Parenting and private car use in Australian cities

Parenting in Australian cities is a car dependent affair and this has negative impacts on our environment, our health and our kids. To challenge this dependency, we need to understand the complexities of why parents drive. Hence, the project's aim is to provide a theoretical, methodological and policy framework that can be used to resolve the practice in Australian cities of private car dependency.

Taking the way we travel as parents as an example of a particularly complex expression of private car use. The project will combine theories of practice, policy and process to understand transport behaviour. The researchers seek to establish an evidence base to inform potential, effective policy change to lessen the social, environmental, and economic impacts of private car use. Moreover, they expect to provide interdisciplinary and multifaceted understandings of car dependency, and ways to transition towards more sustainable and healthier modes of travel.

This project has been funded by: Australian Research Council (ARC) DECRA (DE) 2019. Grant ID: DE190100211