The transport sector accounts for almost a quarter of our total climate emissions, and more than half of these come from private vehicles. New Zealand has committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but this won’t happen without a substantial reduction in private vehicle use. Aotearoa needs low-traffic neighbourhoods and cities to reduce emissions, improve road safety, and create the connected urban communities we need in a post-pandemic future. This report makes detailed recommendations about how to achieve this.

Recommendations:

• Community actions: demonstrating community support for low traffic interventions can significantly improve their likelihood of being introduced, by reassuring decision-makers that the changes are understood and supported by residents.
• Local government actions: Local authorities are the main decision-makers who can enable the large-scale planning, design, and implementation of low-traffic interventions around Aotearoa.
• Central government actions – specific to low-traffic neighbourhoods: While local authorities are best placed to make specific decisions about low-traffic interventions in their areas, the central government can help by adopting enabling policy and legislative settings.
• Central government actions – wider policy considerations: The large-scale implementation of low-traffic neighbourhoods and interventions in Aotearoa’s cities needs to take place as part of a larger strategy to decarbonise transport and encourage widespread transport mode shift. Wider policy changes will be required to achieve this.