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

Abstract

Peak Oil impacts have resulted in fluctuating and increasing oil prices in cities that are more dependent on imported oil. This issue has been receiving greater attention in Anglosphere land use and transport scholarship, especially in Australia where automobile use is high and public transport is comparatively inadequate. Higher transport cost could exacerbate transport disadvantage and cause social exclusion. However the geographical study of spatial variation of oil vulnerability within cities has not yet fully explored. Most international comparative urban studies on energy and/or oil use focus on aggregated municipal data only. This paper studies the comparative experience of spatial urban oil vulnerability in 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, sensitivity with a specific focus on adaptive capacity. More advanced GIS methods are used to visualise and relate oil vulnerability indicators with various socio-demographic and transport characteristics for better understanding of this issue. Both cities' urban transport polices are also examined to explain the differences of transport and land use development and the resultant oil vulnerability. This study allows direct comparison of stark contrasts between one Asian and one western city in terms of urban form (dispersed vs. compact) and mode share (transit vs. car based). The policy, geographical and cultural context of both cities have influenced the type and extent of oil vulnerability. Hong Kong with a highly developed public transport network serves as a preferred urban transport model. However the risk of increasing oil prices also affects oilbased public transport such as buses and ferries and outer urban areas tend to be more affected. Despite the promise of electric vehicles reducing oil use, cities should still avoid being car dependent and oil vulnerable like Brisbane. The Hong Kong approach of strong transit-led transport policies and land-use matching with rail infrastructure investments that reduce oil consumption offers longer-term resilience.

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