The Centrality of the Australian Suburb: Mobility Challenges and Responses by Outer Suburban Residents in Melbourne

Abstract

Living in the suburbs is founded on mobility, as residents move to the periphery of the city, commute to work and travel for shops, schools and leisure. While there have been numerous studies raising critical questions on the vulnerability of outer suburban residents to loneliness, financial and mortgage stress, the actual experiences and challenges posed by the dependence of suburban life on mobility is rarely singled out for attention. Through purposive sampling and then snowballing, eight outer suburban residents participated in photo-elicited interviewing to detail their lifeworlds and mobility experiences. Problems ranged from getting to work to accessing schools, shops and even neighbourhood services as the suburban car culture was embraced but also constrained patterns of movement. However, there was also an array of positive experiences and alternatives to these patterns, including the pleasures to be found in traffic jams and the suburban environment and local actions to establish new pathways and means of movement as well as set up local employment options. Mobility constraint thereby generated a range of unexpected strategies, as residents exercised their agency to shape their experiences, create alternatives and to build suburban centred lives.

在郊区居住，需要以出行便利为基础。居民把家搬到城市边缘，乘车去上班，购物、上学 和休闲都有较长的距离。许多研究发现远郊区的居民容易感到孤独，并常有经济和贷款的 压力，但是郊区生活对出行便利性的依赖，从未单独得到关注。本研究通过立意抽样和滚 雪球抽样，邀请八位远郊区居民参与了看图访谈，详细描述其生活世界和出行经历。郊区 汽车文化备受欢迎，但同时也限制了出行模式，上班、上学、购物甚至获得社区服务都成 为问题。不过，我们也发现一些积极的经验，以及不同于此的模式，例如交通拥堵的乐趣、 郊区的环境、新通道和新出行手段的建立，以及就地提供就业选择。居民们各显神通， 塑造其经历，创造不同的选择，建设以郊区为中心的生活。出行的限制于是导致了一系列 出人意料的策略。

Keywords:

• Mobility
• outer suburbs
• Melbourne
• lifeworlds
• centrality

View correction statement:

Correction to: Johnson, Andrews and Warner, The Centrality of the Australian Suburb: Mobility Challenges and Responses by Outer Suburban Residents in Melbourne