The Potential for Ur~n .. Village Development in Melbourne :"' ~., / '"t· "'ENERGY Department of G ERDC VICTORIA ENVIRONMENT Infrastructure ENERGY RESEARCH PROTECTION 711. Gowrn~nl AND DEVELOPMENT rgy Save Money AUTHORITY nf \'11..1un:a CORPORATION 4309 9451 URB:SC copy2 roBMI 1~111ll~IOOl1l1ll~~iii1~11 I VGLS031440 I ) The Potential for Urban Village Development in Melbourne PLANNING & EPA LIBRARY I Environment Protection Authority, Victoria Energy Victoria Deparcmenc of Infrastructure Energy Research and Development Corporation All Melway maps reproduced from Melway Screec Direccory, Edicion 23 and Wall Map ) of Greacer Melbourne with permission. Copyrighc Melway Publishing Pcy Led ISBN 0 7306 9314 7 ,,~ ~------ --~ -- =-- ~-- ~-~-- ) i711.4309 12346672 I · August 1996 , 9451 URB:SC Urban villages project : the I copy 2 potential for urban village development in Melbourne .,I"'-....... , :·:· .. ::::::· ~=~:::::: \~~f· ~;: ~~t ilit Al~ t:~~i ::::::::: ~@~ CONTENTS Page 1 Introduction 1.1 U rb~n Villages 1 1.2 Project Objectives 2 2 Identifying Possible Urban Village Sites 3 2.1 Overall Approach to Identifying Sites 3 ") 2.2 Results 6 3 The Potential of Urban Villages to Accommodate Growth 9 3.1 Methodology 9 4 Alternative Growth Scenarios for Melbourne 16 4.1 Base Data and Assumptions 16 4.2 Urban Village Development Scenarios 16 4.3 Impact of the Scenarios on the Extent of 19 Urban Expansion 4.4 Impact of the Scenarios on Individual Urban Villages 20 5 Conclusions 22 Appendicies 1 List of Potential Urban Village Sites Identified 23 in Metropolitan Melbourne 2 A Method for Asses.sing the Potential of Possible 62 · Urban Village Sites 3 Existing Conditions in Metropolitan Melbourne 65 1 Introduction The Urban Villages Project comprises two components: an assessment of the potential of eight case study sites to adapt over time into urban villages; and an assessment of the potential for the development of urban villages throughout the metropolitan area The work undertaken on the eight case studies is documented in the project report titled Urban Villages Project - Encouraging Sustainable Urban Form (for simplicity, this report will be referred to in this background paper as 'the main Urban Villages Project report'). This background paper presents the findings of research undertaken to assess the potential for urban village development in metropolitan Melbourne. It investigates the implications for the distribution of population and dwellings, if this potential was to be exploited, and documents the methodology used. The steps in conducting this research are described in the following flow chart. 1 111111111111111111111•1••1•11111•111111111111111 1111111111111111111111 J, - J, - In the course of this research some information a.dditional to that used in the above steps was collected on possible urban village sites in Melbourne and, indeed, for the metropolitan area as a whole. While this information was not used in this work, it has significance for the further assessment of urban villages and their development potential and therefore is included in Appendix 3. 1.1 Urban Villages The Urban Villages Project presents 'urban village' principles as a model for regeneration of urban areas over time. For the purposes of the project, urban villages are defined as: suburban centres of either a 400 or 800 metre radius1 having a range of community facilities A 400 metre radius applies to 'neighbourhood' and 'town' centres and represents the distance that an 'average' person is willing to walk, rather than drive for local services. The 800 metre distance applies to (larger) 'regional' centres which contain a greater range of services and activities, to access which, the 'average' person would be prepared to walk a longer distance. The 'average' person can walk a distance of 400 metres in 5 minutes. 1 lUld activities, a mix of housing and substantial local employment, and linked to other suburban centres by public transport. They have a safe, attractive and well-defined public realm of interconnected streets fronted by buildings, and well-used public open space. · Office parks, stand alone shopping centres and residential estates cannot, by definition, be urban villages. They are all single uses rather than an integrated mix of housing, commerce and community. facilities. Urban villages are characterised by: • many street intersections • a range of block sizes, with most being small • a range of building lot sizes, with most being less than 500m2 • a range of dwelling types • street front strip retailing • energy efficient buildings • a mix of uses within a street, and sometimes within a building • jobs provided locally, mostly in small businesses • many trips being made on foot and public transport • a gross residential density of at least 25 dwellings per hectare. 1.2 Project Objectives The objectives of the Urban Villages Project were to: • identify sites suitable for urban villages throughout Melbourne's metropolitan area; • determine the potential of the urban village sites identified to accommodate residential growth; • establish the benefits for Melbourne's future growth if this potential is realised compared with "business as usual"; and • facilitate further research by documenting the methodology used. 2 2 Identifying Possible Urban Village Sites Possible urban village sites were identified as a first step in estimating the potential impact of urban village development on Melbourne. Tilis section describes the overall approach to the identification and classification of sites, the identification of pedestrian catchments, the creation of a database of potential sites and the mapping of the sites by municipality. 2.1 Overall Approach to Identifying Sites Data Collection Research for the Urban Villages Project was based primarily on existing data, with limited additional research being undertaken by project staff and planning students. Although some data was available for individual urban village sites, the majority of relevant data, particularly demographic and forecasting information, was available only for whole municipalities. It was necessary, therefore, to adapt the methodology to work with the data available to the project Tue 1995 Melway Greater Melbourne Street Directory provided the primary source of information. It shows public transport routes and stops (train, tram and buses) and the general location of retail development. Other information sources included: • 1991 Census data; • Forecasts of Population by the Department of Treasury; • Dwelling and Population Forecasts by the Office of Planning and Heritage (formerly the Department of Planning and Development); and . • Municipal Planning Schemes. During 1994 the Victorian Government restructured local government and reduced the number of local Councils from 210 to 78, a process which altered municipal boundaries significantly. For the Urban Villages Project, the pre-1994 boundaries were used for all data collection and analysis as almost all data was available only on this basis. Identification of Sites A range of criteria was used to identify possible urban villages in Melbourne. To be listed as a possible urban village site a location needed to incorporate: • a tram or bus stOp with some nearby shops and dwellings; or • a passenger rail station, regardless of surrounding land uses; or • large sites suitable for redevelopment to mixed-use suburbs such as large areas of vacant land around planned railway stations. Cla.ssification of Sites Tue possible urban village sites identified were categorised according to the ring of suburbs within which they are located (inner, middle or outer suburbs). Melbourne's city centre was excluded from this assessment due to the unique role it plays in the metropolitan area. Within each ring the sites were categorised according to their role as neighbourhood, town or regional centres (these roles are defined in the box below). 3 lhis process resulted in the creation of nine categories of sites (eg. inner neighbourhood centres; inner town centres,; ....... outer regional centres). Figure 1 lliustration of Rings of Metropolitan Melbourne LEGEND Inner Middle Outer 4 Establishment of a Database The sites were categorised using information in the Melway 1995 Greater Melbourne Street Directory. With over 900 possible urban village sites identified, it was not possible to visit each individual site to confirm this information. A database, including the following information for each urban village site, ,was established: • a Melway map number and grid reference; . • the type of centre (ie. regional, towrr, or neighbourhood); and • the 'dominant' mode of transport in the centre. The database was established in a manner which enables it to be sorted by both old and new municipalities. It is presented in Appendix 1, sorted on the basis of new municipal boundaries. A Preliminary Method for the Scoring and Ranking of Site Potential A preliminary method was developed to 'score' and rank the possible urban village sites in terms of their level of public transport, street connectivity, land use mix, development intensity and public open space. As it was not possible within the resources and timeframe of the project to visit each site, the methodology was not actually applied in the course of the project The scoring method developed has, however, been included in Appendix 2. It may provide a useful basis in the future for considering the viability of urban village development at specific sites, or for prioritising sites for development 5 ----~ l