RESIDENTIAL
3.3.2. CHALLENGES OF DECENTRALISATION IN MELBOURNE
Melbourne is based roughly on a rectangular grid because the topography allows for it.
Also, although the CBD is dense with commercial activity, most of Melbourne’s land is taken up by sprawling suburbs. The suburbs which are nearest the CBD are served efficiently by Melbourne’s extensive public transport network, but suburbs further away from the CBD are not served very well, and because these areas are the least dense, they are the most attractive areas for development.
Although Melbourne has an extensive public transport system, which removes many motorists from the roads, many people rely on private cars for their journeys to and from work. The arterial road system mainly consists of radial and rectangular grids (see Section 2.2.2.), and with the limited major road crossings of the Yarra River, this leads to a concentration of vehicular traffic on the Monash-West Gate route. This route is both a major commuter and freight route from the south-eastern and western suburbs to the CBD. The peak period for east- and west-bound traffic on the Monash-West Gate route is lengthening each year (State Department of Victoria Department of
Infrastructure, 2007: ii).
Figure 59: A map illustrating the road network in Melbourne. The word “Melbourne” shows the location of the CBD (Google Earth 2010).
Monash-West Gate
Monash-West Gate
Page | 95 Melbourne has also experienced office decentralisation for the same reasons discussed in section 2.5.4.
Although it is clear that office decentralisation has occurred in Melbourne on a large scale, the integrity of the CBD remains due to its importance as a cultural and commercial hub of the region.
There is concern, however, that the integrity of the CBD, and the efficiency of the public transport system, would not be sustainable due to the rapid increase in population Melbourne has seen in recent years (Lahey, 2009).
In 2009, Melbourne’s population increased by 90 000 and studies show that this rate of increase is set to continue. Whilst an increase in population is good for the city’s economy and property prices, it increases the pressure on the already stressed public transport system. There have been reports that at peak times, trains sometimes carry up to 1 200 passengers whilst they are defined as “overcrowded” if they carry more than 798 (Lahey, 2009).
To summarise Melbourne’s urban status:
• Office decentralisation has occurred
Figure 60: A map illustrating suburban job concentrations in Melbourne in 1996 (Davies, accessed 2010: 605).
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• The integrity of the CBD remains strong due to cultural and business significance
• Extensive, but stressed, public transport system
• Monash-West Gate Freeway is becoming extremely congested due to minimal alternative routes through the city
• There has been a rapid increase in population
• Suburban sprawl 3.3.3. THE SOLUTION
Since the 1980s Melbourne has been moving toward a more sustainable, liveable future, and Central Melbourne is recognised around the world for this fact. It has replaced the idea of a “central business district” with one of a “central activities district” whereby the area is recognised as a centre of many activities, not just business (Adams, 2009: 41).
Adams says that the Australian Government needs to contain development to within the city boundaries. He says that the previous policy was to push the boundary further out to enable cheaper land to come available for development. The government has realised now that this policy is not sustainable and has changed their policy to encourage higher density residential developments to occur closer to economic opportunities (Adams, 2009: 41-42).
Adams suggests transforming the suburbs into activity centres which would be developed as miniature versions of the central cities, “with higher densities, quality streets, a mixture of uses and good access to public transport” (Adams, 2009: 42).
This approach, Adams says, will help with the rapid increase in population that Melbourne has experienced recently because a higher density of residential
development will occur in areas with good access to public transport (Adams, 2009:
42).
Adams also suggests that these activity centres be connected by a network of high density, mixed-use corridors along all existing and proposed public transport routes.
This would increase the efficiency of the public transport system whilst granting access to the largest portion of the population. This densification would decrease the need for the city boundary to be pushed out. These corridors would be located alongside low density suburbs, therefore the suburbs would be conveniently situated near public transport.
Page | 97 This plan recognises that the suburbs exist, and that their approach needs to be
changed in order to cope with rising population and traffic congestion. The activity centres which would be located in the suburbs would be places of employment opportunities which would not compete with those offered in the city centre. This would reduce the need for many people to travel into the city centre. This would reduce traffic congestion and travel time. These activity centres would also be centres of entertainment, relaxation and shopping.
Figure 61: A 3D model showing the existing urban structure of Melbourne, illustrating in white where dense development has occurred (Adams, 2009: 42).
Figure 62: A 3D model showing the proposed urban structure of Melbourne, illustrating in white where dense development occurs. Notice the dense development occurs along major transport routes. This “ribbon”
development speaks of a similar theory brought forward by David Dewar, discussed in section 2.4.3, whereby development corridors occur in order to support a more efficient public transport system (Adams, 2009: 43).
Page | 98 3.3.4. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Rob Adams’s theory suggests a method of decentralising the city to counteract the process of sprawl. He suggests creating mixed-use nodes, namely “activity centres,”
to anchor suburbs, and to tie them and the activity centre of the city, which was previously the central business district, together by way of a network of high density corridors along public transport routes.
This theory should work, but to address the other problems the city of Melbourne faces, the public transport network capacity would need to be increased substantially, and its range would need to be increased to include regular service to outlying suburbs.