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Case Study 1 The low carbon mobilities of Chinese migrant communities in Sydney, Australia

DOI: 10.23912/978-1-910158-64-7-3280

ISBN: 978-1-910158-64-7

Published: November 2016

Component type: chapter

Published in: Low Carbon Mobility Transitions

Parent DOI: 10.23912/978-1-910158-64-7-2847

10.23912/978-1-910158-64-7-3280

Abstract

The need to transition to low-carbon mobilities is informed by evidence of extensive car dependence. This transition will require changes to places, technologies, policies, ideas and behaviours. But these changes will not hinge solely on innovation, or ‘new’ modes of transport. Low carbon mobilities are already being practised by some social groups – even in heavily car dependent places. This case study foregrounds one such group: Chinese migrants living in Sydney, Australia. Chinese migrants own fewer cars and use them less extensively than the broader Australian population. The Chinese migrants who were interviewed in this study intentionally oriented their lives around public transport nodes. They did so based on pre-migration transport norms – developed in contexts where public transport use remains ubiquitous – rather than out of environmental concern. Nonetheless, interviewees’ ongoing use of public transport post-migration has important environmental benefits. In this case study, attention is given to understanding pre-migration norms, embodied experiences and transport habits. It considers how low carbon transport habits can be sustained and lost between different places. Greater attentiveness to the transport practices of migrants is needed, as are resources to support and sustain their lower-carbon mobilities over the longer-term.

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Contributors

  • Sophie-May Kerr, School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, University of Wollongong, Australia (Author)
  • Natascha Klocker, School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, University of Wollongong, Australia (Author)
  • Gordon Waitt, School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, University of Wollongong, Australia (Author)

For the source title:

Cite as

Kerr, Klocker & Waitt, 2016

Kerr, S., Klocker, N. & Waitt, G. (2016) "Case Study 1 The low carbon mobilities of Chinese migrant communities in Sydney, Australia" In: Hopkins, D. & Higham, J. (ed) . Oxford: Goodfellow Publishers http://dx.doi.org/10.23912/978-1-910158-64-7-3280

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