Meeting the carbon challenge? The place of your house in the city

As travellers, (local and overseas) we continue to be seduced and charmed by endless number of pre-carbon era places - from old York, to the streets of Gulgong, to the back lanes of Lima. We have the wisdom and skills to learn from these places, to distil and emulate those qualities.

Make appropriate personal choices and decisions

These are “good insurance” decisions to cushion us if the future is not as benign as we might wish. If I were buying my residence now, what would my main criteria be? My overarching considerations would be: can my every day life continue without undue hardship and not entirely dependent on personal transport. It does not mean that I may not have some form of motorised vehicle. But much of it is confirming the old real estate dictum of LOCATION. The kind of tests I would apply are:

• Public transport. Can I reach many of my necessary destinations with public transport? I would prefer the fixed infrastructure kind - train, dedicated bus ways, light rail.
   
• Every day amenities. Can I reach the basic necessary shops - food, some clothing, hardware, pharmaceuticals - by walking? I might still drive but the walking criterion is a conceptual measure of distance. How easy and safe is the cycling route to the usual life’s necessary amenities?
   
• Services. Doctors and dentists and other medical or paramedical services are not required every day or week but I want to be sure that I would not be spending half a day travelling for a new set of spectacles or the doctor of my choice.
   
• Educational and leisure amenities. If I had school children I would want to make sure that they can get to their respective schools either by walking or cycling. Alternatively, I would want to be sure that they can get to their schools without relying on parents having to drive them every day. As to leisure amenities, I would want to be able to reach my local cinema and DVD store on foot or bike.
   
• Recreational amenities. I would certainly want to be able to get to a local park or sports venue without having to drive. Check that there is one.
   
• Work. If I were a building trades person or a travelling salesman, my mobility choices would be rather limited to either my own car (or perhaps a battery powered scooter) or bike. However, within the period of living memory, there have been times when builder’s labourers did get to their work sites without each one having their own car.
   
• Flood and inundation prone areas. Steer very clear of sites that could be affected by rising water levels such as water tables. Do not rely on flood maps of the past. As desirable as coastal property still is, I would ensure that my risk from storm surges is minimised.
   
• Trees and greenery. As temperatures rise, the comfort and temperature effect of greenery will increase. Vegetation cools. Paving is a heat sink.

This kind of location specification is not impossible. In a single word - localise. (Any form of mobility - public or personal - still uses energy!) There are large parts of our cities and many towns that can meet this specification right now. As we, the Market, demand less carbon and energy intensive locations, we will be supporting retrofitting. Localisation and retrofitting are two sides of the same coin. How we build and arrange our housing has great carbon and cost relevance too but that is another story.

Expecting to meet the carbon challenge without adjusting our cities is like telling your doctor you want a lung cancer cure without giving up smoking! And exempting petrol from the ETS is equivalent to loosening your belt to deal with obesity.