Path of Least Resistance

The theme, The Path of Least Resistance, invites us to work on both sides of the equation. How do we design environments, policies and systems so that walking, cycling and public transport become the natural, lowest-effort choice? And how do we navigate, reduce or strategically apply resistance to create the change we need - in institutions, in politics, in culture and in communities?

"The path of least resistance" is a principle drawn from physics: energy flows along the easiest available route. But it describes human behaviour just as well as it describes electricity or water.

People - whether making individual choices or shaping collective ones through policy and design - tend to follow the easiest available route too. That's not a character flaw. It's just how systems work. The question is: who designs the route, and in whose interests?

Right now, in most Australian cities and towns, the path of least resistance leads to a car. Not always because people prefer it, but because the environment makes almost every other choice harder. Walking feels unsafe. Cycling feels marginal. Public transport feels unreliable. And getting kids to school independently can feel impossible.

The 2026 Australian Walking and Cycling Conference in Adelaide asks: what would it take to change that?

These are questions for planners and engineers, but also for researchers, advocates, public health professionals, behaviour change experts, educators and decision-makers. The answers might lie in infrastructure, in urban form, in school travel, in political strategy, in storytelling, or somewhere else entirely. We're open to all of it.

The future of transport isn't just about flow. It's about removing the barriers that shouldn't exist - and honestly confronting the ones that do.

Conference vision

The simple acts of walking and cycling have the potential to transform the places we live, our economies and how we engage with our environment. The Australian Walking and Cycling conference explores the potential for walking and cycling to not only provide for transport and recreation but solutions to challenges of liveability, health, community building, economic development and sustainability. As one of Australia’s longest running, best regarded and most affordable active travel conferences, we bring together practitioners and researchers from Australia and across the world to share their work and engage with conference participants.

Who should attend the Australian Walking and Cycling Conference?

We welcome a diverse range of professions: town and country planners, transport planners, policy makers, population health experts, mobility technicians, health promotion professionals and futurists.

We also welcome activists, advocates and change agents. People who want to build better cities and towns and who want to share their vision and their evidence. People from Australia, New Zealand or from across the globe.

Contact the host of Australian Walking and Cycling Conference 2026 - The Path of Least Resistance