Supporting research

Most early development in Melbourne centred along its train and tram lines. High street shopping centres grew around stations and key tram stops in the inner urban areas. This allowed locals travelling between transport and home to shop for their daily needs.

As car dominance grew, housing became separated from industry, commerce and recreation. The home became the focus of local living, and the car the means to move from one service to another. Shopping was in mall-type developments surrounded by car parking. The problem of urban sprawl this type of development has created is now well understood and researched.

One solution is to create compact, mixed-use, diverse, inclusive and sustainable cities. DELWP has commissioned research to investigate some of the challenges we face around how to achieve this.

The report found that economic benefit is difficult to measure when considering the overall economic impact of change to a 20-minute neighbourhood urban form. This is because many impacts of 20-minute neighbourhood form relate to quality of benefit rather than quantity. This introduces subjective assessment to the process.

Additionally they emerge over time and are difficult to measure in isolation. Their ultimate value also depends on the context in which they are created.

The conclusion was that a range of place-based assessments are necessary to determine the full economic benefit of 20-minute neighbourhood implementation.

20-minute neighbourhoods in greenfield areas

New neighbourhoods in greenfield areas face a different set of challenges to more established areas in creating 20-minute neighbourhoods. Before we can respond to these challenges we need to identify and understand them.

In 2018 DELWP partnered with Resilient Melbourne to coordinate research projects and test the principle of 20-minute neighbourhoods in greenfield development settings.