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RESidential Environment project (RESIDE), Western Australia

Town/Region | Perth
State | WA
Context | Inner City, Suburban
Target Group | New home owners
Timing | Commenced 2003
Weblink | Click here to view the website.

Overview

In Western Australia, the state government is responsible for subdivision policy (Western Australian Planning Commission) and assessment of all subdivision proposals (Department for Planning & Infrastructure).  In 1998, it began trialling the ‘Liveable Neighbourhood Community Design Code’,  which is based on New Urbanism principles.  By creating more ‘liveable’ neighborhoods with greater access to services and more efficient use of land, it is hoped that car use will be reduced, and walking, cycling and public transport use will be increased. 

The extent to which a new government policy can influence active transport behaviour, is the subject of the Healthway-funded RESIDential Environment project (known as RESIDE).  Commencing in 2003, the principal aim of RESIDE is to study the impact of the state government’s Liveable Neighbourhood Community Design Codes on the walking, cycling and public transport use behaviour of local residents.  RESIDE is a longitudinal study of people building homes in new housing developments, some of which are designed according to the Liveable Neighbourhood design codes.  

Key Features

  • RESIDE has demonstrated that is possible to conduct natural experiments of major infrastructure investments. 

Considerations

  • Studies such as this are important for providing insights into what aspects of policy are working, and how to modify to produce better outcomes. 

Click here for a detailed reference list of research papers relating to the RESIDE project. 
 

Last updated on 25th June, 2009
Sponsors This project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.