Rebecca Roberts – The Conversation

Shepparton residents are clearly disadvantaged by having far fewer daily train services to Melbourne than other regional centres. Alex1991/Wikimedia

June 12, 2018

Rail access improves liveability, but all regional centres are not equal

Melanie Davern, RMIT University; Carl Higgs, RMIT University; Claire Boulange, RMIT University; Jonathan Arundel, RMIT University; Lucy Gunn, RMIT University, and Rebecca Roberts, RMIT University

Regional areas are expanding, and yet not enough attention is being paid to improving rail access to capital cities. This affects the liveability of the areas.

For suburbs like fast-growing Tarneit in the Wyndham area, ‘hard’ infrastructure gets priority, leaving ‘soft’ social infrastructure to catch up later. Chris Brown/flickr

October 17, 2017

Some suburbs are being short‑changed on services and liveability – which ones and what’s the solution?

Melanie Davern, RMIT University; Carl Higgs, RMIT University; Claire Boulange, RMIT University; Lucy Gunn, RMIT University, and Rebecca Roberts, RMIT University

Traditionally, new communities first get hard infrastructure – schools, hospitals, transport – and ‘soft’ social infrastructure comes later. Liveability and public health suffer as a result.

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