Achieving ‘Active’ 30 Minute Cities: How Feasible Is It to Reach Work within 30 Minutes Using Active Transport Modes?

Alan Both,Lucy Gunn,Melanie Davern,Afshin Jafari,Carl Higgs,Claire Boulange,Billie Giles-Corti

doi:10.3390/ijgi11010058

Alan Both, Lucy Gunn + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi11010058

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Abstract

Confronted with rapid urbanization, population growth, traffic congestion, and climate change, there is growing interest in creating cities that support active transport modes including walking, cycling, or public transport. The ‘30 minute city’, where employment is accessible within 30 min by active transport, is being pursued in some cities to reduce congestion and foster local living. This paper examines the spatial relationship between employment, the skills of residents, and transport opportunities, to answer three questions about Australia’s 21 largest cities: (1) What percentage of workers currently commute to their workplace within 30 min? (2) If workers were to shift to an active transport mode, what percent could reach their current workplace within 30 min? and (3) If it were possible to relocate workers closer to their employment or relocate employment closer to their home, what percentage could reach work within 30 min by each mode? Active transport usage in Australia is low, with public transport, walking, and cycling making up 16.8%, 2.8%, and 1.1% respectively of workers’ commutes. Cycling was found to have the most potential for achieving the 30 min city, with an estimated 29.5% of workers able to reach their current workplace were they to shift to cycling. This increased to 69.1% if workers were also willing and able to find a similar job closer to home, potentially reducing commuting by private motor vehicle from 79.3% to 30.9%.

Highlights

Cities are economic hubs, providing access to employment, services, and resources [1].Whilst many factors such as gentrification [2,3], culture and context [4,5] influence city development, it is city planning and economic development policies that predominantly determine a city’s structure and the location of employment [6]
Public transport commuting was higher in Australia’s two largest (19.0% in Melbourne and 27.5% in Sydney) and medium-sized (14.2% in Brisbane and 12.7% in Perth) capital cities compared with smaller capital and regional cities with a working population of less than 500,000
The job-worker shift scenario assumes that all workers can adopt a particular travel need for travel and encourage active modes of transport, there are challenges in doing so in mode and can change either their job or home location to minimize commuting time

Summary

Introduction

Cities are economic hubs, providing access to employment, services, and resources [1] Whilst many factors such as gentrification [2,3], culture and context [4,5] influence city development, it is city planning and economic development policies that predominantly determine a city’s structure and the location of employment [6]. This affects the time spent commuting and the extent to which residents use active forms of transport such as walking, cycling, and public transport [7]. There is growing interest in creating cities that reduce the need to travel, with amenities and employment accessible using active transport modes such as walking, cycling, and public transit [18]

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