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The city of Banyule is a region of suburbs that make up the North Eastern fringe of Melbourne. Specifically, focussing on the north and north east of Banyule which encompasses Greensborough, St Helena, Eltham North and Montmorency. These specific suburbs within the City of Banyule are characterised by lush greenery and an abundance of eucalyptus trees. There is a distinct feel to the area through the abundance of trees and greenery in comparison to other areas of Melbourne. This essay will look to evaluate the City of Banyule in terms of walkability, cyclability with factors such as governance, environmental, economic playing a large part for certain parameters. Studies have alluded to the fact that Melbourne as a city has transferred momentum from compactness to sprawl stemming from the early 2000’s (Rahnama et al. 2020). With suburban areas anywhere between 15-40 km from the CBD seems to very much support the notion. One of these suburban areas is the City of Banyule. Within this region the preferred means of transport to reach work aligns with the trends of Melbourne, favouring private vehicular transport followed by walking, public transport and cycling respectively (Victorian Integrated Survey of Travel & Activity 2018). A contributing factor for this can be seen in the topographical features shown in figure 1 below. The large troughs and elevated peaks do make this region of the City of Banyule quite unique. The undulations in the environment can make it difficult for methods of transport such as walking and cycling to be exercised on a regular basis and as a means of getting to and from work. This along with factors such as shopping centres and amenities being a few kilometres from the majority of houses are indicative of why many favour private vehicles as the mode of transportation to commute. It would simply not be viable to walk or cycle to work for everyone in the population due to the strenuous nature of the task for the majority of the population especially if travelling into the CBD.

Figure'1.'Topographical'map'of'Greensborough,'St'helena,'Eltham'North.' Source:'https://en-au.topographic-map.com/maps/pu2g/Greensborough/'

'Studies conducted by the City of Banyule to improve walkability by 2028 also showed that the age demographic is expected to shift towards retired members and away from growing families. Areas such as Greensborough have already experienced decreases in medium & high density dwellings and a reduction in detached dwellings (City of Banyule 2018). The study also showed that due to the area’s high number of schooling facilities and amenities for the elderly, the demographic will have a higher proportion of children in primary school and elderly above the retirement age compared to the rest of Melbourne.

Figure'2.'Very'large'individual'dwellings'along'main'roads'such'as'shown'on'the'left'are'being'split' and'developed'into'8-10'townhouses'as'shown'on'the'right.'This'is'in'line'with'the'expected' demographic'shift'in'the'area.'(Google'maps)'

A survey conducted by Domain in 2018 depicted the most and least walkable areas in Melbourne amongst which Greensborough and its surroundings ranked in the mid range. It was seen that although the area contains the greenery and lush natural features to promote walking there was a lack of infrastructure such as cafes, established walkways and paths that promote exploration of the area on foot as opposed to areas such as Caulfield which was ranked very highly on the walkability index for these reasons (Williams, 2019). The railway system servicing the area paired with the bus routes throughout, helps alleviate the usage of cars but the convenience of the private vehicle still trumps the alternative means of transport. The revamp of the railway stations such as Montmorency & Greensborough aims to encourage more commuters to utilise the rail network due to its relative central location in the area as shown by the red circles in figure 2. The bus network has a relative satisfaction amongst residents in the area but will still receive upgrades to bus stops and more central bus terminals paired to the rail network to encourage extensive use (Integrated Transport Plan Banyule 2015 – 2035).

Many proposals have been made for this region by the City of Banyule to increase walking as the primary mode of transport, or atleast increase the proportion of people within it. The proposal from 2018 shows that extensive plans have been put in place to improve footpaths to make the task of tracking the topography of the area easier for the older demographic, and increasing pathways near schooling regions to encourage walking to school rather than being dropped off. Many of the schools also employ a zoning strategy where the residents have to live within a certain set distance to be able to attend that school. Usually these zones are 2-3 km from the school grounds which Figure'3.'Depicts'proposed'changes'for'walkways'to' definitely boosts the promote'walkability'within'the'City'of'Banyule.'Map'also' proportion of students shows'the'rail'network'and'the'service'area'in'red.' walking to school. The 2020 Source':'Banyule(Walking(strategy(2018' prospectus for St Helena Secondary college showed that from a survey conducted of the students, more than 60% of the students walked to school with less than 15% being dropped off via personal vehicular transportation. In comparison, Glen Katherine Primary school which is not zoned and is one of the larger primary schools in victoria reported less than 30% of the students walking to school (City of Banyule 2019) which is very apparent in the long drop off ques experienced in the morning around the school. As the population is expected to grow in primary school students there are some serious implementations that need to be expedited such as additional pathing that cuts through large parks and reserves currently found in the area. Intertwined into walkability is the cycleabilty of the area. The cycleability of the area has been less predominant mainly due to the topographical difficulties, but

despite this separate cycle tracks and cycle lanes are widespread across the region. These were implemented as part of the Banyule Bicycle Strategy 2010 – 2020 (City of banyule 2010). There were many community programs that were put in place to encourage more recreational cycling and fitness programs that aimed to target the younger working class to join weekend classes etc but unfortunately despite the infrastructure, the interest in the program dwindled in the early stages and due to lack of promotion through the channels the program was not as successful as it planned to be. The aim was to increase recreational cycling by up to 50% from 2010 – 2020 but the results shows only changes by up to 20%. Many residents were more open to the idea of the tracks and paths but rather than increase cycling in the area, it seemed to increase walking but up to 30%, many of the strategies are also being carried over onto the walkability project (City of Banyule, 2018). The City of Banyule has made further improvements to employment prospects and general safety of the area to ensure that residents need not travel to the CBD for work and are more comfortable utilising the new pathways to reach their workplace or for recreation. The large ovals for activities such as baseball, cricket, AFL, soccer in addition to the large Greensborough Shopping centre and the newer Watermarc (featuring aquatic activities and a water slides) aimed to encourage more residents to refer locally for their everyday life. The spots of recreation and relaxation also aid in breaking up the urban built environment. This does however bring more traffic into the areas in the form of sporting activities from surrounding suburbs, of which some are quite some distance away and thus inadvertently increase car traffic at some periods of the calendar year when these events are scheduled. This however cannot be attributed to poor planning by the City of Banyule and rather is more of a commentary of the fact that the area has grown into a small sporting centred region for many sporting clubs, many of which do not have the same amenities in their own local areas. The City of Banyule has many distinct features which are alluring for young families and older citizens alike. The greenery of the area, abundance of schools and amenities for shopping & leisure all add to the area and arguably has the makings of an area for great potential. The policies and implementations by the local government are looking to emphasise the ‘green’ initiatives in the area and advocate for more bipedal transport rather than private vehicles. The infrastructure plans and future policies are imperative to ensure that the goal of reducing car use is successful and ensure sustainable growth in the area.

References' ' FORSYTH,'ANN,'and'KEVIN'J.'KRIZEK.'“Promoting'Walking'and'Bicycling:'Assessing'v''''the' Evidence'to'Assist'Planners.”'Built(Environment((1978-),'vol.'36,'no.'4,'2010,'pp.'429– 446.'JSTOR,'www.jstor.org/stable/23289968' ' Marquet,'Oriol.'“Speck,'Jeff'(2012).'Walkable'City:'How'Downtown'Can'Save'America,' One'Step'at'a'Time.”'Documents(D'Anàlisi(Geogràfica,'vol.'61,'no.'2,'2015,'p.'436.,' doi:10.5565/rev/dag.274.'' ' Williams,'Joanna.'“Circular'Cities.”'Urban(Studies,'vol.'56,'no.'13,'2019,'pp.'2746–2762.,' doi:10.1177/0042098018806133.'' ' Goetz,'Edward'G.,'et'al.'“Whiteness'and'Urban'Planning.”'Journal(of(the(American(Planning( Association,'vol.'86,'no.'2,'2020,'pp.'142–156.,'doi:10.1080/01944363.2019.1693907.'' Gehl,'Jan.'Cities(for(People.'Island'Press,'2010.'' ' Rahnama,'Mohammad'Rahim,'et'al.'“A'Spatial-Temporal'Analysis'of'Urban'Growth'in' Melbourne;'Were'Local'Government'Areas'Moving'toward'Compact'or'Sprawl'from'2001– 2016?”'Applied(Geography,'vol.'124,'2020,'p.'102318.,'doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2020.102318.'' ' “Greensborough'Topographic'Map,'Elevation,'Relief.”'Topographic,'en-au.topographicmap.com/maps/pu2g/Greensborough/.'' ' “2016'Census'QuickStats.”'2016(Census(QuickStats:(Banyule((C),' quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/LGA2 0660#:~:text=The%20median%20age%20of%20people,up%2017.4%25%20of%20the%20po pulation.'' ' Heagney,'Melissa.'“Melbourne's'Most'and'Least'Walkable'Suburbs.”'Domain,'20'Oct.'2018,' www.domain.com.au/healthy-melbourne/melbournes-healthy-suburbs-2018/melbournemost-least-walkable-759248/.'' ( Banyule(Integrated(Transport(Plan(2015-2035.'Sept'2015' ( Banyule(Bicycle(Strategy(2010-2020,'Jan'2010' ( Banyule(Walking(Strategy(2018(–(2028,(Nov'2018'

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