What if you woke up one day to find that you are not allowed to move beyond 5 kilometres of your home? Actually, that already happened. Two months ago, people in Melbourne were told that, from that night forward, we were no longer allowed to go beyond 5 kilometres of our homes (unless for essential work or health related reasons). The Prime Minister of Victoria (the state Melbourne is located in) announced that: ‘Where you slept last night is where you’ll need to stay for the next six weeks’. If the police find you outside of that distance, without a valid reason, you risk incurring a fine of up to $1652 AUD. These are extreme, punitively enforced measure meant to limit the spread of coronavirus by restricting our movements.
Since the lockdown, I try to get out of my house for a daily walk. I walk in circles around my home. Trying and often failing to find new, interesting alternatives to my standard route. I live close to a major road called Ballarat Road. On one side of it, there is an industrial area. However, if I move beyond the anonymous industrial buildings, I reach the river with a trail running along it. Unfortunately, it lacks lighting, and, on weekdays, I usually do not get out before dark. So, I stay on the other side of Ballarat Road, around the residential area. The smaller the roads, the more I prefer to walk there. In the two and a half months I have lived here I have really gotten to know my neighbourhood in ways I usually would not.
What do you have within 5 kilometres of your home? If you are not in Melbourne, imagine if all you could access for the next two months was what is within 5 kilometres of your home. Neighbourhood characteristics, amenities and services are important component of urban equality. Well planned, liveable and healthy neighbourhoods and cities should provide everything you need within a walkable distance.
Similar to the ways COVID-19 is exacerbating issues of mental health, the struggles of doing a PhD, a healthy lifestyle and so on, COVID is also exacerbating social and economic inequalities. I have preciously talked about the significance of a house or apartment and the size of one’s property as we spend more time at home. However, add to this the inequalities associated with location. There is a huge disparity between living within five kilometres of a beach, a green area or in a satellite suburb (suburbs on the outskirts of major cities) far from amenities. Is your neighbourhood walkable? Do you have access to green open spaces? These inequalities remain after the 5 km rule is lifted and when shops, cafes, restaurants and bars reopen once again. What amenities are within five kilometres of your home? The cinema? A swimming pool? A gym? How many choices of restaurants and cafes?
These ideas are articulated in ‘20-minute neighbourhoods’, an approach to city planning proposing that everyone should be able to access a variety of services within a twenty-minute walkable round trip of their homes (about 800 meters one-way). This includes education, shopping, recreational and sporting facilities, business services and some job opportunities. Also, 20-minute neighbourhoods are walkable and provide high-quality open spaces. The establishment of a 20-minute city is an important component in the state government’s plans for Melbourne in the coming decades. However, we are still far from meeting that goal.
The 20-minute test is more stringent than the 5 kilometre one. Nonetheless the 5-kilometre restrictions, expected to last for at least another two weeks in Melbourne, underscore the injustices that are woven into the urban landscape. Whether you currently spend your life within five kilometres of your home or are allowed to move around freely, we should stop to consider the equality of our cities and what minimal standards of accessibility we required in our neighbourhoods.
Atmospheres of Change 