RMIT University

Transport Health Assessment Tool for Melbourne

 

RMIT researchers and the Victorian Department of Transport launch a new digital tool to measure the health impacts of replacing car trips with walking and cycling trips for Melburnians.

Presenters at the launch on April 21 included RMIT researchers Dr Lucy Gunn, Professor Lauren Rickards, Associate Professor Melanie Davern, with the official launch conducted by lead developers Drs Belen Zapata-Diomedi and Dr Alan Both.  There were guest presentations from Dr Morteza Chalak representing the Victorian Department of Transport and from Dr Patrick Harris, an expert in Health Impact Assessment from The University of New South Wales.

The new Transport Health Assessment Tool for Melbourne (THAT-Melbourne) calculates the health benefits for 20 different scenarios that swap short car trips to walking, cycling or a combination of both. It is a tool designed for government, policymakers, and urban dwellers to better understand the health implications of transport decision-making.

Sitting within the ground-breaking RMIT developed digital platform, the Australian Urban Observatory, THAT-Melbourne is freely available to the public.

For more details on the tool, access a recording of the launch here.