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NZ policy issues

Also posted in housing & building and media and urban design

Commercial Property NZ reviews ‘Growth Misconduct?’

Commercial Property NZ is an independent subscription newsletter published 24 times annually. If you wish to subscribe email Peter Hamling: peter@sigma.co.nz
If you wish to buy a copy of ‘Growth Misconduct?’ email: info@steelroberts.co.nz

See page four: CPNZ issue 90

Also posted in research and transport and urban design

Making Way for the Car: Minimum Parking Requirements and Porirua City Centre

Angus Hulme -Moir – Thesis
Minimum Parking requirements (MPRs) mandate that each new development provides enough parking to ensure ample provision at the time of peak demand. This approach tends to oversupply parking above the optimal level, and by bundling parking into the development costs, ensures that parking is free to the user. As a result, land-use and transport decisions are distorted. A case study of Porirua central business district (CBD) was undertaken to investigate the use of MPRs in the New ZEaland context, and to assess their impacts on transport and land-use patterns. Findings indicate that MPRs tend to oversupply parking relative to weekly mean and peak occupancies. Land use mapping found that 24 percent of CBD land is allocated to car parking and MPRs were shown to contribute to dispersed development patterns. Stand choice data and a cost recovery model for car parking highlight how free and ample car parking provision favours car driving and has distortionary impacts on travel decisions.

Angus Hulme-Moir

Also posted in research and transport

Motivating Public Transport Use: Travel behaviour and integrated ticketing for Greater Wellington

Car use is engrained in our culture. Changing behaviour towards using more sustainable travel modes such as public transport is notoriously difficult, despite the increasing awareness of environmental problems caused by car use. Integrated ticketing is a policy measure more recently used in strategies towards achieving integrated and sustainable transport systems. It allows a passenger to travel with one public transport ticket throughout a region. This research uses a mixed method approach to assess how integrated ticketing may affect public transport use in Greater Wellington. The psychological constructs determining decisions to use public transport are tested using an integrated environmental behaviour model proposed by Bamberg and Möser (2007). The results support the integrated modelling approach. Intentions to use public transport are indirectly affected by awareness of environmental problems caused by car use mediated through social norms, guilt, perceived behavioural control and attitude. The intention to use public transport explains 56% of the variance in public transport behaviour. Integrated ticketing presents an opportunity to increase the ease and convenience of travel, shown to be important in the model. The majority of survey respondents perceived that they would use integrated ticketing in Greater Wellington and that it was important both on a regional and national scale. Achieving an effective integrated ticketing system in Greater Wellington will be conditional on firstly improving public transport service reliability and stakeholder communication. Integrating fares across the region and across modes will also be crucial to the system’s success.

C Morley Thesis (2)

Also posted in news & events and transport

Bus Frontal Conspicuity: From Problem to Solution

Pedestrians and public transport go together, especially in the central city. And yet, in Wellington, one of New Zealand’s most walkabale cities – much more so than Auckland- there has been a spate of pedestrian accidents involving buses, which have the potential to cause serious injury and death even at low speeds.

Microsoft Word – Bus Frontal Conspicuity from Problem to Solution

Also posted in news & events and research and Uncategorized

Why we need a National Research Agenda – 2 perspectives

Cr Andy Foster from Wellington City Council spoke on the benefits of having a national research agenda for a city council. He reinforced the priorities for research of Metropolitan Urban Limits, How to incentivise and work with developers. He noted the real need at a local government level for tools and scenario planning.

Melanie Thornton spoke from a regional government perspective:
WGN_DOCS-#963459-v1-Presentation_to_Centre_for_Sust_Cities_2

Sarah McDermott spoke from the Ministry for Science and Innovation:
Sarah_s ppt

Also posted in news & events and research and Uncategorized

Towards a National Research Agenda for Urban Sustainability

On the 7th of September we held a meeting of councils and central government agencies and some business interests to discuss the priorities for urban research and how we might get that happening. The following powerpoints represent a selection of research currently happening within the Centre:

2011New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Citiesa

Chapman (7sep11) Urban form & intensification – for website

Robin Kearns Urban Sustainability 7 Sept

CEC research agenda workshop LIUDD and infrastructure 6 9

Indigenous knowledge and sustainable urban development – research questions

pengjun zhao_WILUTE_7thSep2011

Also posted in health and housing & building and transport and urban design and urban governance

Christchurch’s Regeneration

The New Zealand Centre for Sustainable Cities and Landcare Research is pleased to post this, Wn ChCh Regeneration Book 11
This evidence-based report draws on the collective expertise of over 100 urban researchers, scientists and policy advisors who attended a sustainability workshop in Christchurch in April.

A limited number of printed copies will be available on request