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

educes car dependency and, therefore, the social exclusion of those not
able to drive or without access to a car;
fosters community spirit or social cohesion and capital—and, consequently,
a sense of ownership of and belonging to the area—through increased
social interaction between the residents in a neighbourhood;
improves personal health, through increased physical exercise;
improves personal security in the public realm, through more ‘eyes on the
street’; and
reduces car use and, consequently, oil consumption, greenhouse gas
emission, road accidents and congestion.
The plan for the growth area is based on the premise that many people are willing
to walk up to ten minutes—approximately 800 metres—to reach local facilities if it
is a pleasant walk. Neighbourhoods sized on this basis can provide sufficient
catchment to support a ‘family hub’ of children and family services, co-located with
a primary school and retail floorspace ranging from a multipurpose ‘corner’ store to
a small supermarket and a number of convenience shops and services. Any
smaller, and they are not large enough to support more than a milk bar unless
densities are at undesirable levels.
Therefore, the plan for the growth area is organised around such neighbourhoods:
each around 3000 dwellings or 7,500 people. Within each of those
neighbourhoods, local parks and corner stores are also proposed within a fiveminute
walk—approximately 400 metres—of each home.
The UGP provides attractive and safe walking routes to the centres of all
neighbourhoods.. It also provides a network of local transit routes that will offer
direct links to each of the centres.
The centres are also located on connector streets, in order to contribute to their
viability through the provision of exposure to passing trade. This can be contrasted
with the small strip centres typically provided in late 20 th Century suburban
development, many of which failed through poor location and low densities.
ARMSTRONG CREEK URBAN GROWTH PLAN / VOLUME 1 (ADOPTED 13 MAY 2008, AMENDED MAY 2010)
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