“We can all just get on a bus and go” : Rethinking independent mobility in the context of the universal provision of free bus travel to young Londoners

This paper uses qualitative data from interviews with 118 young Londoners (age 12-18) to examine how the universal provision of free bus travel has affected young people’s independent mobility. Drawing on Sen’s ‘capabilities approach’, we argue that free bus travel enhanced young Londoners’ capability to shape their daily mobility, both directly by increasing financial access and indirectly by facilitating the acquisition of the necessary skills, travelling companions and confidence. These capabilities in turn extended both opportunity freedoms (e.g. facilitating non-“necessary” recreational and social trips) and process freedoms (e.g. feeling more independent by decreasing reliance on parents). Moreover, the universal nature of the entitlement rendered buses a socially inclusive way for groups to travel and spend time together, thereby enhancing group-level capabilities. We believe this attention to individual and group capabilities for self-determination provides the basis for a broader and more child-centred view of ‘independent mobility’ than the typical research focus upon ‘travelling without an adult’ and acquiring parental permissions.Peer reviewe

Gender differences in the perception of safety in public transport

Concerns over women's safety on public transport systems are commonly reported in the media. In this paper we develop statistical models to test for gender differences in the perception of safety and satisfaction on urban metros and buses using large-scale unique customer satisfaction data for 28 world cities over the period 2009 to 2018. Results indicate a significant gender gap in the perception of safety, with women being 10\% more likely than men to feel unsafe in metros (6% for buses). This gender gap is larger for safety than for overall satisfaction (3% in metros and 2.5% in buses), which is consistent with safety being one dimension of overall satisfaction. Results are stable across specifications and robust to inclusion of city-level and time controls. We find heterogeneous responses by sociodemographic characteristics. Data indicates 45% of women feel secure in trains and metro stations (respectively 55% in buses). Thus the gender gap encompasses more differences in transport perception between men and women rather than an intrinsic network fear. Additional models test for the influence of metro characteristics on perceived safety levels and find that that more acts of violence, larger carriages, and emptier vehicles decrease women's feeling of safety

The loneliness of the long-distance runner: Long-term feminist planning initiatives in London, Melbourne, Montréal and Toronto

C1 - Journal Articles Referee

Women's safety audits and walking school buses: The diffusion/de-fusion of two radical planning ideas

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Vertical living kids: creating supportive environments for children in Melbourne's central city high rises

State of Australian Cities National Conference (SOAC

Community Safety Indicators: 'What works, what doesn't, what's promising'

State of Australian Cities National Conference (SOAC

The shock of the huge: Teaching urban planning through experiential learning in large classes

The advantages of teaching urban planning through providing 'real life' problem-based experiences have long been discussed with Australian and international planning schools (Tyson and Low, 1987; Kotval, 2003; Budge and Butt, 2009). However, most of the examples described in this research are from small classes, such as intensive design studios. What happens when you have 250 students in an undergraduate subject, all of whom are potentially interested in making cities better, but few of whom know anything about planning? This paper looks at the example of an undergraduate class called 'Cities: from Local to Global' in an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Environments course at the University of Melbourne. The subject introduces urban planning to undergraduates in planning and design, property, and architecture majors. For the past two years, the subject has incorporated experiential learning based on partnerships with the Department of Transport (on improving walkability) and Places Victoria, the state-owned development agency (on resident preferences in an inner suburb undergoing rapid change). Using the data collected by students for their 'clients', student essays, and both formal and informal student evaluations, the challenges and successes of this experiment will be analysed to conclude whether active experiential learning exercises can combat the sense of anonymity and ennui often met with in large lecture-based classes