SIMON Corbell says the Canberra Urban Regional Futures (CURF) paper released by UC shows light rail increases public transport patronage, delivers benefits to landowners and creates flow-on effects in diversifying the economy, improving liveability and increasing sustainability in cities of similar size and density to Canberra.

“Findings in the CURF paper show that the introduction of light rail leads to the successful growth of a city when combined with an integrated approach to land use planning as part of a holistic urban planning and urban transformation process,” Simon said.

“The report shows that light rail, when combined with long-term strategic urban planning, delivers ‘considerable financial, social and environmental benefits’ to its host city.

“This includes a flow-on effect to diversifying the economy, improving liveability for the community and sustaining the environment.”

Cities chosen for analysis in the study were Freiberg in Germany – an international exemplar of how transport and urban planning can successfully work together; Bergen in Norway – similar to Canberra in terms of its size and dispersed physical form; Edmonton in Canada – similar population size to Canberra at the time of launching its first light rail line; and Adelaide in South Australia – an Australian city whose light rail corridor between Glenelg and the city is comparable.

“Analysis of the four cities has provided a number of key research findings for Canberra as we embark on delivering the first stage of a city-wide light rail network. The paper concludes that each of the case study cities has grown following the introduction of light rail, particularly in the walkable corridors alongside the transport system.”

“The case studies have provided evidence that light rail systems spark a change in land use activity over time including more dense residential developments and development of mixed use sites.

“Residential and commercial property values increase around light rail stops due to the willingness of people to pay for better transit access. Experience in these case-study cities shows that developers are aware of the investment opportunities associated with light rail and the economic and social benefits that it enables.”