Theme 3: Multiscalar Mobility
Multiscalar Spatial Analysis
Strategic Goals
Metropolitan Scale (10km by 10km)
Context Moonee Ponds is a suburb in Melbourne's inner northwest, approximately 7 km from the CBD. The suburb, flanked by Flemington and Moonee Valley Racecourses, has experienced a boom in its population over the past few years, reflective of Melbourne's growth corridors in its northern and western peripheries (ABS, 2021).
Moonee Ponds is served by all three modes in Melbourne as seen in Figure 2. This is augmented by the population density of the area with adjacent suburbs as seen in Figure 2 reinforcing its status as an ‘anchor’ or activity centre and acts as a converging point. Figure 3 illustrates data from the Spatial Network Analysis of Multimodal Urban Transport Systems (SNAMUTS) of SA1 boundaries by Curtis & Schuerer (2016). It exposes Moonee Ponds is classified as ‘below average’ which is reflective of a large portion of the city. In addition, there are pockets within Moonee Ponds’ boundaries that could be considered ‘transit deserts’ where there is low supply but an existence of demand (Aman & Smith-Colin, 2020) which is partially due to the racecourse.
Moonee Ponds
Nevertheless, as this interest in what Moonee Valley Council (the council) calls an "anchor" centre continues to increase (2019a), the flashpoints in its connectivity to the rest of the city have become more evident; the way its residents live, work and play. Poor accessibility and inconsistency drive an activity centre that detaches itself from an otherwise busy locality's functional mix and
Key Vision
Figure 2: Population Density per Km2 (SA2)
Train Station
Moonee Ponds aims to be a critical nexus of activity and transit in Melbourne’s growing north-west. it aims to achieve this by enabling transformative policies that fosters a vibrant and connected community through the reimagining of design and the built environment and their spatial relationships.
Public Transport
<100 people
>10,000 people
Train Tram Bus
Train Station
Bike
Figure 1: Transport Modes and Activity Centres
Figure 3: Public Transport Spatial Accessibility Average Index Transit Desert
Integrated
Over two-thirds employed are working in professional, managerial and clerical or administrative positions.
Considering walkability, Figure 8 visualises a walking and public transportation access catchment from the train station within 10 to 30 minutes based on transit-oriented design principles and a 400m catchment for walking (see Jeffrey et al., 2019) in ideal conditions.
Median Income
$2,111 (2021)
However, the often scenario is possibly unquantified added times due to externalities such as the lack of traffic calming measures at the junction, and the size of the junction suggests poor walkability. Indeed, Figure 9 reinforces the high traffic areas based on land use designations with the core of the activity centre being a hub that branches out to residential areas.
Motor Vehicles remain the primary method of travel to work while public transportation usage has declined accounting for residents who did not work or are working from home (22.4%). Adapted from (Dovey & Paftka, 2017, p.254)
increased by nearly 20% since 2011 while mortgage ownership has remained steady.
Nearly a quarter of those who rent experience rental stress, slightly lower than the national rental stress rate of 32.2%.
Activity and Commercial Zones
Figure 5: Public Transport and Walking Catchment by Minutes
Moone Ponds Station
<15 minutes
>15-20 minutes
30> minutes
Residential Activity and Commercial
Open Space
Figure 6: Land Use Zoning of Central Moonee Ponds
Opportunities
2
Transit Oriented Reset
Civil Anchor
The post-pandemic era has implications for the transit-oriented development of hubs and city commuting patterns (Christidis et al., 2021; Paul & Taylor, 2023). Moonee Ponds has experienced an exponential increase in its work-from-home labour force. However, public transportation remains a key mode for those unable to do so, and its status as an activity centre means patterns may shift again.
Moonee Valley Council proposes a redevelopment of the ‘Civic Square’ by 2040, where the bus interchange and tram junction are (2019). Such a proposal presents a unique opportunity to transform Moonee Ponds into a three-dimensional walkable and accessible hub not reliant on streetside pathways (Zhao et al., 2020) for its functional mix as a place to live, work and play (Dovey & Paftka, 2017) and creating better linkages with spaces such as Queen’s Park.
Entrenched Exclusivity
Incongruent Institutions
Moonee Ponds is already defined as a gentrified area in the upper brackets of income (ABS, 2021; Australian Urban Observatory, 2023 in Nicholas, 2023). Potential redevelopments, especially mixed usage and higher densities, may incur neighbourhood opposition and market commercialisation of supply and pricing, reinforcing socio-spatial inequities (Moos et al., 2018).
Despite the advocacy towards mixed-use and transit-oriented development, density uptake in Australian cities remain low due to a variety of factors surrounding the community and governance context of decision-makers in cities (Bolleter et al., 2020; Gibson & Law, 2023) and not using other examples purely as a panacea of best practices towards neighbourhoods.
ABPL90132 - Semester 2, 2023 | Alain Nguyen
Transit Oriented
3
Figures 7 and 8 visualise a simplified exhibit of two of Moonee Ponds’ major areas using Streetmix of two major roads: Hall Street and the tram junction. These maps highlight a convoluted street hierarchy dominated by roads, with only sections available to pedestrians. Meanwhile, the area sees a large proportion of low-density development, usually two stories tall. Figure 9 outlines the permeability and ease of walking access using measurements from the area-weighted average perimeter (AwaP) by Majic & Paftka (2019). and Jacobs’ notions of small blocks and multiusage (Jacobs, 1961) Moonee Ponds have a low level of AwaP due to their large perimeters, with a bottleneck that constrains ease of access in all directions. The streets also represent the wider Moonee Ponds having a relatively coarse urban grain consistent in their morphological attributes, indicating an area with poor connectivity and walkability affecting both physical and social dimensions of residents’ well-being (see Fathi et al., 2020).
Figures 7 and 8: Streetmix Representation of Hall St and Moonee Ponds Junction
Urban Coding | Land Use and Urban Design
How people interact with the spatial environment and the social transactions that exist is key in justifying an active and diverse interface with the built form. As such, a key strategic goal is ensuring there isporosity between the public and private realm so that vibrancy and equity is achieved (Sennett, 2019) through horizontal and vertical interventions of Moonee Ponds’ physical realm.
Streetside Scale (200m by 200m)
Challenges and Opportunities
Challenges
A vibrant community is contigent upon proximity to activity and function (Fu et al., 2021). This project aims to enable built form policies that carefully manages density, height and coverage while providing biophilic and outdoor space activation that would showcase Moonee Ponds as an attractive urban node that further connects the rest of the city.
Much of Moonee Ponds’ assemblage revolves around the Moonee Ponds Central shopping centre and nodes such as the tram junction and train station. Figure 7 demonstrates Moonee Ponds’ functional mix of its land use based on Dovey and Paftka (2017, p.254), which reflects the junction being the centre of a residential ring.
Figure 4: Functional Mix of Moonee Ponds
The number of residents renting has
1
Porous Interactions
Neighbourhood Scale (1km by 1km)
Demographics 2016 Population: 14,252 2021 Population: 16,224
Finally, when considering active transport such as cycling, Moonee Ponds’ routes part of the “principal bike network” shares the same alignment as its roads, including the busy Ascot Vale and Pascoe Vale junction and the lack of traffic calming measures or dedicated lanes can suggest low uptake of cycling as a mode.
Vibrant Morphology
0-200m
300-400m
200-300m
400m+
Open Space
Figure 9: Permeability Analysis (AwaP) of Block Perimeters
Direct Transparent Interface Opaque Interface Impermeable/Blank
Open Space Vehicle Setback (Car Park)
Figure 10: Building Interface Typologies
Finally, Figure 10 supplements the character of Moonee Ponds’ urban characteristics by showing the interfaces of buildings. While some areas have direct and transparent interfaces, many interfaces are blank or impermeable within the intermediaries of the activity area, detracting from mobility and ease of access.
Mobility is continually impeded by traffic and vehicles that detract walkability and is evident in Moonee Ponds. A critical goal of this project is the focus on people instead of motor vehicles and shared transit that enable not only increased vibrancy but accessibility and urban attractiveness that ensures that people are able to live, work and play at various scales relevant to their needs and livelihoods (Croetzer et al., 2022).
References
2021 Moonee Ponds, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021vv). Retrieved August 20, 2023, from https://abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/SAL21742 Christidis, P., Christodoulou, A., Navajas-Cawood, E., & Ciuffo, B. (2021). The Post-Pandemic Recovery of Transport Activity: Emerging Mobility Patterns and Repercussions on Future Evolution. Sustainability, 13(11), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116359 Dovey, K., & Wood, S. (2015). Public/private urban interfaces: Type, adaptation, assemblage. Journal of Urbanism: International Research on Placemaking and Urban Sustainability, 8(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/17549175.2014.891151 Fathi, S., Sajadzadeh, H., Mohammadi Sheshkal, F., Aram, F., Pinter, G., Felde, I., & Mosavi, A. (2020). The Role of Urban Morphology Design on Enhancing Physical Activity and Public Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(7), 2359. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072359 Gibson, S., & Law, L. (2022). Barriers and opportunities for medium density housing in small, regional cities: Stakeholder perspectives from Cairns. Australian Planner, 58(3–4), 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/07293682.2023.2183225 Jomehpour Chahar Aman, J., & Smith-Colin, J. (2020). Transit Deserts: Equity analysis of public transit accessibility. Journal of Transport Geography, 89, 102869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102869 Moos, M., Vinodrai, T., Revington, N., & Seasons, M. (2018). Planning for Mixed Use: Affordable for Whom? Journal of the American Planning Association, 84(1), 7–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944363.2017.1406315 MV2040 Strategy. (2019). Monee Valley City Council. Retrieved August 21, 2023, from https://mv2040.mvcc.vic.gov.au/ Nicholas, J. (2023, June 7). How gentrified is your postcode? Search our map of Australia’s capital cities. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/08/how-gentrified-is-your-postcode-search-our-map-of-australias-capital-cities Pafka, K. D., Elek. (2017). Functional Mix. In Mapping Urbanities. Routledge. Paul, J., & Taylor, B. D. (2023). Shifting transit use in COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for transit’s recovery. https://doi.org/10.17610/T6RP62 Planning for our future. (2019). Moonee Valley City Council. Retrieved August 21, 2023, from https://mvcc.vic.gov.au/my-council/what-we-do/planning-for-our-future/ Sennett, R. (2019). Building and dwelling: Ethics for the city. Penguin books. Scheurer, C. C., Jan. (2016). Planning for Public Transport Accessibility: An International Sourcebook. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315600758 Zhao, J., Sun, G., & Webster, C. (2021). Walkability scoring: Why and how does a three-dimensional pedestrian network matter? Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 48(8), 2418–2435. https://doi.org/10.1177/2399808320977871
MOONEE PONDS
Design Scenarios
Urban Codes Interventions
References Basu, N., Oviedo-Trespalacios, O., King, M., Kamruzzaman, Md., & Haque, Md. M. (2022). The influence of the built environment on pedestrians’ perceptions of attractiveness, safety and security. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 87, 203–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2022.03.006 DesignInc. (2021, January 22). Chatswood Transport Interchange—Projects—DesignInc. https://www.designinc.com.au/project/chatswood-transport-interchange Fialko, M., & Hampton, J. (2019). Seattle Integrated Alley Handbook: Activating Alleys for a Lively City. National Association of City Transportation Officials. https://nacto.org/references/fialko-mary-and-jennifer-hampton/ Kim, M.-K., & Kim, E.-J. (2023). Apartment Space Planning Directions for Infectious Disease Prevention and Management: Insights Based on Residents’ Experiences. Buildings, 13(9), 2203. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13092203 Kristoff, P. (2019, December 23). Soi 38, Melbourne CBD. The City Lane. https://thecitylane.com/soi-38-melbourne-cbd/ Krueger, P. (2010). Dunsmuir Separated Bike Lanes 103 [Photography]. https://www.flickr.com/photos/30604571@N00/5149672789 Moyano, A., Solís, E., Díaz-Burgos, E., Rodrigo, A., & Coronado, J. M. (2023). Typologies of stations’ catchment areas in metropolitan urban peripheries: From car-oriented to sustainable urban strategies. Land Use Policy, 134, 106903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106903 Rauws, W. (2017). Embracing Uncertainty Without Abandoning Planning. disP - The Planning Review, 53(1), 32–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/02513625.2017.1316539 Roe, J., Barnes, L., Napoli, N. J., & Thibodeaux, J. (2019). The Restorative Health Benefits of a Tactical Urban Intervention: An Urban Waterfront Study. Frontiers in Built Environment, 5. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbuil.2019.00071 Seymour, M., Wolch, J., Reynolds, K. D., & Bradbury, H. (2010). Resident perceptions of urban alleys and alley greening. Applied Geography, 30(3), 380–393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2009.11.002 Smith, R. M., Deb, D., Blizard, Z., & Midgett, R. (2023). A Planner’s quest for identifying spatial (in)justice in local communities: A case study of urban census tracts in North Carolina, USA. Applied Geography, 158. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2023.103030
The city we ought to build is guided by scenarios and uncertainties all oweing to our varied lived experiences and the way we interact with the spaces we inhabit. The design scenarios of ‘what could be’ in Moonee Ponds is not meant to delineate interventions or the advocacy for certain regulations but rather an imagining of the various ways in which its morphology can be transformed. As Rauws (2017) posits, cities are complex and its form can either support or detract its vibrancy and thus it is about “keeping a fit with [the] environment” to secure “vitality over time,” (p.42). The cities that acknowledges the perpetual motion of uncertainty, and complexity are ones as Jacobs (1961) that embrace “the strange” and ultimately lead themselves to the seed of regeneration.
Code 1: Parking Cutbacks Why this intervention? Decoupling parking from the main activity precinct of Moonee Ponds enables more substantive pedestrian connectivity, safety and opportunities for public-private interventions that allows land use and built form versatility that are transit-oriented (Mayono et al., 2023). Examples include street furniture, parklets and active transport infrastructure that are now possible due to the abolishing of prescriptive parking codes that exist hitherto in the planning scheme.
Street Hierarchy Impression of Code Intervention
Example: Dunsmuir Street in Vancouver, Canada (Krueger, 2010)
Code Specifications Special Parking Requirements Instead of a baseline ‘minimum’ parking requirement within the Parking Overlay, this code allows the prescription of parking spaces that does not exceed current 0parking allocations and overruling any ordinances to reduce (including) to zero.
Minimum Bicycle Parking or End of Trip Facilities in Developments Developments within the Moonee Ponds Activity Centre Zone must ensure that residents and users are afforded cycling infrastructure such as safe storage and end of trip facilities to reduce car dependancy.
Yes In My Mixed Use Precinct
Melbourne Laneways Mixed Opportunities (FlashUse Forward Program Inspired)
Moonee Ponds becomes an integrated mixed use and pedestrian hub. Previous spaces dominated by street parking and traffic are now for pedestrians and cyclists, allowing safer and permeable connections with transport modes such as the tram stop and train station. The area retains its neighbourhood character and heritage. Hidden alleyways that were once the home to dereliction now invites curiosity and expression with new uses.
Creative Activation
Alleyway Activation
Protection of Accessibility and Works Right-of-Parking
Special Clearway or Works Zone will be placed in strategic locations to ensure that public services are able to provide maintenance of utilities and infrastructure. Accessible parking will continue to exist on busy throughfares such as Puckle Street.
Guide to Code Assessment
Code Implementation
Code Met
-
Code 2: Balanced Form Why this intervention? A mixed-use focus on developments and overall urban morphology ensures that communities are adequately served by various services and interactions. In particular, the proximity to different uses and vertical integration of buildings themselves are an important node in promoting spatial justice and safety within function itself (Kim & Kim, 2023; Smith et al., 2023). Thus, concepts such as transit-oriented development and participation is necessary in providing multiscalar mobility and metropolitan connectivity.
Code Not Met
Parking Lot Removed Walkable and Open
Code Partially Met
Code 1
Code 2
Code 3
Isometric View of Changes in Scenario 1
Curb Your Regulations Existing Building Typologies of Moonee Ponds
Code Specifications
Example: Chatswood Interchange in Sydney, New South Wales (DesignInc, 2021)
Heritage and Character
Mixed Use and Open Space Eclectic Morphology
Street View of Scenario 1
Alleyways “Canyons” Exclusive Access
City Planners have decided to do away with land use controls and embrace the highrise and motor vehicle. Moonee Ponds’ landscape is unregulated and as a result becomes yet another bottlenecked main street. Any semblance of heritage and character has been replaced by titans and congestion.
To ensure the protection of heritage areas such as Puckle Street, developments must not exceed the current activity centre zone of 45m as mandated instead of preferences. This ensures that the character of Moonee Ponds can evolve but retain its character.
Transit Oriented Contributions
Guide to Code Assessment
Developments must contribute to transit-oriented precinct development through infrastructure contributions plans and land value capture policies to ensure there is a pipeline of transport projects and maintenance.
Code Met
Mixed Use, Mixed Communities
Any developments that proposes to develop residential dwellings must provide a prescribed amount of affordable housing units dependent on lot size, floor area ratio and number of storeys. Developments that propose mixed usage will be given priority.
Code Implementation
-
Code Not Met Code Partially Met
Code 1
Code 2
Code 3
Code 3: Interface Activation
Parking Volume Increased
Development Controls Removed
Isometric View of Changes in Scenario 2
Why this intervention?
Street View of Scenario 2
Cyberflunked
Alleyways also known as “rear interfaces” have often been seen as a residual urban spaces that attract crime and perceptions of insecurity beset by rubbish that do not contribute to urban life and activities (Seymour et al., 2010). Interventions that aim to adapt these ‘forgotten’ spaces can play a role in changing perceptions and improving multiscalar connectivity (Basu et al., 2022; Fialko & Hampton, 2019; Roe et al., 2019). Moonee Ponds has a few alleyways that present potential opportunities to reinforce its status as an activity centre and transit hub.
Impression of Puckle Lane Code Intervention
Code Specifications
Example: Soi 38 - Multilevel Parking and Alleyway turned Restaurant in Melbourne (Kristoff, 2019)
Outdoor Activation Incentives
The future is here and citizens reside in communal apartments that have been built on top of the old town. Tensions exist between the ‘scrapers’ and ‘oldsides’ with those above enjoying a high standard of living while those below are abandoned. Automation of interactions from bus rides to shopping and flashy lights reigns as the bearer of urbanity and overload the consciousness.
Uses that attract activities beyond work are emphasised and supported to develop tactical urban interventions at the rear interfaces to create new dimensions of gaze and vibrancy rather than for waste disposal or lingering uses such as breaks.
Day and Night Transformations
Guide to Code Assessment
Vibrancy of the precinct is dependent on the rhythmic flows of perceptions at any given time. Activating interfacemay lead to continual usage that sees versatility in otherwise ‘traditional spaces’ opting for a third place beyond conventions.
Safety and Inclusion Relationships with rear interfaces will affect different types of people more than others. By removing the ‘forgotten’ and dereliction that are afforded with these places, it is more likely there will be a likelihood of groups opting for more active and public transport options
UrbanCoding Coding||Land LandUse Useand andUrban UrbanDesign Design Urban ABPL90132 - Semester 2, 2023 | Alain Nguyen ABPL90132 - Semester 2, 2023 | Alain Nguyen
Code Met
-
Code Not Met Code Partially Met
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Code 1
“Towers of Powers”
Old Precinct Built Over
Code Implementation
Elevated Walkways
Code 2
Code 3
Perpetual Night
Isometric View of Changes in Scenario 3
Street View of Scenario 3
MOONEE PONDSMOONEE IN MOTION PONDS