Melbourne Transport, Waste Management, and Energy Sustainability Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Melbourne's transport infrastructure, waste management systems, and sustainable energy frameworks.

Roads

High-speed connections between two places, typically straight with gentle curves and designed for movement.

Streets

Complex urban environments and public spaces where life in the city happens, including walking, cycling, and interacting.

Stroads

A street designed as a road; a hybrid design that attempts to function as both a high-speed road and a local street, often resulting in inefficiency and many conflict points.

Urban heat island effect

The increase in temperature in urban areas caused by the size of roads and the use of materials that absorb heat.

Phantom traffic jams

Traffic congestion that occurs without an accident, caused by ripple effects from small disruptions such as braking in dense traffic.

Induced demand

The phenomenon where increasing road capacity (adding lanes) encourages more people to drive, eventually resulting in the return of congestion.

Moto-normativity

Also known as car dependency; a state where cities are designed for private cars as the primary mode of transport.

Transport Equity

The principle that all people should have fair access to safe, affordable, and reliable transport regardless of income, age, or physical ability.

Urban Sprawl

The outward spreading of a city's population into low-density, single-family housing developments over large geographic areas.

Radial Network

A transport design that focuses on moving people into and out of the Central Business District (CBD).

Orbital Network

A transport route that moves people around the CBD, connecting different suburbs directly.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

A high-capacity bus system using dedicated lanes to improve travel speed and efficiency, exemplified by the system in Lagos.

Electronic Road Pricing (ERP)

An economic strategy used in Singapore that charges drivers to use busy roads during peak periods to manage congestion.

Licence Plate Lottery

A system used in Beijing to limit car ownership by restricting the number of new license plates issued.

Linear Economy

An economic model following a 'Take → Make → Use → Dispose' pattern, characterized by high resource extraction and short product lifespans.

Circular Economy

An economic system based on three principles: designing out waste and pollution, keeping materials in use, and regenerating natural systems.

National Sword policy

A 2017 Chinese policy that prevented countries like Australia from exporting recyclable waste overseas.

Sustainability

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Environmental pillar

The aspect of sustainability referring to the ability of natural systems to function without being depleted or degraded.

Social pillar

The aspect of sustainability referring to a society's ability to promote fairness, equity, and inclusion for current and future generations.

Economic pillar

The aspect of sustainability referring to an economy's ability to provide jobs and resources in a financially viable way.

Interrelationships of Systems

An organizing idea of sustainability which posits that changes in environmental, social, or economic systems affect one another.

Worldviews

The beliefs, values, and experiences that shape how different stakeholders see the world and make decisions.

Responsible Design

Solutions that minimize harm, consider long-term impacts, and promote equity while anticipating unintended consequences.

Future Thinking

The process of considering long-term and intergenerational impacts when making decisions today.

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA)

A technique used to decide if an investment is worthwhile by comparing costs (e.g., construction) with benefits (e.g., reliability, electricity production).

Hydroelectric Power

A renewable energy source where potential energy from stored water is converted into kinetic energy to spin turbines and produce electricity.

Pumped Hydroelectric Energy Storage (PHES)

A method of storing energy by pumping water uphill to a reservoir when electricity is abundant and releasing it to generate power when needed.

Nuclear fission

The process of splitting uranium atoms to release heat, which is then used to create steam and turn turbines for electricity.

Wicked problem

A complex issue with no single solution that satisfies all stakeholders, such as energy transition or nuclear power development.