Assessment of retail model in greenfield development settings

Conclusions and recommendations: The characteristics of a retail form that will boost health benefits, social interactions and community participation in new suburbs include: • better accessibility by active and public transport, • a decreased focus on car accessibility and car parking, • an open urban form, • more opportunities for smaller businesses and start-ups which reflect the local community and therefore add to social inclusion. The current retail model does not deliver these characteristics. To achieve the vision of a 20-minute neighbourhood retail centres should: • be located centrally to be a community anchor, within close walking distance for as many people as possible; • have increased density of housing around retail centres to provide a larger catchment of people within walking distance, increasing viability for a range of businesses; • include office accommodation for small business start-ups, community services and activities should be available; • be broken up into differing precincts as the central control by one commercial manager may limit diversity of tenants and services offerings. Importantly, consideration will also need to be given to the timing of retail provision in new neighbourhoods. Long delays cause significant dissatisfaction amongst new residents, reducing community cohesion and entrenching patterns of car dependency. A rethinking of the planning and delivery of retail provisions to Melbourne’s new suburbs is required. There is a need for more attention to fine grain detail in planning, the centralised and singular control, and the design, providing more permeable and accessible built forms.