Sustainable mobility on Earth: Skåne and South East Queensland

In sustainable mobility projects worldwide, the trend seems to be to work locally or regionally. In mobility management, on the other hand, broader strategies are gaining ground. The Dutch mobility management programme initiated by SenterNovem is an example of the national approach. But a strong case can be made for the regional outlook.

Both the Australian region of South East Queensland (SEQ) and the Swedish Skåne area tend to approach the challenges and possibilities of sustainable mobility mainly in a regional context. National and international policies are welcome, but not at the expense of regional responsibilities. (Note that in a border region where there is much commuting, as in the Malmö-Copenhagen region, a regional policy can and should be international at the same time.)

In sparsely populated areas national or federal governments always seem further away than in densely populated ones.

Skåne: international commuting

Although Skåne is an urbanised region, most other countries wouldn't be impressed by its number of inhabitants: 1.2 million. But because of the relative population density in the region's urban parts, public transport is well organised. Almost every urban part of the region can be reached within an hour by public transport. Most of the area is suitable for cycling to work as well.

From Skåne's largest city, Malmö, the Danish capital of Copenhagen is just a thirty minute ride by train (or car) away since the Oresund bridge between the two cities opened in 2000.

Regional responsibility
In Sweden the municipalities have planning responsibility and the county councils only have advisory powers. But county councils want to increase their influence in regional matters. County council Region Skåne, for example, is also involved in regional planning. Funds for infrastructural investments are, by the way, national, not regional.

Jonas Lindkvist, working for the regional center for sustainable transports, called Hållbar Mobilitet Skåne (Sustainable Mobility Skåne), is a proponent of regional responsibility.

“Several of the 33 municipalities in the region are showing a great interest in sustainable transports and mobility management as a way to decrease congestion and pollution. (...) I think it's good with increased regional responsibility in strategic planning instead of national. I think it's easier to involve the municipalities in for example preventing global warming with a strong regional perspective. I also think it's great with the Malmö-Copenhagen region. It's interesting to merge the two cities over the national borders,” says Lindkvist.

He is enthusiastic about the regional administrative board's follow up on the national environmental objectives. The long-term regional infrastructure planning process is a good example of the benefits of a regional perspective on planning.

We will see a similar successful connection between the different levels of government in Australia.

Crucial
From across the globe, Pepijn Thijsse, working for the Australian region of SEQ, points out the one crucial condition for a successful regional, as opposed to national, approach: knowledge sharing. There is much to be done in this area. Says Thijsse, in Australia “[i]ronically the amount of knowledge sharing across areas is fairly limited to conferences etc.”

South East Queensland: car dependence
The city of Brisbane, in SEQ, is one of the fastest growing regions in the Western world, currently growing at over 1,000 people per week and expected to continue growing at this rate. This places considerable pressure on the transport system.

Thijsse explains the high use of and dependence on cars from the structure of Australian cities and vice versa (your classic chicken or egg situation).

“Cities almost invariably consist of vast low density suburbs and dispersed employment and commercial land use, encircling a relatively strong central business district. This structure makes it difficult to service with frequent public transport.” He continues: “The dispersed distribution of people and of employment, recreation and education opportunities [...] is amplifying the need for people and goods (freight) to move around.”

Land use and transport integration
Australia has three levels of government responsible for urban and transport planning. The federal government looks after the national road and rail (non-passenger) network, the state government controls the state's road network and the urban public transport systems, whereas local governments are responsible for local roads and local aspects of public transport system planning and management.

The main strategic Australian responses in urban and regional planning, are ensuring land use and transport are more integrated, by minimizing congestion through targeted investment in road infrastructure; making more efficient use of existing infrastructure and at the same time stimulating the use of public transport and cycling and walking as an alternative to car travelling.

An example of the ‘land use - transport integration approach’ is the local project Varsity Station Village, a so-called ‘transit oriented community’. This is a compact urban village, comprising a mix of housing, commercial offices, shops, community facilities, parks and open spaces, built around a public transport hub (a train station and/or bus interchange). Transit oriented communities reduce the need to travel from the outset and the dependence on cars in particular. They allow travelling to be more sustainable by offering alternative modes of transport.

Government levels cooperate
With over $35billion planned for balanced transport infrastructure investment over the next twenty years, the SEQ Infrastructure Plan and Program supports the legally binding SEQ Regional Plan. The latter sets the direction to 2026, presenting a number of policies, all varieties of the land use - transport integration approach. All eighteen local governments in SEQ are required to develop twenty-year plans to support the achievement of the Regional Plan. So different levels of government are working together on one strategy.

There are other strategies being pursued at the same time, explains Thijsse, for example fuel efficiency measures. But these, in Australia, have to be taken at federal government level, “and there has not been a strong policy push in this area yet. Currently, the tax structure also favours more driving. However, more attention is beginning to be given to fuel efficiency in relation to rising petrol prices and discussion around a possible peak in world oil production.”

In both regions, however far apart, the most promising road to successful sustainable mobility management, then, seems to be to maintain regional responsibility, supported by national funding and policy and aided by the cooperation of the region's municipalities.