The tale of two (very different) cities - Mapping the urban transport oil vulnerability of Brisbane and Hong Kong

Abstract

The volatility in oil prices has been a major concern to car dependent cities, in particular the period of higher oil prices circa 2005–2015. Higher transport costs could exacerbate transport disadvantage and cause social exclusion, yet the fine scale comparison of the spatial variation of oil vulnerability within cities has not been fully explored to date. This paper studies the comparative experience of spatial urban oil vulnerability within two very different Asia Pacific cities – Brisbane and Hong Kong. Census and journey-to-work data are used to evaluate and map oil vulnerability based on prevailing vulnerability concepts of exposure and sensitivity, with a specific focus on adaptive capacity. A cross-city composite indicator is created to visualise car dependence and oil vulnerability based on various socio-demographic, public and active transport indicators. This study allows direct comparison of the stark contrasts between one Asian and one western city in terms of urban form (dispersed vs. compact) and mode share (transit vs. car based). Both of these cities’ urban transport policies are also examined to explain their resulting oil vulnerability. The results show transit-led transport policies and land-use matching with rail and active infrastructure investments which reduce transport oil consumption, and could offer longer term resilience.