Continuity and change in urban transport policy: politics, institutions and actors in Melbourne and Vancouver since 1970

Melbourne and Vancouver share many similarities, but there are significant differences in the content and outcomes of transport and urban planning policies since 1970. Melbourne has built a large urban freeway network and is struggling to create a coherent transit network from its large but fragmented transit system. Vancouver has achieved some enviable successes in urban planning, but is still facing significant car-dependence in its outer suburbs. This paper provides a conceptual theoretical model that asserts the centrality of local politics as the source of reasons for particular urban transport policy trajectories. It describes the political and institutional context for the development of transport policies and the behaviour of key actors in the two cities, and identifies some of key factors behind transport and planning outcomes.