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Implementation plans
> Activity centres > Appendix
> Appendix 3
Appendix 3
Activity Centre Design Guidelines
| Note: these guidelines are proposed
to be the basis of a future general planning Practice Note in
the urban design series produced by DOI. Your comments on the
guidelines are sought. |
How should activity centres be designed? In future, they will need
to accommodate more intense development and a greater range of uses,
particularly higher-density residential development. At the same
time, they will be expected to create more attractive environments
and minimise adverse impacts.
The illustration on the next page shows the scenarios that could
occur in a typical activity centre as a result of these expectations.
Of course, the future form of activity centres will vary with local
circumstances. Every activity centre has its own characteristics,
and part of the aim of an urban design approach is to reveal and
highlight these attributes.
Activity centres and sustainable urban
form
Many planners and designers argue that internalised (inward-looking),
stand-alone, mall-based developments are inconsistent with a sustainable
urban form, and that, henceforth, activity centres should be street-based.It
is the disconnection of many of these stand-alone centres from their
surrounds that is seen as a major problem. A development sited in
the middle of a large car park, with poor public transport services,
inconveniently located bus stops and poor walking and cycling connections
to the surrounding community, is designed primarily to serve car
users. Activity centres should be located and laid out to make public
transport, walking or cycling the easiest and the most convenient
modes of access.
Another major shortcoming of stand-alone, mall-based centres is
the poor quality of the public and pedestrian environment that lies
between each ‘parcel’ of develop-ment. Each parcel looks
inward, which means the building presents blank walls to the outside
while sitting in a sea of parking (and possibly some landscaping).
There is little or no safe, direct and convenient foot access between
each parcel, or even to adjoining residential areas. Even the street
systems fail to connect, so that it is necessary to drive from one
activity to another on the main highway. Centres such as these may
be successful as a collection of individual trading entities, but
they fail to contribute to a sustainable urban form. In future,
we must avoid the ‘gated community’ approach to activity
centre design.
To reduce the need to travel, it helps to concentrate most services
(for example, community services, municipal service centres, parks
and other public facilities such as medical centres, shops and restaurants)
into consolidated centres of activity. This means only one trip
is needed to fulfil multiple purposes, so, activity centres should
accommodate a wide range of uses, including larger format uses such
as supermarkets and office developments.
The case for street-based centres
How should different activities be integrated into a coherent, compact,
walkable centre? Most urban designers would argue that the street
should be the structural principle that fulfils this function. Streets
are multifunctional public spaces that connect most activity within
our towns and cities. In adding to the existing urban fabric, which
is street-based, the obvious starting point for any activity centre
should be an extension of the street system. People gain access
to a centre along streets, and walk around it along streets and
lanes. Activity centre design that is based on the street system
may make it easier to integrate with the local community’s
sense of place, which often incorporates the local street pattern.
Activity that adjoins streets and traffic along a roadway tends
to make sidewalk footpaths feel safer than segregated pedestrian
malls, particularly out of hours.
Principles for the design of activity
centres
Activity centres should be the focal points of the local community
and they are essential to local identity. They should be the places
in which local services are concentrated and at which public transport
interchange occurs. Their design and appearance should express public
and civic values. Their proper planning is the key to reducing car
dependence in Melbourne and other urban centres. The principles
that should guide the design of every activity centre are contained
in Action 1 of this draft Implementation Plan.
These guidelines demonstrate how these principles can be applied
to activity centres. They focus on six main topics: existing street-based
activity centres; mall-based centres and large stores; integrating
transit shops, stations and interchanges; residential use in and
around the centre; layout and structure of activity centres in new
areas; and building design and environmental sustainability.
Making car-based centres work better
Figure 6. Making car-based centres work
better - click for more detail
Existing street-based activity centres
For activity centres to fulfil their role as community identity
points, they must be attractive and convenient for all visitors.
A key to developing vibrant and attractive centres is to provide
a strong identity that builds on local character. Street environments
need to be welcoming and provide variety and interest.
| Overall
planning of activity centres |
| Guidelines |
Avoid |
|
Redesign centres to focus on transit stops or interchanges.
Redesign centres to address the surrounding streets
by bringing development out to the streets as far as
is practical.
Reconnect surrounding residential areas by making car-parking
areas more compact or putting them under-ground, and
by introducing new uses such as higher-density housing
or other activity centre uses.
Develop a public domain of new streets that connect
with each other and have traditional footpaths, and
refocus development to address these streets.
Introduce a full range of compatible activity centre
uses which are intermixed and well-connected.
|
Dispersing community facilities into locations that
are hard to access on foot or by public transport.
Extensive ground-level car parks separating the centre
from surrounding uses.
Inconveniently located bus stops, lack of weather protection
and poor interchange facilities.
‘Place-less’ development that destroys or
detracts from the valued character of the centre.
Disconnected footpaths interrupted by features such
as car parks or changes in level.
Level changes and physical barriers along key
pedestrian routes.
|
|
| Sense
of place and community |
| Guidelines |
Avoid |
|
Design the centre to provide a focus for the local
community and to reinforce a local sense of place or
identity.
Incorporate locally relevant urban art into the centre
as an integral part of its urban design.
|
Centres which lack a strong sense of identity.
‘Afterthought’ art works which do not relate
to the character and culture of the local community.
|
|
| Streets
and circulation |
| Guidelines |
Avoid |
|
Use streets to join activity rather than as boundaries
between uses and different densities.
Provide a connected, public, local circulation system
within larger centres (usually best achieved by a traditional
arrangement of streets and footpaths).
Develop streets that are safe, convenient and visually
interesting for pedestrians.
Provide secure bicycle parking.
Include islands, medians and crossings to help pedestrians
cross roads, and widened footpaths to improve pedestrian
conditions.
Use traffic calming to reduce vehicle speeds.
Clearly signpost off-street car parks.
|
Using streets as boundaries between different uses
and activities.
Internalised or privatised pedestrian links.
Car-dominated streets and footpaths lined with blank
walls.
|
|
| Promoting
street life and safety |
| Guidelines |
Avoid |
|
Enhance the sense of safety within the centre by ensuring
that public spaces are overlooked by people (including
from within buildings) for as long as possible every
day.
Organise uses within buildings abutting public spaces
so that ‘active’ ground floor uses foster
natural surveillance.
Design buildings so that the occupants can maintain
eye contact with people in the street (for example,
from balconies or windows that overlook the public space).
Provide well-lit streets and other public spaces to
enhance public safety and to contribute to the lively
character of the centre.
|
Poor street and public space lighting with an emphasis
on advertising and promotional lighting.
Large areas or wide building frontages with a single
use, particularly if the hours of occupation are limited.
Extensive blank-walled facades lacking in visual interest;
use of glass that hides the presence within the building
of people and activity.
Infrequently occupied ground floors, and blank ground-floor
walls fronting streets, footpaths and other public spaces.
|
|
| Public
domain design |
| Guidelines |
Avoid |
|
Develop an urban character and landscape theme that
reflects the valued urban, cultural or landscape character
of the area, and apply this consistently (including
to street furniture).
Use finishes to buildings and public spaces that are
robust and of high quality.
Clearly define the boundary between the public and
private spaces, and define these through techniques
such as use of materials.
Locate public spaces to maximise solar access particularly
during the cooler times of the year, and provide shade
in summer.
Provide attractive, well-located spaces for meeting
and resting.
Maintain and extend tree planting, to provide shade
and improve the environment.
|
Urban design character which does not relate to the
local area; sporadic and piecemeal landscape works;
one-off, featuristic design elements.
Materials and finishes of low durability, or susceptible
to vandalism.
Piecemeal approach to the introduction and
management of street furniture.
‘Gated’ community or semi-public areas, or
other
forms of semi-private enclosed spaces.
Key public spaces that are shaded in winter.
Creating ‘afterthought’ spaces in locations
that will
not be used.
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