4 February 2024: Canberra has officially been added to the 1,000 Cities Challenge, thanks to researchers from the University of Canberra’s Health Research Institute (HRI), whose work highlights how the capital performs on multiple policy and spatial indicators of healthy and sustainable cities.
The 1,000 Cities Challenge is an initiative of the Global Observatory of Healthy and Sustainable Cities, which aims to provide evidence-based spatial and urban policy indicators to advocate for and track progress towards healthy and sustainable cities for all.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Gweneth Leigh and Senior Research Specialist Vincent Learnihan completed the 1,000 Cities report and scorecard in partnership with local advocacy organisation Greater Canberra, while also working closely with local government and policymakers.
The report shows that urban planning for Canberra is well covered through policy, scoring 93.8 per cent for the presence of urban and transport policies that support health and sustainability.
“Our scorecard gives us real reason to celebrate, and I think that’s important for Canberrans to hear,” Dr Leigh said.
However, where Canberra does lose marks is around quality of policy. One hallmark of quality policy is the incorporation of measurable, evidence-aligned targets – on this, Canberra scores just 42.7 percent.
“I reviewed 34 policies as part of this project, which shows that there is a lot of thought going into the urban planning strategies for the ACT. Now, we need to take the next step, and outline specific targets to ensure we can meet our goals,” Dr Leigh said.
She points to the Territory’s targets around urban tree canopy – or the number of established trees – as an area where the ACT performs well.
“One great example of a measurable target is around urban canopy, where the ACT government aims to retain a 30 per cent canopy cover in all suburbs,” Dr Leigh says.
“Such an initiative helps to quantify future shade coverage. This is important, as reducing urban heat will be an ongoing issue in addressing in a warming climate.”
Canberra has well-known origins as a planned city, with its design largely influenced by the garden city movement. It’s perhaps no surprise then, that the capital leads the way when it comes to access to public open space (87.9 per cent) and performs exceptionally well compared to other Australian cities for street connectivity, with 79.8 per cent of the population living in neighbourhoods above the minimum threshold of connectivity required to meet World Health Organisation (WHO) physical activity targets.
However, access to well-serviced public transport stops (20 minutes or better average weekday frequency) is particularly low (32.3 per cent).
“Where we fall behind Sydney and Melbourne is in density and public transport – and much of that has to do with them having much bigger populations,” Dr Leigh said.
Mr Learnihan also reflected on the report’s findings, and how they could help influence meaningful change in Canberra.
“Pedestrian- and cycle-friendly neighbourhoods are associated with reduced non-communicable disease risk, and our past research here in Canberra has shown reduced hospital costs are associated with higher neighbourhood walkability,” Mr Learnihan said.
“The report highlights that current planning and transport policy lacks measurable targets for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure that align with evidence. We are calling on Canberra to be ambitious, set evidence-based targets and work towards improving the health and sustainability of our city and its residents.”
Overall, the report card shows that Canberra is tracking well as a liveable, healthy and sustainable city. It provides valuable insight into areas where the ACT excels, and areas where government initiatives could be developed to further bolster the scores.
“Canberra is a very liveable city in a lot of terms, for which we’ve been consistently recognised by international bodies like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD],” Dr Leigh said.
“Many sectors are involved in creating healthy and sustainable cities, including land use, transport, housing, parks, economic development, and infrastructure. Integrated planning is required to ensure policy alignment across sectors.
“Looking ahead at Canberra’s future, health considerations need to be embedded in transport and urban policies, and investment in active and public transport should be prioritised.”
The University of Canberra aims to continue to work with ACT government and local advocacy organisations as part of an existing National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Ideas-funded research project aimed at supporting decision-making in urban planning to maximise positive community health impacts.
View Canberra’s 1,000 Cities scorecard here.
Photos by Tyler Cherry.
