armstrong creek urban growth plan volume 1 - City of Greater Geelong

4.5.2 KEY ISSUES
Walkability
Convivial towns can offer solace in disaster, solidarity in protest, and a quiet
everyday delight in urban life … Creating and revitalizing places that foster
conviviality is essential to the good life. Mark C. Childs
Having defined the non-developable areas and major employment areas, the UGP
needs to determine the structure of the remaining area, which will consist of
residential development and supporting retail, commercial and community services
and facilities (including parks).
Much of the greenfield residential development built in the second half of the 20 th
Century was designed around the car. Street networks were planned around traffic
management, rather than walking, and commercial and community activity was
increasingly focused in larger centres spaced far apart. This approach had a
number of adverse outcomes:
It left those not able to drive or without the use of a car lacking ready
access to basic needs—convenience shops and services, schools,
essential community services and so on 6 .
It encouraged use of the private car, with consequent detrimental
impacts on:
o personal health, through reduced physical exercise 7 ,
o
o
the environment,
road congestion, and
o road safety 8 .
6 It is worth noting that 50% of the households in Greater Geelong do not own a car
or only own one, and a proportion of the community is also mobility-impaired.
However, the average household size is 2.6 people. Therefore, it is likely that a
considerable proportion of the Geelong community does not have ready access to
a car all the time.
7 See Community and Social/ Recreation and Open Space Technical Report, page
17.
ARMSTRONG CREEK URBAN GROWTH PLAN / VOLUME 1 (ADOPTED 13 MAY 2008, AMENDED MAY 2010)
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