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Public views and perceptions surrounding parking demand and supply in Australian cities remain underexplored in the academic literature. In this exploratory study, we draw on written and oral qualitative data to set forth popular narratives and sentiments on parking supply and demand. We reveal two competing storylines. The first and more traditional one casts (free) parking as a "birthright" that is to be retained at all cost. The second and more recent storyline - which aligns closely to the position of contemporary planners - casts cars and parking as a "scourge" to be combated in order to restore urban liveability. We conclude that the emergence of this more recent storyline bodes well for the sustainability of urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A city can be divided into areas that are served by transit and those that are not. In this study, the former is referred to as "transit-served areas (TSAs)". To quantify, monitor and visualise the TSAs of the Southeast Queensland (SEQ), this study analyses half-year smartcard data between 2012 and 2013 from TransLink, the transit agency for SEQ. Four scenarios are prescribed and four corresponding metrics (the minimum, actual, random and maximum travels) are calculated, which reflect transit riders' different levels of elasticity of distance travelled (EDT) relative to the cost of travel within or between TSAs and how transit riders could possibly travel as EDT varies. The total trips generated by or attracted to TSA and the temporal and spatial variations of these metrics across days are used to monitor TSAs, especially transit trips within or between them. The results indicate that transit trips attracted to, and generated by TSA and transit trips between TSAs vary significantly over time and across space. Across the scenarios, the temporal variance tends to be larger as EDT becomes more inelastic. The above results provide useful references for decision-makers to understand better the ranges of transit demand (by TSA) across the space and time when EDT is a variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformation of the motor vehicle fleet has been an important feature of the world’s peak car phenomenon. Very few urban transport studies have explored such important changes in large urban cities. Using an innovative green vehicle datasets constructed for 2009 and 2014, this paper investigates the ongoing change in urban private vehicle fleet efficiency (VFE) in Brisbane. The spatial patterns of VFE change were examined with social-spatial characteristics of the urban area. The results showed that the social and spatial effect of VFE changes remain uneven over urban space. The inner urban areas have experienced higher level of VFE change, whilst people in the outer and oil vulnerable areas showed a low tendency in shifting to more efficient vehicles. The implication of VFE change for future household vehicle adoption was also evaluated based on a cost-benefit analysis of new vehicle technology costs and expected fuel savings for households that choose a fuel efficient vehicle. The results show that imposing a stronger national fuel economy target in the long term would accelerate evolution of vehicle fleets and oil vulnerability reduction in Brisbane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of literature suggests that the segregation of infrastructure and urban/regional planning is at the root of contemporary problems facing many of the world's metropolitan areas. More recently, the introduction of new telecommunication infrastructure highlights the invisible borders that exist within critical infrastructure that provide advantages to some areas such as transportation and disadvantages to others. This paper attempts to understand the nature of inter-sectoral and intra-sectoral borders across infrastructure in Australia and the US. It examines the sometimes contradicting market-led vs. government-led models adopted in the two countries to deliver broadband communications and transportation. The findings identify similarities and differences between the two countries, and reiterate that in order to achieve social equity, and enhance the provision of infrastructure to non-profitable areas, government intervention is required. The paper concludes with a call for performance-based policies that go beyond traditional borders in an effort to better address the contemporary wicked planning problems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Australia's governance arrangements for natural resource management ( NRM) have evolved considerably over the last 30 years. The impact of changes in governance on NRM planning and delivery requires assessment. We undertake a multi-method programme evaluation using adaptive governance principles as an analytical frame and apply this to Queensland to assess the impacts of governance change on NRM planning and governance outcomes. Data to inform our analysis includes: (1) a systematic review of 16 audits/evaluations of Australian NRM over a 15-year period; (2) a review of Queensland's first-generation NRM plans; and (3) outputs from a Queensland workshop on NRM planning. NRM has progressed from a bottom-up grassroots movement into a collaborative regional NRM model that has been centralised by the Australian government. We found that while some adaptive governance challenges have been addressed, others remained unresolved. Results show that collaboration and elements of multi-level governance under the regional model were positive moves, but also that NRM arrangements contained structural deficiencies across multiple governance levels in relation to public involvement in decision-making and knowledge production for problem responsiveness. These problems for adaptive governance have been exacerbated since 2008. We conclude that the adaptive governance framework for NRM needs urgent attention so that important environmental management problems can be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem, research strategy and findings: On January 10, 2011, the town of Grantham, Queensland (Australia), was inundated with a flash flood in which 12 of the town's 370 residents drowned. The overall damage bill in Queensland was AUD∃2.38 billion (USD∃2.4 billion) with 35 deaths, and more than three-quarters of the state was declared a flood disaster zone. In this study, we focus on the unusual and even rare decision to relocate Grantham in March 2011. The Lockyer Valley Regional Council (LVRC) acquired a 377-hectare (932-acre) site to enable a voluntary swap of equivalent-sized lots. In addition, planning regulations were set aside to streamline the relocation of a portion of the town. We review the natural hazard literature as it relates to community relocation, state and local government documents related to Grantham, and reports and newspaper articles related to the flood. We also analyze data from interviews with key stakeholders. We document the process of community relocation, assess the relocation process in Grantham against best practice, examine whether the process of community relocation can be upscaled and if the Grantham relocation is an example of good planning or good politics. Takeaway for practice: Our study reveals two key messages for practice. Community relocation (albeit a small one) is possible, and the process can be done quickly; some Grantham residents moved into their new, relocated homes in December 2012, just 11 months after the flood. Moreover, the role of existing planning regulations can be a hindrance to quick action; political leadership, particularly at the local level, is key to implementing the relocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian government is constructing a National Broadband Network (NBN), which at an estimated cost of $43 billion will be Australia's largest ever infrastructure project. The NBN, if its full benefits are to be realized, raises a number of important, but largely unexplored, questions for planning. This paper investigates the implications of the NBN for Australian metropolitan planning focusing on the question of how these plans will exploit the NBN to improve urban outcomes. The paper examines the Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane metropolitan areas and analyses the strategies shaping the future of these regions during the rollout and implementation of the NBN. This comparative analysis reveals similarities across these three metropolitan areas in their weak stance towards the NBN. Some key findings include: (1) a segregation of infrastructure planning and metropolitan planning; (2) a lack of consistency between different policies within each metropolitan area and (3) policy gaps regarding the role of telecommunications at the metropolitan level. Considering the number of governments worldwide that are making large investments in high-speed broadband, this paper addresses policy issues that will impact upon metropolitan planning well beyond the borders of Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this novel study, a gender audit was conducted to assess how the Seoul (Metro) and Jakarta (MRT) subway systems respond to women's needs. The audit revealed that both Seoul Metro and MRT Jakarta have made significant efforts to accommodate the needs of all passengers, including women. This is commendable because a public transit system that works well for women works better for everyone. With some improvements, both subways could achieve Universal Design standards. The audit protocol developed can be employed to periodically monitor other subway systems in Asia and measure progress towards gender mainstreaming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Intra-household interactions are captured in first and last mile travel mode choice. • This article reflects heterogeneity of group decision-making. • Car-oriented households have more young children and cars. • Households with fewer young children are likely to adopt walking for joint travel. In the context of public transport, the first and last mile (FLM) travel refers to access to or egress from public transport stations. The poor connection between trip origins and destinations impedes the transition towards sustainable transport by requiring commuters to initially use their cars to travel the FLM. Existing literature identifies that the built and natural environment characteristics influence the travel mode choice for FLM travel. However, this literature has yet to consider how individual FLM travel mode choices are influenced by other household members, i.e., intra-household interactions. Here, this study draws on the notion of household modality style (i.e., reflecting heterogeneity in group decision-making) to account for intra-household interactions in FLM travel mode choice. For broadening the understanding of intra-household interactions, the decision of joint travel is also considered in the current study when understanding FLM travel mode choice. By defining the latent class structure at the household level using a household travel survey for Brisbane, Australia, the latent class nested logit models identify two household modality styles: (1) car-oriented; and (2) multimodal. When considering the decision of joint travel, each household modality style group has a specific preference towards FLM travel time, public transport accessibility, station density, and road network intersection density. These findings provide evidence for policymakers aiming to develop transport integration policies targeting specific household types. The results also have implications in practice through prioritisations of distinct household modality styles more likely to shift towards sustainable transport modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first and last mile (FLM) problem is the lack of adequate connectivity between transit stations and trip origins/destinations. Consequently, this problem increases the probability of driving private cars directly to the destinations and reduces the patronage of public transit. For appealing the use of sustainable transport for accessing public transit, it is imperative to identify the factors influencing FLM travel mode choice. This review synthesizes the empirical FLM literature and identifies the key factors that influence FLM travel mode choice including conventional factors (e.g. socio-demographic characteristics and built environments); exogenous factors that can reduce the appeal of sustainable FLM transport (e.g. crime and weather); and unique factors related to emerging transport and informal public transit. From these findings, we chart a future FLM research agenda under three thematic areas: (1) theory for enhancing the understanding of FLM travel mode choice; (2) data and modeling approaches for discussing the feasibility of using emerging data sources and providing modeling avenues to progress; (3) policy and practice for encouraging the use of sustainable travel for FLM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scientific consensus has recently emerged suggesting that the dominant twentieth century paradigm of solving transportation congestion problems by building more freeways failed. The legacy of the freeway construction era is clearly visible in polluted and congested cities worldwide. To battle these ills, planning academics have been promoting more sustainable built form aligned with dedicated public/active transport provision. Partly as a result of the push coming from academia, a number of cities have sought to remove their freeways and replace the freed up space with alternate transport infrastructure, such as streets and boulevards. To discern if the transportation planning profession is currently undergoing a paradigm shift or whether freeway removal is merely a temporary fad, we have conducted a systematic review of the literature. In this article, we unpack the underlying reasons which have led some cities to removing their freeways. Results reveal that a paradigm shift has arguably not yet taken place in transportation planning. While many cities are creating human-scale and active transport spaces, currently these spaces tend to coexist alongside freeways. American cities, which were once the pioneers of freeway construction, appear to be lagging behind cities in Europe and Asia in this respect. If the current pace of freeway removal continues, it may take a few decades before the transportation planners, politicians, policy makers, and communities adopt radically different norms, methods, and goals. However, a radical approach may need to be taken sooner given alarming global warming predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the spatial linkages between natural amenities and tourism employment spillovers under alternative neighbourhood structures. A main contribution is to contrast models where economic distance defines neighbouring regions with a model where the spatial structure is defined by geographical proximity. Significant spillovers are found not only between geographical neighbours, but also between economic neighbours with important implications for policy design. Internet, population, regional parks and state forests and World Heritage Areas are found to be important drivers of regional spillovers. This study uses data for Queensland, Australia, however the approach and conclusions can be extrapolated to similar economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing global energy prices have created serious pressure on transport and energy in Australian cities. The rising cost of transport and energy, combined with the price of housing in metropolitan areas, has placed households under greater economic pressure. This paper investigates how increased household transport costs interact with housing costs in Brisbane, Australia. Drawing on data from journey to work and Australia’s Green Vehicle Guide, we estimated household transport costs associated with private vehicle fuel use for work travel. By linking household transport costs with housing costs across urban areas we were able to explore: 1) the spatial relationship between household transport fuel costs and direct spending on housing; and 2) areas of households under the highest pressure from transport costs and housing costs. We then estimated how rising fuel prices in Brisbane were likely to affect household housing location. We consider the trends of transport and housing costs and how they might affect urban spatial structure in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many cities are seeking to optimise the ecosystem service benefits of urban trees by incorporating goals for increasing tree canopy cover into strategies that promote liveability and urban sustainability. We adapt revealed preference valuation techniques as a combined policy evaluation and business case tool with broader application to urban forest planning and investment. We use spatial hedonic price modelling of 2,299 house sales across 80 sample sites in 52 residential Brisbane suburbs, to reveal home-buyers willingness to pay 3.73% more for houses in streets with target levels of footpath tree cover (50% tree canopy coverage of the footpath zone by 2031) nearby (within 100m). An estimate of the contribution of 2010 levels of footpath tree cover (35%) to the prices of houses sold in 2010 ($US15.03 – 15.91 million) far exceeded annual costs to those home owners in local property taxes. Associated annual rates revenues ($US 0.51 – 0.53 million) to local government and stamp duty revenues ($US 0.53 – 0.60 million) to state government help justify ongoing collaborative investment to achieve target levels of footpath tree cover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public transport (PT) has become important in everyday travels in Australian cities. Rising PT fares create a competitive disadvantage against private motor vehicles which is threatening PT ridership. This paper seeks to gain further insights into transport disadvantage by exploring spatial patterns of household transport expenditure on PT fares and private vehicle fuel use for the Brisbane metropolitan area. Several datasets are used to measure mode-specific transport costs, including the journey to work matrix, fuel efficiency of the private vehicle fleet and PT fares for the city. Through an advanced spatial analysis, the results show that PT was not a cost-effective means of transport for households when compared to private motor vehicles. The paper then compares mode-specific trip costs with patterns of suburban socio-economic disadvantage in Brisbane. We demonstrate that the high PT fares increase household exposure to higher transport costs and compound other forms of transport disadvantage and vulnerability, particularly in outer suburban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian cities have seen continued growth in private car travel that has resulted in increasing vehicle energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. While much research has shown that vehicle demand is related to urban spatial structure, very little research has investigated the spatial patterns of private vehicle fuel efficiency (VFE) and its association with socio-spatial circumstances in urban areas. This study has combined State-level motor vehicle registration datasets with standard vehicle efficiency measures that permit a comprehensive understanding of spatial variation of VFE in urban areas. A spatial-based technique was applied to explore intra-urban patterns in socio-spatial conditions of private vehicle efficiency in Brisbane and Sydney. In both cities, the VFE of the private vehicle fleet tends to be lower in outer suburbs than in middle and inner suburbs. The analysis further shows that by linking the standard vehicle efficiency measures to the entire urban fleet datasets the VFE outcome showed a moderate relationship to socio-spatial variables in both cities. The built environment and household economic status are more transferable factors that relate to the VFE across different urban contexts. Outcomes from this research are of relevance to policy makers charged with identifying highly oil-vulnerable communities and designing intervention strategies to improve household vehicle efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an investigation of the open-system Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network on property values. An open-system BRT is one where bus feeder lines can enter and leave the BRT system, depending on their origin or destination so the BRT system infrastructure is shared by multiple routes. Brisbane, Australia is the empirical setting where smartcard (GoCard) data shows that 43% of bus passengers accessed the BRT system from feeder line stops. The paper investigates whether feeder line stops are important for increasing network accessibility in Brisbane's open-system BRT. The hypothesis underpinning the study is that the improved accessibility resulting from an open-system BRT network results in higher property values within feeder line corridors in addition to simply around the BRT system. A Geographically Weighted Generalized Linear Model (GWGLM) is used to investigate property value premiums and their spatial distribution. GWGLM makes an improvement over Geographically Weighted Regression Model (GWR) by providing flexible local and global variable settings that decrease the risk of multi-collinearity in local models. The results identify property value uplift of up to 1.64% for every 100 m closer to feeder bus stops with frequent services in western and eastern Brisbane suburbs. Future studies should pay attention to the type of BRT operation (whether open- or closed-) in investigating the value of accessibility from BRT implementation. The results are policy relevant for the debate between whether BRT systems should be open or closed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The aim of the present study was to compare sociodemographic characteristics of children with single versus recurrent episodes of injury and provide contemporary evidence for Australian injury prevention policy development. Methods Participants were identified from the Environments for Healthy Living: Griffith Birth Cohort Study 2006-11 (n=2692). Demographic data were linked to the child's hospital emergency and admissions data from birth to December 2013. Data were dichotomised in two ways: (1) injured or non-injured; and (2) single or recurrent episodes of injury. Multivariate logistic regression was used for analysis. Results The adjusted model identified two factors significantly associated with recurrent episodes of injury in children aged <3 years. Children born to mothers <25 years were almost fourfold more likely to have recurrent episodes of injury compared with children of mothers aged ≥35 years (adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=3.68; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.44-9.39) and, as a child's age at first injury increased, odds of experiencing recurrent episodes of injury decreased (aOR=0.97; 95% CI 0.94-0.99). No differences were found in sociodemographic characteristics of children aged 3-7 years with single versus recurrent episodes of injury (P>0.1).Conclusion National priorities should include targeted programs addressing the higher odds of recurrent episodes of injury experienced by children aged <3 years with younger mothers or those injured in the first 18 months of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governance continues to be a challenge in the management and conservation of natural resources. It is difficult to strategically address governance challenges without understanding the dynamics, capacities, and knowledge application of institutions within such governance systems. This article examines the use of Governance Systems Analysis (GSA) to compare, evaluate, and benchmark governance arrangements for regional natural resource management (NRM) planning. It is applied in two Australian regional NRM case studies in Cape York and the Wet Tropics. Our analysis of governance arrangements for NRM planning in the two regions finds that while they are structurally and functionally similar, they have different capacities for decision making about planning. The article concludes with a discussion of the usefulness and implications of using the GSA as an evaluative framework to analyze governance in regional NRM planning systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to describe the validity of parent's self-reported responses to questions on home safety practices for children of 2–4 years. A cross-sectional validation study compared parent's self-administered responses to items in the Home Injury Prevention Survey with home observations undertaken by trained researchers. The relationship between the questionnaire and observation results was assessed using percentage agreement, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and intraclass correlation coefficients. Percentage agreements ranged from 44% to 100% with 40 of the total 45 items scoring higher than 70%. Sensitivities ranged from 0% to 100%, with 27 items scoring at least 70%. Specificities also ranged from 0% to 100%, with 33 items scoring at least 70%. As such, the study identified a series of self-administered home safety questions that have sensitivities, specificities and predictive values sufficiently high to allow the information to be useful in research and injury prevention practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study examined the relationship between home risk and hospital treated injury in Australian children up to five years old. Women with children between two and four years of age enrolled in the Environments for Healthy Living (EFHL): Griffith Birth Cohort Study were invited to complete a Home Injury Prevention Survey from March 2013 to June 2014. A total home risk score (HRS) was calculated and linked to the child's injury related state-wide hospital emergency and admissions data and EFHL baseline demographic surveys. Data from 562 households relating to 566 child participants were included. We found an inverse relationship between home risk and child injury, with children living in homes with the least injury risk (based on the absence of hazardous structural features of the home and safe practices reported) having 1.90 times the injury rate of children living in high risk homes (95% CI 1.15–3.14). Whilst this appears counter-intuitive, families in the lowest risk homes were more likely to be socio-economically disadvantaged than families in the highest risk homes (more sole parents, lower maternal education levels, younger maternal age and lower income). After adjusting for demographic and socio-economic factors, the relationship between home risk and injury was no longer significant (p > 0.05). Our findings suggest that children in socio-economically deprived families have higher rates of injury, despite living in a physical environment that contains substantially fewer injury risks than their less deprived counterparts. Although measures to reduce child injury risk through the modification of the physical environment remain an important part of the injury prevention approach, our study findings support continued efforts to implement societal-wide, long term policy and practice changes to address the socioeconomic differentials in child health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex intersecting social, economic and environmental dilemmas in Australia's Cape York Peninsula present a number of challenges for planners seeking to develop and implement land use and natural resource management (NRM) plans. There have been five different attempts at land use and NRM planning in Cape York Peninsula over the last 20 years. These processes have (to greater or lesser extents) failed to deliver community-owned and government-supported plans to guide development and/or the management of the region's natural resources. The region is remote, sparsely populated, and home to a significant Indigenous population. Much of the contestation within the region surrounds the access, use and ownership of the region's internationally valuable natural resources. This paper reviews, from the literature, the relevancy and applicability of criteria for best practice planning and governance. A range of identified best practice governance and planning principles are applied to assess the governance arrangements for planning in the Peninsula. The paper finds that decision-making arrangements for land use and NRM planning in the Peninsula are still in their infancy and are inadequate to support effective outcomes. The paper concludes that broader attention to best practice principles in governance for planning is needed to improve planning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]