Key planning terms

Active transport

Transport that requires physical activity, such as walking and cycling.

Activity centres

An area that combines a commercial heart with the surrounding residential area. Activity centres provide a focus for services, employment, housing, transport and social interaction. They range from smaller neighbourhood centres to major activity centres.

Affordable housing

Housing that suits very low to moderate-income households. The price of affordable housing (whether mortgage repayments or rent) allows residents to meet their other essential living costs.

Capital Works Program

A program outlining work to establish, renew, expand, upgrade or dispose of Council assets.

Community Hub

An area that gives residents a central location for accessing a range of services, activities, learning options and social opportunities.

Environmentally sustainable development

A development approach that aims to meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It includes economic, social and environmental aspects.

Established urban areas

Areas of Melbourne that have been urbanised for at least several decades.

Health and education precincts

Areas that include health and/or education services to improve community access. They also develop the workforce and offer economic benefits, such as innovation and job creation.

Housing density

The number of dwellings in an urban area divided by the area of residential land they occupy. This is known as dwellings per hectare.

Infill

Development of unused or under-utilised land in existing urban areas.

Infrastructure

Basic facilities and networks that help a local community or broader society to function.

Liveability

A measure of a city’s quality of life which considers socioeconomic, environmental, transport and recreational elements.

Major activity centres

Suburban centres that provide access to a wide range of goods and services.  These centres are listed in Plan Melbourne.

Neighbourhood activity centres

Local centres that provide access to local goods, services and employment, serving the needs of the surrounding community.

Open space

Land reserved for natural landscape, park lands, recreation and active sports.

Overlooking

Direct views into secluded private open space or habitable room windows of a dwelling.

Place-based planning (or place-making)

An integrated and community-driven approach to planning and designing accessible public places. It can apply to things like streets, sidewalks, plazas, squares, campuses and parks.

Resilience

The capacity of people, communities, institutions, businesses and infrastructure to survive, adapt and grow, despite difficult circumstances.

Social housing

A type of rental housing provided and/or managed by the government or a not-for-profit organisation. Social housing covers both public and community housing.

Social infrastructure

Facilities, services and networks that help the community to meet their social, health, education, cultural and community needs.

Structure plan

A plan that sets out out a vision for future land use and development of a place.  It establishes a framework to guide development and land use change and aims to give certainty to residents and developers.

Urban greening

The practice of growing plants in cities to provide urban vegetation coverage and a connection to nature.

Urban places

An inner-city area with increased population density accompanied by housing, commercial buildings and infrastructure.

Urban renewal

The process of planning and redeveloping under-used medium and large-scale urban areas or sites for mixed land-use purposes.

Value capture project

(When used in regards to level crossing removal works) a development that retains part of the expenditure used to carry out the works.

Value uplift

The rise in future economic and social value from significant infrastructure or rezoned land. We often refer to value uplift in the context of delivering broader public benefits.

Walk score

Measures the walkability of any address using a patented system. The walk score analyses walking routes to nearby amenities, awarding points based on the distance to those amenities.

Water-sensitive urban design

Design that integrates the urban water cycle into urban design, minimising environmental damage and improving recreational benefits and appearance.