Researchers from RMIT University’s Healthy Liveable Cities Group and Cambridge University have been awarded over $800,000 in funding for a new project which will model and test the benefits of transport planning in creating healthier and more sustainable cities across Australia and the UK.

Funded by the UK Medical Research Council and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Distinguished Professor Billie Giles-Corti and Vice Chancellors Research Fellow Belen Zapata Diomedi from RMIT Centre for Urban Research, together with James Woodcock from University of Cambridge, will be leading this new project.

“Currently in the UK, there are no consistent measurements of many important liveability factors, like how easy it is to get to the shops or public transport in different neighbourhoods.

“This means we have not been able to predict what might happen to people’s health if these factors changed.

“This makes it hard for planners to make changes in land use and transport policies, because they don’t have the evidence to show which design changes will benefit the health of communities the most.

“On the other hand, although our team at RMIT have developed detailed measures of liveability (in the Australian Urban Observatory), comprehensive studies linking possible changes in liveability to health outcomes are still missing in Australia.

This work builds on the research Healthy Liveable Cites Group have been doing with CAUL Hub, NHMRC and The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre. Research that also supported the development of liveability measures included in the Australian Urban Observatory.

Join RMIT University and the Urban Futures Capability Platform for two fantastic Active Transport webinars on Wednesday 3rd June.

The Impacts of Active Transport: a Multi-Disciplinary Research and Practice Field 

These webinars brings together the international research and practitioner community in transport impact assessment. 

The webinars will be run at two session times on Wednesday 3rd June –

Session 1 – 17:00 to 20:30h AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
Presenters – Dhirendra Singh, Joseph Stordy, Emily Coldbeck, Bert Van Wee, Audrey de Nazelle, María José Rojo Callizo, Alexandre Santacreu, James Woodcock
Chairs – Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Belen Zapata Diomedi

Register for Session 1 here.

Session 2 – 17:00 – 20:30h CEST (Central European Summer Time)
Presenters – Rolf Moeckel, Susan Handy, Kelly Clinton, Neil Maizlish, Thomas Götschi, Rachel Aldred, Stefan Gössling, Verónica Sánchez
Chairs – Haneen Khreis, James Woodcock

Register for Session 2 here.

Visit RMIT Centre for Urban Research for more information.

The Australian Urban Observatory was featured in a recent article in The Age.

What can Melburnians learn about their suburb thanks to coronavirus?

Here are the key takeaways:

• Not all suburbs are created equally, and not everyone has access to amenities like being able to walk or ride to local parks and supermarkets in their neighbourhood.

• We know that liveability is connected to the social determinants of health. Where you live, learn, work, play, age – those things all influence your health and wellbeing long-term.

• The AUO shows, in map-form, collated research into a range of indicators that contribute to making a place liveable, including walkability, social infrastructure, access to local employment, public transport and public open space.

• People’s lived experience is that access to these amenities improves quality of life.

• There are ways to create liveability in our less-dense middle and outer suburbs like townhouses with rear access for cars, rather than driveways across footpaths.