City Of Wollongong Research Articles

More-than-transactional circular economies: the café-urban farm nexus and emergent regional food waste circuits

ABSTRACT As governments encourage circular economy (CE) initiatives, markets for waste recirculation are taking shape. But implementation is in its infancy and material circuits are emergent. Early food waste CEs shaped by commercial players emphasise capital investment, routinised forms of waged labour, processing sites distant from food waste sources, and transactional relationships. Less well understood is the potential for vernacular circularity beyond market-based, transactional frames. This paper reports from a collaborative research exercise with a non-profit community farm in nonmetropolitan Australia, seeking to connect with cafés to access food waste for composting. Cafés are a nexus of production and consumption, ubiquitous in the contemporary multicultural Australian context, and therefore ideal for grassroots CEs. Ten local cafes participated, reviewing existing food waste practices, motivations for circularity, and contextual factors including the regional setting. We found that food waste circularity emerges via divergent pathways related to enterprise type and scale, environmental values of actors, place embeddedness, and local relationships. These pathways reflect the place-based attributes and diverse sustainability values of residents and businesses in the coastal, industrial city of Wollongong, where the study is based. Contrasting distant, transactional circuits, are more-than-transactional food waste pathways, developed by microscale actors shaping vernacular material flows and “hacking” public provision of Food Organic and Garden Organic (FOGO) waste services to mobilise environmental values and community relationships. Overlooked by “big policy” more-than-transactional relationships bind producers, intermediaries and consumers in closer loops and, in so doing, enrich place and facilitate an ethic of care for soil and land.

Critical antagonisms: cycling and territory

ABSTRACT Slower speed limits and regulated passing distances between motor vehicles and bicycles are now taken-for-granted in policies aimed at increasing cycling participation rates by addressing safety concerns in societies dominated by cars. Rather than understanding distance as a measurement between two points, this paper addresses the sensibilities of proximity. This paper draws on the work of Deleuze and Guattari and the related concepts of assemblage, territory and critical distance, to better understand how subjectivities emerge through sensations of proximity-in-motion while riding a bike. Attention turns to how experiences of risk underpin an encroachment on personal space that transforms the affective capacities of cycling bodies to ride specific routes along roads, footpaths and cycleways. The article engages with the situated cycling experiences of 28 individuals who ride for leisure and/or transport, who consented to participate in a cycling sensory ethnography in the small city of Wollongong, Australia. Greater appreciation of how sensations of antagonism triggered by proximity-in-cycling-motion, work to reinforce or challenge subjectivities may offer insights to improve actual and perceived safety for cyclists beyond fixed distance policy concepts.

Embodied spatial mobility (in)justice: Cycling refrains and pedalling geographies of men, masculinities, and love

AbstractThis paper seeks to better understand spatial mobility justice with reference to the bodily sensations of cycling, discerned here as different pedalling rhythms in emergent territories that our participants narrate as “love.” Differential or striated mobility is not just the result of gendered, classed, and racialised social norms but is productive of the frictions and affordances of these social hierarchies. We build on these arguments by asking the question: Are some places more affective than others in working for and against mobility justice for cyclists? This paper takes up this challenge by drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s notions of the refrain. In this way, mobility justice is conceptualised as repeated sequences of living that temporarily order space, time, bodies, and selves through which differential subjects and uneven spatial conditions are constituted. Through an appreciation of mobility justice as a mobile assemblage comprised of rhythmic qualities of spatiality, contingent subjects, embodied knowledge, and fleeting practice, the paper draws on the experiences of three men‐who‐cycle and drive to map processes of gendered, classed, sexed, and aged inclusion and exclusion from public space in the car‐dominated small city of Wollongong, Australia. Considering the politics of “love,” we explore the possibility of cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers to move together, or not, in proximity with each other.

Economic and socio‐spatial diversification in Wollongong’s metropolitan evolution: Divergent suburbanising trajectories of Dapto and Thirroul

AbstractThe eastern Australian city of Wollongong has a distinctive metropolitan evolution strongly shaped by its exceptional physical site and imposition onto a prior urban network. This change over time has led to complexity and variability in local suburbanising trajectories that are revealed in the contrasting histories of Dapto and Thirroul—once settlements in their own rights, now suburbs of the greater metropolitan area that is Wollongong. Insights gained in field surveys undertaken in 1962 and 1963 by students from the University of New England, supplemented by 1961 census data, provided a cross‐sectional overview of the critical initial phase in the suburbanising transition, involving flux in both workforce and workplace. Locality data from the 2017 census and reconnaissance survey provided a chance to engage in a longitudinal enquiry into their evolving roles as suburbs within the emergent Wollongong metropolis. Suburbanisation inevitably leads to socioeconomic differentiation driven by amenity versus affordability gradients, evidenced in demographic profiles and real estate values. Wollongong’s distinctive natural landscapes have become increasingly influential in socioeconomic polarisation, partially aligned to its exceptional physical site, reflected in the evolving contrasted identities and status of Dapto and Thirroul. While Dapto has presented yet another case study in incipient working‐class decomposition and welfare dependency, Thirroul’s distinctive natural assets have driven its transformation as a gentrified locale increasingly inhabited by the professional and managerial classes. The time span extending over six decades between the two surveys presented an exceptional opportunity for longitudinal socio‐spatial research into residential decision processes.

Young men’s sports betting assemblages: masculinities, homosociality and risky places

ABSTRACT Place and gender are key notions for interpreting gambling. Canvassing the work of Deleuze and Guattari, this article elaborates the concept of sports betting assemblages to better understand the everyday geographies of gambling. The account draws on a sensory ethnography with young men who use smartphone sports betting applications in the context of the regional city of Wollongong, Australia. It asks what geographers can contribute to gambling studies when sports betting and the socio-material arrangements that constitute them are conceived as essential components of place and gender. Our aim is to open debates about sports betting and risk beyond a conventional focus on genetics, psychological makeup, social structures and representations. Particular attention is given to the emotional and affective geographies found in the making and unmaking of sports betting using smartphone betting applications. We argue that paying attention to emotions and affective geographies is critical if accounts of sports betting applications are to move beyond simplified biological or representational accounts.

Composition of Clean Marine Air and Biogenic Influences on VOCs during the MUMBA Campaign

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important precursors to the formation of ozone and fine particulate matter, the two pollutants of most concern in Sydney, Australia. Despite this importance, there are very few published measurements of ambient VOC concentrations in Australia. In this paper, we present mole fractions of several important VOCs measured during the campaign known as MUMBA (Measurements of Urban, Marine and Biogenic Air) in the Australian city of Wollongong (34°S). We particularly focus on measurements made during periods when clean marine air impacted the measurement site and on VOCs of biogenic origin. Typical unpolluted marine air mole fractions during austral summer 2012-2013 at latitude 34°S were established for CO2 (391.0 ± 0.6 ppm), CH4 (1760.1 ± 0.4 ppb), N2O (325.04 ± 0.08 ppb), CO (52.4 ± 1.7 ppb), O3 (20.5 ± 1.1 ppb), acetaldehyde (190 ± 40 ppt), acetone (260 ± 30 ppt), dimethyl sulphide (50 ± 10 ppt), benzene (20 ± 10 ppt), toluene (30 ± 20 ppt), C8H10 aromatics (23 ± 6 ppt) and C9H12 aromatics (36 ± 7 ppt). The MUMBA site was frequently influenced by VOCs of biogenic origin from a nearby strip of forested parkland to the east due to the dominant north-easterly afternoon sea breeze. VOCs from the more distant densely forested escarpment to the west also impacted the site, especially during two days of extreme heat and strong westerly winds. The relative amounts of different biogenic VOCs observed for these two biomes differed, with much larger increases of isoprene than of monoterpenes or methanol during the hot westerly winds from the escarpment than with cooler winds from the east. However, whether this was due to different vegetation types or was solely the result of the extreme temperatures is not entirely clear. We conclude that the clean marine air and biogenic signatures measured during the MUMBA campaign provide useful information about the typical abundance of several key VOCs and can be used to constrain chemical transport model simulations of the atmosphere in this poorly sampled region of the world.

Particle Formation in a Complex Environment

A field aerosol measurement campaign as part of the Measurements of Urban, Marine and Biogenic Air (MUMBA) campaign was conducted between 16 January 2013 and 15 February 2013 in the coastal city of Wollongong, Australia. The objectives of this research were to study the occurrence frequency, characteristics and factors that influence new particle formation processes. Particle formation and growth events were observed from particle number size distribution data in the range of 14 nm–660 nm measured using a scanning particle mobility sizer (SMPS). Four weak Class I particle formation and growth event days were observed, which is equivalent to 13% of the total observation days. The events occurred during the day, starting after 8:30 Australian Eastern Standard time with an average duration of five hours. The events also appeared to be positively linked to the prevailing easterly to north easterly sea breezes that carry pollutants from sources in and around Sydney. This suggests that photochemical reactions and a combination of oceanic and anthropogenic air masses are among the factors that influenced these events.

Urban Air Quality in a Coastal City: Wollongong during the MUMBA Campaign

We present findings from the Measurements of Urban, Marine and Biogenic Air (MUMBA) campaign, which took place in the coastal city of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia. We focus on a few key air quality indicators, along with a comparison to regional scale chemical transport model predictions at a spatial resolution of 1 km by 1 km. We find that the CSIRO chemical transport model provides accurate simulations of ozone concentrations at most times, but underestimates the ozone enhancements that occur during extreme temperature events. The model also meets previously published performance standards for fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5), and the larger aerosol fraction (PM10). We explore the observed composition of the atmosphere within this urban air-shed during the MUMBA campaign and discuss the different influences on air quality in the city. Our findings suggest that further improvements to our ability to simulate air quality in this coastal city can be made through more accurate anthropogenic and biogenic emissions inventories and better understanding of the impact of extreme temperatures on air quality. The challenges in modelling air quality within the urban air-shed of Wollongong, including difficulties in accurate simulation of the local meteorology, are likely to be replicated in many other coastal cities in the Southern Hemisphere.

Characteristics of airborne particle number size distributions in a coastal-urban environment

Particle number size distributions are among the most important parameters in trying to understand the characteristics of particle population. Atmospheric particles were measured in an interaction of mixed environments in the Southeastern coastal city of Wollongong, Australia, during a comprehensive field campaign known as Measurements of Urban, Marine and Biogenic Air (MUMBA). MUMBA ran in summer season between 21st December 2012 and 15th February 2013. Particle number concentrations measured during this campaign were indicative of the interplay between marine environments and urban air which met the objective of this campaign. Particle number size distributions ranging from 14 nm to 660 nm in diameter, as measured by Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) in this study, were grouped using Principal Component Analysis. Based on strong component loadings (value ≥ 0.75), three different factors were identified (i) Small Factor (NS): 15 nm < Dp < 50 nm, (ii) Medium Factor (NM): 60 nm < Dp < 150 nm and (iii) Large Factor (NL): 210 nm < Dp < 450 nm. The three factors describe 89% of the dataset cumulative variance. Particles in this region are dependent upon the interaction between the sources, and cannot be viewed as a simple mixture of biogenic and anthropogenic sources associated with various mechanical processes. The particles observed in the morning were found to be influenced by combustion emissions, presumably primarily from traffic, which is most obvious in NL. The particle population during the day was found to be influenced by a mixture of marine sources and secondary aerosols production initiated by photochemical oxidation. The local steel works and the urban environment were the major contributors of particles at night. Secondary organic aerosols were identified in this study by the mass ratio of organic carbon to elemental carbon (OC/EC). Biogenic sources influenced secondary organic aerosols formation as a moderate correlation (R2 = 0.6) was observed between secondary organic aerosols mass and biogenic isoprene. The processes described in this paper are likely repeated at other coastal urban environments worldwide.

Making the cut: occupation-specific factors influencing employers in their recruitment and selection of immigrant professionals in the information technology and accounting occupations in regional Australia

The ongoing underutilisation of immigrant skills has become a topical issue for researchers and policy-makers alike. Within Australia, the majority of studies conducted in this space have adopted either the immigrant or policy-maker perspective, and have utilised human capital theory or labour market segmentation theory to explain the phenomenon. This paper contributes to the existing literature by proposing a novel occupation-specific approach focusing on the employer as a central player in determining labour market outcomes. In this exploratory study, interviews were conducted with 21 employers of accounting and IT employers in the regional city of Wollongong, Australia. The findings suggest that employers of accountants held a greater preference for Australian work experience and qualifications; communication skills beyond English language skills; and emphasised person–organisation fit over person–job fit. Conversely, employers of immigrant IT professionals were more tolerant of overseas-based qualifications and experience; were willing to accept candidates with ‘sub-standard’ communication skills; and were open to personal attribute variations. Immigrant accounting professionals were therefore more likely than their IT counterparts to experience disadvantage when seeking employment opportunities in Australia; a finding that represents important implications for immigrant professionals, policy-makers and employers.

Night lives: Heterotopia, youth transitions and cultural infrastructure in the urban night

This paper adapts the concept of heterotopia to understand youth transitions through spaces of night-time cultural infrastructure. While youth transitions in the urban night have been well theorised, what these transitions mean for diverse cultural infrastructure provision has received less attention. Drawing on ethnography of a local punk music scene in the Australian city of Wollongong, the paper analyses how the scene was connected to one specific venue, an alternative ‘haven’ in a monopolised night-time economy. Participants revealed a trend of repetitive yet relatively fleeting association with the local scene and venue, at times a site of hedonism and celebration but also enabling grief and rites-of-passage. Temporal elements of heterotopia are developed to interpret the venue’s valued sense of ‘difference’ during active participation, but also long after association with the space. Such transitions are poorly understood, especially in planning and policy debate, influencing the way night-time cultural infrastructure is provisioned.

Welcome to Bogan-ville: reframing class and place through humour

On August 4, 2009, Australian online news commentary website the Punch announced that Albion Park, in the Australian industrial city of Wollongong, was one of the nation's top ten “most bogan” places. This paper explores what it means to be bogan in Australia, tracing historical antecedents, local debate at the time of this media event, and the manner in which the politics of class and place identity are negotiated through humour. Some local residents railed against associations with “lower-class” culture or feared damaged reputations for their neighbourhoods; others responded in sometimes unexpected and creative ways—through humour, and by claiming bogan as an alternative source of legitimacy for working-class identity. I reflect on this case for how humour operates ambiguously in an age of email, blogs, and social media technologies—building on previous norms of media dialogue and on established understandings of class polarisation in Australian cities.

“We love the Gong”: a marketing perspective

PurposeA number of places have used the “I love” or “we love” tagline or slogan to promote their place, with the “I love New York” (using the heart symbol) possibly being the most familiar. Other places have used similar campaigns which can often be observed by the sale of merchandise from souvenir shops. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the “We love the Gong” campaign relative to the city of Wollongong, Australia.Design/methodology/approachAfter providing a background to the city of Wollongong and a brief explanation as to the meaning and use of slogans, an investigation of the campaign was undertaken by interviewing the person responsible for the campaign. Where appropriate, the explanations provided are supported by reference to local media reports and relevant literature.FindingsIt was found that the Wollongong campaign was more than a merchandising exercise. The campaign was a reaction to place identity and place image problems and was underpinned by research and a consequent marketing plan. The campaign was adequately resourced, professionally implemented, and research to monitor its effectiveness was undertaken.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the application of management and marketing principles to places by providing details of the campaign and lessons learnt from a review of its implementation.

Gatekeeping Night Spaces: the role of booking agents in creating ‘local’ live music venues and scenes

A complex relationship exists between music scenes and the infrastructure in which they are located. This article focuses on the rise and fall of the Oxford Tavern, a live music venue in the Australian city of Wollongong. Pivotal in this venue was the role that booking agents played in developing what they perceived as an inclusive, self-sufficient and vibrant music scene—by generating and then consistently implementing a strict philosophy on what music and which bands performed there. Bookings were not based on reputation, and potentially better known or more lucrative bands were regularly denied access in favour of ‘local’ bands socially connected to the music scene. These bands were authenticated as ‘local’ because of social and geographical proximity—not because of any innate musicological distinctiveness connected to Wollongong. This social geographical emphasis on ‘local’ and ‘original’ music transcended musical genre and subcultural style. Although in one sense ‘exclusionary’, gatekeeping also fostered bonds of community and belonging, creating a perceived haven for diverse local cultures within a monopolised urban nightscape. Such gatekeeping practices—explored here through interviews with booking agents and music scene participants—were pivotal to the longevity of the music venue and scene. Only when booking agents with a strong ‘local’ ethos were removed from the venue did it struggle to survive, and ultimately collapse.

Regional Union Response to Regional Restructuring: A Case Study of Union Agency

The article examines how a regional peak union council is structured in its response to regional restructuring. It focuses on an Australian regional peak union council, the South Coast Labour Council (SCLC), which pursued a goal of local employment generation from 1983 to 1996. The SCLC is based in the Illawarra region on the east coast, south of Sydney in the state of New South Wales. Its operations are centred on the city of Wollongong and Port Kembla, where the region’s economic activity is focused. The region had experienced unemployment greater than the state and national averages through the 1980s and 1990s. The article demonstrates how the SCLC’s structure allows it to perform its role as an agent of exchange with governments and employers, and thereby attempts to shape the political and industrial environment in which it resides. At the same time, the environment, in terms of government and employer policy and regional need, shapes the SCLC with it becoming involved with local employment generation.

Relationship of high energy expenditure and variation in dietary intake with reporting accuracy on 7 day food records and diet histories in a group of healthy adult volunteers.

To assess the accuracy of reporting from both a diet history and food record and identify some of the characteristics of more accurate reporters in a group of healthy adult volunteers for an energy balance study. Prospective measurements in free-living people. Wollongong, Australia. Fifteen healthy volunteers (seven male, eight female; aged 22-59 y; body mass index (BMI) 19-33 kg/m(2)) from the local community in the city of Wollongong, Australia. Measurement of energy intake via diet history interview and 7 day food records, total energy expenditure by the doubly labelled water technique over 14 days, physical activity by questionnaire, and body fat by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Increased misreporting of energy intake was associated with increased energy expenditure (r=0.90, P<0.0001, diet history; r(S)=0.79, P=0.0005, food records) but was not associated with age, sex, BMI or body fat. Range in number of recorded dinner foods correlated positively with energy expenditure (r(S)=0.63, P=0.01) and degree of misreporting (r(S)=0.71, P=0.003, diet history; r(S)=0.63, P=0.01, food records). Variation in energy intake at dinner and over the whole day identified by the food records correlated positively with energy expenditure (r=0.58, P=0.02) and misreporting on the diet history (r=0.62, P=0.01). Subjects who are highly active or who have variable dietary and exercise behaviour may be less accurate in reporting dietary intake. Our findings indicate that it may be necessary to screen for these characteristics in studies where accuracy of reporting at an individual level is critical.

Landsliding in an urban area

The city of Wollongong is nestled within a narrow coastal plain approximately 70 km south of Sydney in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia (Fig. 1 ). Over the last 150 years of settlement the population of the Wollongong area, extending from Helensburgh in the north to Windang in the south has increased to about 200 000 people. The coastal plain is triangular in shape with a coastal length of 25 km. It is widest in the south at Yallah (14 km) and narrows sharply towards the north, disappearing north of Thirroul. The coastal plain is bounded to the north, west and south by an erosional escarpment ranging in height from 300 m up to 500 m. Fig. 1 Location plan. The escarpment consists of slopes with moderate to steep inclinations with several intermediate benches and cliff lines. Spectacular cliffs of Hawkesbury Sandstone (Middle Triassic) cap the escarpment and there is dense vegetation over most of the escarpment below these cliffs (Fig. 2 ). Fig. 2 Escarpment with large rock fall debris flow near Dombarton railway siding, 1974. Photo by Young. The main road link to Sydney is the F6 freeway that traverses the escarpment via Mount Ousley Road. There are …

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS INFLUENCING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG ADULTS AGED 40-60: DATA FROM AN AUSTRALIAN CITY 98

A community-wide education program to increase physical activity participation for adults aged 40-60 years commenced in late 1995 in the coastal city of Wollongong in Australia. As baseline data, a random sample telephone survey was conducted. Measurements included validated self-reported measures of physical activity participation, categorised into `adequate activity' (>800 Kcal/week). In addition, `optimal' activity was defined as those who were at least moderately active five times per week for about 30 minutes each time (Surgeon General's 1996 recommendation). Questions were asked about intention to be more active, and the responders' perception about the supportive nature of their local environment for physical activity.Results 1200 interviews were obtained (response rate 72%). 57% were adequately active, and 16.8% were `optimally' active, both more often among males (p<0.01). 61% intended to be more physically active in the future. High proportions reported a local environment conducive to physical activity: attractive (93%), pleasant (89%), friendly (87%), close to park/beach (73%), and safe to walk by day (96%) and by night (33%). However, 44% were too busy to exercise, and 32% preferred watching TV. Adjusted odds ratios (using backward stepwise logistic regression) estimated the likelihood of being adequately active; significantly decreased odds were noted for females(OR=0.53*), being busy (0.55*), and preferring TV(0.50*). Environmental perceptions (not much traffic, attractive locality, and parks nearby) were significantly related to adequate activity, but no other demographic variables entered the model. Similar variables were associated with `optimal' activity. Intention to be more active was significantly more likely with younger age. (OR=1.4*), tertiary education (1.32*), less traffic (1.28*), and being too busy(1.58*) Conclusions: Perceptions about the local environment and bamers are new variables which show promise as predictors of physical activity in a middle aged population, useful for program development.

Wollongong: Long-Term Unemployment on the South Coast

The unemployment problem in this area is centred upon the industrial city of Wollongong. The initial unemployment blows to this region were provided by recession and structural change in the steel industry in the early 1980s.

Community and Industrial Restructuring: Responses to the Recession and its Aftermath in the Illawarra Region of Australia

The combined processes of industrial and community restructuring are examined for the steel city of Wollongong in the Illawarra region of Australia. Recessionary conditions have provided the backdrop to considerable efforts to form and effectively utilise local cross-class alliances as one means of breaking out of decline. Although some progress does appear to have been made, it remains to be seen whether this can provide long-term benefits and whether the new alliances which have formed will strengthen or disintegrate as the recession is left behind.