur)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The spatial qualities of this community and their green spaces are distinct. Even spaces that appear unused — like parking lots — are a vital part of the community. Kardeisha Provo, a community member wrote for CBC:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/nowornever/the-resilience-of-north-preston-nova-scotia-1.4932179/the-north-preston-i-know-isn-t-the-one-you-ve-heard-about-1.4936766">We come out in full for church and basketball games. The central firehall is the ‘hangout spot — if you park or go there, someone will often join you</a>.”</p>
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<p>LeMeia Reddick, an urbanist and community activist, <a href="https://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/building-blxckhouse-in-north-preston/Content?oid=20921386">recently developed BLxCKHOUSE, a relaxed, drop-in safe space for youth and teens</a> to do homework, crafts or just hang out. It is also a trusted community space, serving as headquarters for community initiatives such as gardening, block parties, book clubs and even protests. There are efforts underway to establish a community land trust. </p>
<h2>Mapping community spaces</h2>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322414/original/file-20200323-112720-ak1smu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322414/original/file-20200323-112720-ak1smu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/322414/original/file-20200323-112720-ak1smu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322414/original/file-20200323-112720-ak1smu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322414/original/file-20200323-112720-ak1smu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322414/original/file-20200323-112720-ak1smu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322414/original/file-20200323-112720-ak1smu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/322414/original/file-20200323-112720-ak1smu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A group of young boys plays on the swings at Seaview Memorial Park in the north end of Halifax at a ceremony where former heritage minister Sheila Copps declared Africville a national historic site on July 5, 2002. The neighbourhood was razed 30 years ago.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CP PHOTO/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
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<p>These are just some examples of local, undocumented, socio-cultural infrastructures and spaces. Understanding them is key to the community and its relationship to the landscape. This approach to community engagement and participation gives more power to planners and decision-makers <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284652833_Public_Participation_GIS_PPGIS_for_regional_and_environmental_planning_reflections_on_a_decade_of_empirical_research">to engage the public, reduce stakeholder conflict, increase community cohesion, and inform more sustainable and beneficial planning</a>. </p>
<p>The African Canadian communities of the Preston area have evolved a cultural identity. This is a unique area of unique people. How this community interacts with their local green spaces shows not only how they physically shape their community and spaces, but also offers insight into other rapidly developing and under-represented communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard leBrasseur receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>Nova Scotia’s African Canadian communities have grappled with racism for decades. By looking at community green spaces, we can see how they serve the community’s unique needs.Richard leBrasseur, Assisant Professor of Landscape Architecture & Director, Green Infrastructure Performance Lab, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1039202018-11-05T18:49:06Z2018-11-05T18:49:06ZWhere are Chinese migrants choosing to settle in Australia? Look to the suburbs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243194/original/file-20181031-76390-n9pfr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">They're a long way from the traditional inner-city 'Chinatowns', but the suburbs are where you'll find 21st-century China-born migrants settling.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-typical-suburb-australia-641677402?src=VkZnqgoaYk6tWt7fljUTTA-1-2">Jandrie Lombard/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is the second article in our series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/australian-cities-in-the-asian-century-61652">Australian Cities in the Asian Century</a>. These articles draw on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-5871.12311">research</a>, just published in a special issue of Geographical Research, into how Australian cities are being influenced by the rise of China and associated flows of people, ideas and capital between China and Australia.</em></p>
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<p>In the iconic book The Lucky Country, author Donald Horne described Australia as the <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=eMYpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT119&dq=Lucky+country+first+suburban+nation&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjB9Jmhw6_eAhVQEnAKHTOAAqwQ6AEIQDAE#v=onepage&q=Lucky%20country%20first%20suburban%20nation&f=false">first suburban nation</a>. Half a century later, the moniker is perhaps truer than ever. We calculate that the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookup/Media%20Release10">five largest metro areas</a> now house 64% of Australia’s population. And the greatest population growth is in peri-urban fringe areas. </p>
<p><a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/most-new-housing-isnt-high-end-housing/">Most new housing is built in the suburbs</a>, and detached dwellings are a staple of the “Australian Dream” of home ownership. So it should come as no surprise that Australia’s <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3412.0Main%20Features42016-17">most rapidly growing ethnic group</a>, migrants born in mainland China, is choosing to settle in the suburbs. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1745-5871.12293">Our research</a> finds that the residential patterns of China-born migrants in Australian capital cities are becoming both more diverse and more suburban. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-australian-cities-are-adapting-to-the-asian-century-103917">How Australian cities are adapting to the Asian Century</a>
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<p>Chinese migration to Australia dates back longer than the Commonwealth itself, with the first wave tied to the 19th-century <a href="https://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/stories/chinese-goldfields">gold</a> <a href="https://cv.vic.gov.au/stories/immigrants-and-emigrants/many-roads-chinese-on-the-goldfields/">rushes</a>. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/sitecore/content/Home/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/CIB/CIB9697/97cib16">1980s and 1990s</a>, ethnic Chinese from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the “Nanyang” countries of Southeast Asia (e.g. Singapore, Malaysia) came to Australia along with migrants from mostly southern mainland China.</p>
<p>Since 2000, Chinese migration to Australia has been more geographically diverse in its origins. These migrants have also been increasingly advantaged in socio-economic status and <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-we-know-about-why-chinese-students-come-to-australia-to-study-97257">often driven by tertiary education</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-we-know-about-why-chinese-students-come-to-australia-to-study-97257">What we know about why Chinese students come to Australia to study</a>
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<p>Australia is now home to more than <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbytitle/D8CAE4F74B82D446CA258235000F2BDE?OpenDocument">1.2 million people of Chinese ancestry</a>, <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mediareleasesbytitle/D8CAE4F74B82D446CA258235000F2BDE?OpenDocument">41% of them born in mainland China</a>.</p>
<h2>Diversity in dispersal patterns</h2>
<p>Just like most Australians, these China-born migrants are concentrated in major cities. The Chinatowns in cities like <a href="https://theconversation.com/sydneys-chinatown-is-much-more-of-a-modern-bridge-to-asia-than-a-historic-enclave-94482">Sydney</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-story-of-fook-shing-colonial-victorias-chinese-detective-94017">Melbourne</a> remain as important cultural icons. Yet the reality is that, just like cities such as New York, Toronto and Vancouver, there has been an obvious trend of China-born migrants dispersing to live in the suburbs. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sydneys-chinatown-is-much-more-of-a-modern-bridge-to-asia-than-a-historic-enclave-94482">Sydney's Chinatown is much more of a modern bridge to Asia than a historic enclave</a>
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<p>In our study covering the three census periods from 2001 to 2011, China-born residential patterns became more diverse over time. There has been greater dispersal in the large cities (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) and clustering in medium and smaller cities (Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra). </p>
<p>In other words, as the local population of China-born migrants gets larger and more complex, multiple Chinese enclaves emerge. These include Hurstville and Campsie in Sydney, Burwood and Clayton in Melbourne, and Sunnybank and Sunnybank Hills in Brisbane. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243195/original/file-20181031-76405-30oc7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243195/original/file-20181031-76405-30oc7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/243195/original/file-20181031-76405-30oc7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243195/original/file-20181031-76405-30oc7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243195/original/file-20181031-76405-30oc7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243195/original/file-20181031-76405-30oc7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243195/original/file-20181031-76405-30oc7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/243195/original/file-20181031-76405-30oc7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Campsie is one of the Sydney suburbs popular with China-born migrants.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sydney-australia-apr-6-2018-vehicle-1094335619?src=7SEue2_X5ygQd-1mlyFrzg-1-0">Victor Wong/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>In the smaller capital cities of Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra, residential clusters appear to emerge near major universities in inner cities. Here, housing markets and planning initiatives play a strong role as well. Clustering appears mostly in and around inner cities, which may be tied to the construction of high-rise unit blocks.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the diversity of this suburbanisation - particularly in Melbourne and Sydney - runs counter to the narrative of the “straight line” assimilation model. This is based on the idea that migrants and their children simply amalgamate into the population at large. Unlike what such “traditional” models predict, the integration of China-born migrants has been accompanied by concentration growing stronger over time, mainly in the outer suburbs, regardless of their socioeconomic status. </p>
<p>The association among residential improvement, individual advantages and entry into mixed White neighbourhoods may be weakening. This is reflected in the growing tendency towards living in Chinese-dominated communities with the benefits of easy access to Chinese-owned business and services. Formation of ethnic concentrations is voluntary, which runs counter to the idea that a lack of options forces migrants to segregate. </p>
<h2>A new look for suburbia</h2>
<p>With about <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/2024.0Main%20Features22016">half of Australians</a> born overseas or having an overseas-born parent, migration has rendered Australia <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/27/australia-reaches-tipping-point-with-quarter-of-population-born-overseas">one of the world’s most diverse countries</a>. While television shows such as Neighbours and Home and Away still <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07256868.2013.864628">depict suburbia as the preserve of the moneyed Anglo-Australians</a>, the composition of today’s suburbs mirrors the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/2024.0Main%20Features22016">diversity of the nation</a>. Just remember that next time you are trying to find a good acupuncturist!</p>
<p><em>You can find other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/australian-cities-in-the-asian-century-61652">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-rise-of-the-super-diverse-ethnoburbs-90926">The rise of the super-diverse 'ethnoburbs'</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103920/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Corcoran receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Siqin (Sisi) Wang, Thomas Sigler, and Yan Liu 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>China-born migrants in Australia’s capital cities are becoming more suburban, but there are differences in settlement patterns between the biggest cities and smaller cities.Thomas Sigler, Lecturer in Human Geography, The University of QueenslandJonathan Corcoran, Professor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of QueenslandSiqin (Sisi) Wang, PhD and Research Assistant, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of QueenslandYan Liu, Associate Professor, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/909922018-03-08T22:12:45Z2018-03-08T22:12:45ZTransit networks are key to smart growth in suburbs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208749/original/file-20180303-65529-19x5mje.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A woman is helped out of the wrecked car of a train that derailed at the station of Pioltello Limito, on the outskirts of Milan, Italy, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In late January, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/25/milan-train-crash-derailment-italy-commuter">a commuter train derailed</a> in northern Italy, near Milan. Three people were killed and 46 injured in the crash. An investigation into the cause of the derailment has focused on maintenance issues after <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/italian-train-derails-near-milan-1.4503092">a broken piece of track was found</a>. </p>
<p>The dramatic event has left commuters on edge. Many worry about their safety and that other derailments might occur in the future.
And they have lashed out at the regional train company Trenord that serves the region after it blamed delays on a “technical inconvenience” (<em>inconveniente technico</em>) on Twitter.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"956423658867699712"}"></div></p>
<p>The incident was terrible, but it was perhaps not a surprise. </p>
<p>The Italian regional railway systems have been criticized for their lack of maintenance. Italy ranked 15th in the <a href="https://www.bcg.com/publications/2017/transportation-travel-tourism-2017-european-railway-performance-index.aspx">2017 European Railway Performance Index</a>, just ahead of Lithuania, Ireland, Portugal and most of the eastern European countries. According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, Italy ranks sixth when it comes to rail accidents. In 2016, the country saw <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Railway_safety_statistics">99 rail accidents and 127 injuries and deaths</a> — and the largest increase in deaths of all 28 member countries since the previous year.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208752/original/file-20180303-65519-1w295dw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208752/original/file-20180303-65519-1w295dw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208752/original/file-20180303-65519-1w295dw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208752/original/file-20180303-65519-1w295dw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208752/original/file-20180303-65519-1w295dw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208752/original/file-20180303-65519-1w295dw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208752/original/file-20180303-65519-1w295dw.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">Frecciarossa is a high-speed train of the Italian national train operator, Trenitalia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frecciarossa.JPG">(SuporesMundi/Wikimedia Commons)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Italy has long been locked in a debate over what to do about its aging local railway systems. But because of the derailment’s location — near the suburb of Segrate — a discussion has opened up on the need to develop of suburban infrastructure.</p>
<p>Investments have come more readily to high-speed rail systems like Trenitalia’s <a href="http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom/Le-Frecce">Le Frecce</a> and <a href="https://italospa.italotreno.it/">Italo-Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori</a>. But the local networks that connect city centres to their suburbs are struggling under the pressure of suburban expansion. </p>
<p>Italy’s big cities have historically faced a mismatch in the development of public transportation. Instead of developing a regional network, the focus has been on separate municipal systems or on the national high-speed railway network. </p>
<p>A deeper “regionalization” of transportation systems is perhaps what the Italian metropolitan areas need. They could learn from the experiences of cities in other countries, such as the Greater Toronto and Hamilton areas in southern Ontario, where the integration of <a href="http://www.metrolinx.com/en/">Metrolinx</a> and <a href="http://www.gotransit.com/publicroot/en/default.aspx">GoTransit</a> has reshaped transport distribution.</p>
<h2>Infrastructure an ‘enabler’</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08111146.2016.1187122">Infrastructure, including rail systems, are enablers</a> that provide the conditions to make other activities possible. It makes the suburbs feasible; without it, suburbanites would not be able to travel throughout the larger metropolitan areas where they live. </p>
<p>The world’s population is increasingly moving from rural areas to more urban ones. By 2045, <a href="https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/publications/files/wup2014-highlights.pdf">more than six billion are expected to be “urbanized”</a> thanks to constant suburban growth. In this regard, suburban infrastructure is becoming more important. </p>
<p>Not only is suburban infrastructure a key aspect of this growth, connecting outlying neighbourhoods to the central urban core, but it also saves suburbanites time and money as they move from home to school to work and elsewhere; they are dependent on transport services.</p>
<p>Yet we need change. Cities are beginning to leave behind their dependence on automobiles, as they improve — and integrate — their metropolitan and regional transportation systems and <a href="http://www.kas.de/upload/dokumente/megacities/megacities1/allgemein/scott-global-city-regions.pdf">become large city-regions</a>. </p>
<p>For example, in Montreal, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlvzpsEzVZc">Réseau express métropolitain (REM)</a> will serve the whole metropolitan area through a sophisticated rail and bus system inserted into the urban landscape. In Auckland, New Zealand, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLcS23YbJ_Q">new electric trains </a> have transformed the transit system after a recent population boom. And in Paris, the <a href="https://parisbytrain.com/paris-rer/">Réseau Express Régional (RER)</a>, a commuter and rapid transit system, connects Europe’s second largest city with its huge <em>banlieue</em>, the Paris suburbs.</p>
<h2>An uneven development</h2>
<p>However, the development of suburban infrastructure is fragmented. It is strongly dependent on a city’s political, technical and financial priorities. Local administrations in suburbs cope daily with the provision of adequate transport infrastructures that connect suburban areas with metropolitan cores. Yet, highways still get more attention.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208753/original/file-20180303-65541-7q1ggl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/208753/original/file-20180303-65541-7q1ggl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208753/original/file-20180303-65541-7q1ggl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208753/original/file-20180303-65541-7q1ggl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208753/original/file-20180303-65541-7q1ggl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208753/original/file-20180303-65541-7q1ggl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/208753/original/file-20180303-65541-7q1ggl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A highway interchange in the West Midlands region in the United Kingdom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/highwaysagency/6194409693/">(Highways England/flickr)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Milan’s suburban area, where the train accident occurred, a new beltway called <a href="http://www.spea-engineering.it/project/t-e-e-m-tangenziale-est-esterna-di-milano/">TEEM</a> was launched in 2014. But three years later, <a href="https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2016/07/22/brebemi-compie-due-anni-e-si-conferma-in-vetta-alla-classifica-delle-autostrade-lombarde-meno-utilizzate/2926209/">traffic volume remains very low</a> and its usefulness has been called into question. </p>
<p>There is also a high degree of unevenness in the way the suburbs develop. </p>
<p>Some geographic areas expand more rapidly than others, making it difficult for local governments to meet the suburbs’ infrastructure needs. Wealth and poverty are juxtaposed in suburban areas. Some suburbs are growing faster than others as target-areas of private investments, whereas other towns experience economic declines.</p>
<p>Social inequality is both reflected in and intensified by high levels of unevenness in the availability of transportation infrastructure. Some suburbanites will have no choice and remain car-dependent, whereas others may use the train even if they own cars.</p>
<h2>Retrofitting solutions</h2>
<p>Given this inequality, how do we identify the right solution?</p>
<p>A retrofitting process that focuses on fairness would be a good option. Just as <a href="https://righttothecitymtl.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/urban-spatial-justice/">spatial justice</a> looks at the consequence of urban development on social fabric, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305398785_Transport_Justice_Designing_Fair_Transportation_Systems">transport justice</a> can be seen as a new perspective to discuss the adaptation of metropolitan transportation planning to the commuters’ daily life.</p>
<p>If we are to reduce the gap between the growing suburbs and their infrastructure, we must reduce disparities, give local services the same attention as high-speed trains and develop routes that meet commuters’ needs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90992/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorenzo De Vidovich 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 development of suburban infrastructure depends on political, technical and financial priorities. A train derailment in an Italian suburb has highlighted the need to retrofit infrastructure.Lorenzo De Vidovich, PhD Candidate in Urban Planning, Design and Policy | Urban welfare researcher, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/754472017-08-10T00:09:33Z2017-08-10T00:09:33ZWant to fix America’s infrastructure? Build in the places that need help the most<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181468/original/file-20170808-16079-31ftjt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How can we limit urban sprawl?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/84263554@N00/3120512033/">kla4067</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Political debates over U.S. infrastructure spending are painfully incomplete. The discussion focuses almost exclusively on how much money should be spent, ignoring important questions about what projects are most needed and where those projects should be placed.</p>
<p>In the U.S., two-thirds of the population lives in urbanized areas that take up <a href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/303439/triumph-of-the-city-by-edward-glaeser/9780143120544/">less than 3 percent</a> of the nation’s land. Paradoxically, the majority of the explosive growth in urban populations during the 20th century came in the suburbs, leading to urban sprawl and unprecedented levels of race and income-based segregation. </p>
<p>While new homes, schools and roads are consistently placed in the suburbs, the central urban locations that we’d expect to drive the regional economy are sadly ignored. The damage associated with this <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Disrupted_Cities.html?id=ksLzDva8kIMC">underinvestment in urban infrastructure</a> often surfaces in times of crisis such as natural disasters, when the inadequacy of city infrastructure is placed on display. </p>
<p>As experts in urban planning and public finance, we think U.S. cities should support infrastructure in the neighborhoods that need it most. Local revenue-raising programs that require developers to support the costs of urban infrastructure have the strongest potential to combat urban sprawl and promote investment in core urban areas.</p>
<h1>Development impact fees</h1>
<p>Impact fees are one-time charges assessed on new real estate development. They reflect the cost of expanding public facilities to meet the development’s new demands. For example, municipal revenue from fees might be spent on new schools to alleviate student overcrowding problems or new parks that serve the new residents. </p>
<p>Most states have <a href="https://islandpress.org/book/a-guide-to-impact-fees-and-housing-affordability">legislation that enables impact fees</a>. The fees are common in many rapidly growing areas, particularly in the southern and western U.S. </p>
<p>Most impact fee programs assess all new development according to the average cost of facilities that will serve it, regardless of the actual location of the new development. However, this approach is flawed. For example, we know centrally located residents have much shorter commute times than those who live further from the city center. By definition, the high-cost area for the cities’ transportation needs is the fringe property.</p>
<p>Under the everyone-pays-average-cost system, centrally located urban areas will tend to pay more than their proportionate share of new infrastructure costs. This extra burden discourages the exact type of development that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2014.901116">mitigates urban sprawl</a>. By contrast, more remote high-cost areas receive an implicit subsidy and pay less than their total costs. Even though they need extensive infrastructure investments, they pay only average costs. </p>
<p>At the margin, this reduces development in low-cost areas, but subsidizes development in high-cost areas. In urban jurisdictions, impact fees can distort the distribution of new development to be inefficient. New infrastructure goes to places where it’s less valuable than it might be elsewhere. </p>
<h1>Albuquerque</h1>
<p>In 2005, Albuquerque, New Mexico became one of the first cities in the U.S. to embrace a fully location-based impact fee system. The program had been discussed and developed by this team and local officials over the preceding years. After fighting sprawl for decades in ways that the city government deemed ineffective, they were willing to be creative and follow the advice of a leading team of urban planners.</p>
<p>After decades of seeing increased urban sprawl in the absence of any development impact fee programs, Albuquerque designed a new system that charged little or no impact fees to new development in central locations where public infrastructure already existed. Meanwhile, it charged relatively high impact fees in areas where new facilities were needed to mitigate the impact of new development. That meant that central core locations were charged far less than suburban fringe locations.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2014.901116">Our research team</a> has studied the impact of this program on urban residential development and infrastructure in the city over the years leading up to and following the program’s implementation.</p>
<p><iframe id="aYqAb" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/aYqAb/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Our study looked at 21 years of construction data from before and after their program was implemented. We found that accurately priced fees significantly curtailed development on the fringe of the city while preserving investments in central locations. Meanwhile, urban sprawl got worse in neighboring areas outside Albuquerque. </p>
<h1>In your city</h1>
<p>While local governments understand their own infrastructure needs best, the federal government should encourage the adoption of location-sensitive development impact fee programs. One way to do this might be creating matching grants focused on infrastructure renovations in core urban areas.</p>
<p>If successful, this could have positive long-term impacts that would help combat urban sprawl and revitalize core urban centers. For example, expansion and improvement of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.104.9.2763">core public transit services</a> could potentially carry large economic gains and reduce traffic congestion. </p>
<p>In a nation rapidly becoming more urbanized, but also one that hopefully recognizes the damaging effects of urban sprawl on <a href="http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/153808.aspx">carbon consumption</a> and the quality of our environment, our policies should reflect priorities to reduce sprawl.</p>
<p><em>Julian C. Juergensmeyer at Georgia State University contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75447/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory Burge receives funding from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Arthur C. Nelson receives funding from Urban Land Institute, Brookings Institution, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and numerous local governments.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trey Dronyk-Trosper receives funding from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James C. Nicholas 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>How do you prevent urban sprawl? Researchers look to a program in New Mexico for an answer.Gregory Burge, Associate Professor of Economics, University of OklahomaArthur C. Nelson, Professor of Planning and Real Estate, University of ArizonaJames C. Nicholas, Professor of Law, University of FloridaTrey Dronyk-Trosper, Postdoctoral Fellow in Public Finance Policy , Tulane UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/738522017-04-06T02:43:28Z2017-04-06T02:43:28ZWhy suburban tensions and inequality will drive infrastructure innovation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160632/original/image-20170314-9600-hsvodd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What new and innovative infrastructure is likely to emerge from the suburbs? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roger Keil</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is the fifth article in our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/making-cities-work-37182">Making Cities Work</a>. It considers the problems of providing critical infrastructure and how we might produce the innovations and reforms needed to meet 21st-century needs and challenges.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The global trend towards <a href="http://www.utppublishing.com/Suburban-Governance-A-Global-View.html">suburbanisation and suburbanisms</a> (meaning suburban ways of life) has an <a href="https://www.jovis.de/en/books/details/product/suburban-constellations.html">important infrastructure dimension</a>. In both growing and shrinking suburbs, <a href="http://suburbs.info.yorku.ca/2015/06/the-global-suburban-infrastructure-workshop-june-14-16-2015/">decisions on infrastructure</a> – mobility systems, water and waste water systems, and energy distribution and production networks – have been central. </p>
<p>Around the world, major transport and water/wastewater infrastructures often drive mushrooming peripheral growth. Big pipes, expressways, rapid transit lines, gas supply and the electricity grid, for example, have traditionally preceded residential subdivisions and commercial development.</p>
<p>In other areas (often in less-developed contexts), infrastructure development lags behind peripheral expansion. Informal settlement patterns, rapid and unequal peri-urbanisation and high degrees of social segregation characterise these areas. </p>
<p>In more mature suburban environments and in high-growth regions, gridlock, system failure and all manner of bottlenecks are typical. </p>
<p>The various forms of infrastructure need to be situated within their societal context. Infrastructures are contested between constituencies and are <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2008.00792.x/abstract">powerful instruments of social regulation</a>. Central to our argument is the view that the ramifications stretch far beyond the expectations and control of decision-makers. </p>
<h2>Suburbs are sites of stress</h2>
<p>Suburban areas, in their multiform, emerging worldwide configurations, feel infrastructure stress most acutely. Having to deal with severe infrastructure inadequacies, suburbs offer fertile ground for infrastructure experimentation and innovation.</p>
<p>All infrastructures share a common characteristic. At the very core of the concept is the role of supporting the functioning of different aspects of society. </p>
<p>We differentiate two types of infrastructure. </p>
<p>The first is the “hard” physical, public-works-type infrastructure: roads, highways, water and sewage systems, railways, wires, cables and transmitters. This includes the political, organisational know-how and financial requirements for their design, construction, operation and maintenance. </p>
<p>The second category can be described as “soft” or social infrastructures. These consist mostly of services. </p>
<p>Infrastructures are central to newer, non-central portions of metropolitan regions in this era of global suburbanisation. This is because they operate as conduits, facilitators and sometimes the main ingredient of that extension. Infrastructures order these suburban landscapes and make them accessible. </p>
<p>One feature common across the suburban environment is its fragmentation. Fragmentation is built into the morphology of the suburb. Its territory is dissected by the transport and utility infrastructures connecting the central city to its hinterland and the rest of the world. </p>
<p>An important, underrated aspect of suburban infrastructures is their tremendous importance for how the entire urban region functions. Suburban infrastructure, often thought of as merely functional for the suburban constellation itself, remains multi-scalar – that is, it also supports metropolitan and higher-scale purposes. </p>
<p>Thus, infrastructures work as fragmenting and sorting mechanisms of complex suburban landscapes. </p>
<p>Infrastructures play a central role in building suburbs but are also the foundation for the retrofitting of ageing peripheral areas. <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2163-extrastatecraft">Keller Easterling describes</a> the infrastructural grid as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… thick with technologies that are potential multipliers: populations of suburban houses, skyscrapers, vehicles, spatial products, zones, mobile phones, or global standards.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this sense the suburbs are a “zone”. And suburbanisation is a horizontal division of labour, a giant production grid, a gargantuan spatial factory floor spread across city and society. And networked infrastructures enable it. </p>
<h2>Infrastructure connects and excludes</h2>
<p>With fragmentation come inequality and marginalisation – access to and exclusion from suburban infrastructures. The global suburb is a place of extremes. High levels of unevenness in the availability of infrastructures reflect and intensify this. </p>
<p>Infrastructure issues are exacerbated in the suburbs. Several of their characteristics contribute to this situation: their recent nature, rapid development, economic polarisation and sprawling nature.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162848/original/image-20170328-21267-l763oy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162848/original/image-20170328-21267-l763oy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/162848/original/image-20170328-21267-l763oy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162848/original/image-20170328-21267-l763oy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162848/original/image-20170328-21267-l763oy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162848/original/image-20170328-21267-l763oy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162848/original/image-20170328-21267-l763oy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/162848/original/image-20170328-21267-l763oy.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">Anting suburban train station, Shanghai. The pressures to provide infrastructure to such areas are likely to drive innovative solutions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roger Keil</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The infrastructure deficit in suburban areas results from the combined effects of accelerated suburban growth and insufficient funding. The latter reflects difficult economic circumstances and the predominance of other public sector expenditure priorities. </p>
<p>Infrastructure deficiencies are most severe in informal settlements. Governments largely overlook their needs, and the acute poverty of residents prevents reliance on locally funded infrastructure programs. The shortage or absence of <a href="https://theconversation.com/water-sensitive-innovations-to-transform-health-of-slums-and-environment-71615">water and sanitary infrastructures</a> contributes to low health and longevity indicators. </p>
<p>Confronted with the need to overcome multiple forms of infrastructure difficulties, the suburbs are a likely source of urban infrastructure innovation and fertile spawning grounds for new solutions. We thus expect the future of urban infrastructures to emerge from the suburbs. </p>
<p>The impetus is great for infrastructure innovations to fill the gap between need and availability and overcome the inappropriateness of prevailing systems. In this sense, suburbs can be seen as laboratories for new infrastructure. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article draws on a <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08111146.2016.1187122">research paper</a> by the authors in a new <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cupr20/35/1">special issue</a> of the international journal, Urban Policy and Research, on critical urban infrastructure. These matters have been taken up in more detail in two forthcoming books by the authors, Global Suburban Infrastructure: Social Restructuring, Governance and Equity (University of Toronto Press) by Pierre Filion and Nina Pulver, and Suburban Planet (Polity Press) by Roger Keil.</em></p>
<p><em>You can read other published articles in our series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/making-cities-work-37182">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73852/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pierre Filion receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger Keil receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.</span></em></p>Suburban areas feel infrastructure stress most acutely. Having to deal with severe inadequacies, suburbs offer fertile ground for infrastructure experimentation and innovation.Pierre Filion, Professor, School of Planning, University of WaterlooRoger Keil, York Research Chair in Global Sub/Urban Studies, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/647082016-08-31T15:45:11Z2016-08-31T15:45:11ZCities will just be playgrounds for rich if poor keep being pushed to suburbs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136133/original/image-20160831-30762-1lolr1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Are you being served?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tcatcarson/3035622814/in/photolist-5CfmUo-5Cb4jr-8jas8c-gBpPRP-cikbRh-8dQFiw-8fxg81-aEsL7N-8jdG7b-2XGKHX-9YTCFo-9YTBuq-eXXfXP-7EEpui-8jdFbS-8jarn2-5BPKEQ-b75nQ-eY9buQ-8xoiQL-bxTd1-8xkhiF-7EEce2-7EJ5HC-8xkhvD-6k7aM8-83asGv-4hhX5c-3watS-bM55gp-83asKF-5BFWEp-PATKi-nJGWv-a8sa5f-b6bBYH-9f7FGi-78Hyim-PQSSH-78DGWa-78Hy1h-78Kruu-78DFJt-nFAXD-78HxJs-578dxr-83dBjo-78FzV4-78DHcM-78HA2s">Lee Carson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Successive <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Built-Environment/Cities">governments</a> in Europe have <a href="http://urbanagendaforthe.eu/introduction/">impressive visions</a> for the future of our cities. These reject the divisive urban model of earlier decades, where richer people moved to low-density, car-dependent suburbs, leaving inner cities predominantly to the poor.</p>
<p>In the sustainable cities of the future, the vision is to attract richer people back to city centres. This will reduce their need to travel and increase public transport use. Importantly, these movements are supposed to bring about more mixed communities of people from different walks of life, living alongside one another harmoniously. </p>
<p>To achieve this urban renaissance, the UK has, for example, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-initiatives-to-help-build-more-new-homes-on-brownfield-land">been directing</a> housing development towards brownfield sites in the core of cities, limiting greenfield development at the edge. It has also been among those pushing substantial investment through urban regeneration schemes in land preparation or infrastructure. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/publicpolicypractice/State,of,Cities,V1.pdf">Sure enough</a>, this has halted and in some cases reversed the population losses which core cities have experienced for decades as richer people have been attracted back to the centres. Yet poorer people are being pushed out; poverty is “suburbanising”. We have seen this pattern <a href="http://confrontingsuburbanpoverty.org">in the US</a> and more recently <a href="http://www.smith-institute.org.uk/book/poverty-in-suburbia-a-smith-institure-study-into-the-growth-of-poverty-in-the-suburbs-of-england-and-wles/">in England</a>, particularly <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/poverty-housing-london-fenton/">London</a>.</p>
<p>Scotland’s four largest cities are also experiencing this trend, as <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/SIMD">new data</a> confirms. In Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee, the share of each city’s population living near the centre either stayed the same or rose between 2004 and 2016. At the same time, the proportion of poorer people has been falling (see graphs below). </p>
<p><strong>Income-deprived population living in central city (%)</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136126/original/image-20160831-30804-sawq0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136126/original/image-20160831-30804-sawq0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136126/original/image-20160831-30804-sawq0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136126/original/image-20160831-30804-sawq0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136126/original/image-20160831-30804-sawq0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=469&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136126/original/image-20160831-30804-sawq0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136126/original/image-20160831-30804-sawq0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=589&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136126/original/image-20160831-30804-sawq0d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=589&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>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Non-deprived population living in central city (%)</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136127/original/image-20160831-30794-obshi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136127/original/image-20160831-30794-obshi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136127/original/image-20160831-30794-obshi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136127/original/image-20160831-30794-obshi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136127/original/image-20160831-30794-obshi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=477&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136127/original/image-20160831-30794-obshi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136127/original/image-20160831-30794-obshi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136127/original/image-20160831-30794-obshi3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=599&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
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<p>The central area of Edinburgh has seen a loss of approximately 4,000 people in low income households over the period. In Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, where this trend <a href="https://www.aqmen.ac.uk/sites/default/files/RB5-poverty-suburbia.pdf">has been identified</a> before, the figure is approximately 6,000. For <a href="http://rpubs.com/JonMinton/200186">the smaller cities</a> of Aberdeen and Dundee, the losses were around 400 and 700 respectively.</p>
<h2>Segregation</h2>
<p>What is driving this change? As city living has become more popular, poorer households are finding it harder to compete for housing. Social housing stock <a href="http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0048/00485857.pdf">has fallen</a> for decades, meaning those in poverty are having to rely more on renting privately. When cities attract wealthier people, landlords can charge rents that poorer people struggle to afford. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, recent welfare reforms have <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/impact-welfare-reform-social-landlords-and-tenants">successively cut</a> the housing benefits that subsidise rent payments for those on low incomes – at the same time as inequality levels <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/scottish-income-inequality-surges-as-rich-get-richer-a7107756.html">have been rising</a> more generally. The net result is that these people are pushed towards cheaper areas, away from the more central neighbourhoods. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136134/original/image-20160831-30780-1sruvho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136134/original/image-20160831-30780-1sruvho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136134/original/image-20160831-30780-1sruvho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136134/original/image-20160831-30780-1sruvho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136134/original/image-20160831-30780-1sruvho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136134/original/image-20160831-30780-1sruvho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136134/original/image-20160831-30780-1sruvho.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/136134/original/image-20160831-30780-1sruvho.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">Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/andyramdin/17380108475/in/photolist-stPAJF-nV6hQE-dMrtmQ-dKpcKx-nUTofk-cZ2a39-c1GCiU-dkPccG-nCJ5du-dky4Yh-e2wvxL-dKKmz3-cTxhiJ-nFmLBm-nKjZyW-nCG8hu-nV6haS-o1CnSp-d3VEhf-nCLeX4-GBVrXC-nXJUdr-nX2cFP-GBVsvw-nFxJrQ-dmgRwp-cTxhfh-nXWc1f-TqmX4-o24NT7-7MLrGt-dKK5kb-o47dD6-d3U8g3-nZMiB9-nLC5ty-nXVvQ9-o5UwLP-dLr1vx-9oQ71S-nFxLJd-9ojuUM-o5Tn6i-GoaE3J-GL5ZbN-Go7RG1-9sf1my-nCKBNy-dLwxGd-9vj2fF">Andy Ramdin</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As in other countries, this suburbanisation of Scottish poverty looks to be a steady but largely hidden process. If it continues, the cities of the future will be far from the visions set out by policymakers and planners. </p>
<p>Instead, they will continue to be marked by segregation and deep division, only now with poorer households pushed to the edge. That has potentially serious implications for these people’s welfare, particularly their ability to access employment. It also threatens broader social cohesion. If politicians are serious about their visions for the future, it is time we recognised these trends and started talking about how to halt them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64708/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This work was conducted as part of the ESRC-funded Applied Quantitative Methods Network (AQMeN – <a href="http://www.aqmen.ac.uk">www.aqmen.ac.uk</a>) (ESRC award ES/K006460/1).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Minton is an Urban Segregation & Inequalities Research Fellow for AQMeN, funded by ESRC (ESRC award ES/K006460/1)</span></em></p>Scotland’s new deprivation figures confirm a wider trend towards suburbanising poverty.Nick Bailey, Professor of Urban Studies, University of GlasgowJonathan Minton, Quantitative Research Associate, University of GlasgowLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.