I only left my suburb once last weekend, and it was excellent. As boring as it may sound, it turns out that this highly local lifestyle is not only good for the environment, but is one that appeals to many of us. Rather than spending our time driving between amenities and activities, most of us would like to be able to walk or cycle to most of those things that contribute to living a good life. And governments are starting to take notice.
In recognition of the social and environmental benefits that flow from people staying out of their cars and getting out into their own neighbourhoods, cities around the world have been announcing plans to improve liveability by adopting the 20- (or 30-) minute neighbourhood concept. Plan Melbourne describe this as being 'all about "local living" — giving people the ability to meet most of their everyday needs within a 20-minute walk, cycle or local public transport trip of their home'.
But what do we mean by 'everyday needs'? Does this mean the same to all people? Some researchers have emphasised the importance of tailoring neighbourhoods to meet the specific needs of residents — an outcome that can apparently be achieved by doing geographic analyses that track local behaviour.
According to Dr Este Geraghty, chief medical officer and health solutions director at Esri: 'One community may need to focus on providing sidewalks and green spaces to encourage residents to get more physical activity, whereas another community might prioritise affordable housing projects.'
It's true that we all have different priorities when it comes to making our neighbourhoods liveable. I conducted my own highly scientific survey (on Twitter) by asking people to share their top priorities, and responses differed in a number of key respects. Some placed specific value on nice bars, hipster cafes and somewhere to eat dinner, while others were more focused on fresh food, playgrounds and libraries with storytime. Partly this difference reflects the fact that some of us are home during the day (either with children, or for reasons of age, health or employment), while others work elsewhere during the daylight hours and appreciate features that bring our neighbourhoods to life in the evening.
One of the biggest differences between Sydney and Melbourne's plans is that Sydney has tried to include work within its 30-minute zones, while Melbourne has explicitly left work out of its 20-minute neighbourhoods.
Sydney is apparently struggling to implement