#36 Movement and Place
- Duc Phan
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Movement and Place represents a holistic, long-term planning approach, compatible with Safe System principles and also noted as a ‘cross-cutting principle’ involving multiple practice areas. A concept as well as a defined approach or strategy, ‘movement’ emphasises operation and efficiency of the transport network (people and goods), while ‘place’ focuses on the role of roads and streets as public spaces in which transport and mobility is only one of many considerations.
Emerging out of the Link and Place approach first articulated around 20 years ago in Europe, Austroads[1] acknowledges common elements of Movement and Place with other approaches, such as Complete Streets (North America). Typically involving implementation of lower speeds for local roads and streets, and default provision of multimodal infrastructure, these approaches aim to systematically improve health, environmental and economic outcomes at local levels. Although not framed explicitly as a Movement and Place approach, the specific measures used in Finland to realise zero road deaths in the city of Helsinki in the last year (see last week’s post) fit within the general framework.
The Australian context
Adoption and implementation of Movement and Place across Australia and New Zealand to date has been inconsistent and divergent due to a lack of alignment between relevant agencies across local and state jurisdictions. Austroads reports that Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland (and New Zealand) currently have published Movement and Place frameworks, while such are under development in South Australia and Western Australia. Tasmania and the Northern Territory currently have no such framework under development. This situation has motivated the current Austroads Review of Movement and Place Guidelines. This review will inform updates to relevant guides and documents, including but not limited to the Guide to Traffic Management Part 4: Network Management Strategies.
Austroads is hosting a free Movement and Place webinar for registered participants this week, on Thursday, 21 August at 1 pm AEST.
[1] Austroads (2025) Review of Movement and Place Guidelines (AP-R739-2). Sydney, Austroads.
