veac demographics report final 14.7.09

8/13/2019 VEAC Demographics Report Final 14.7.09

1/17

Demographiccharacteristicsofcommunities

withinthe

MelbourneInvestigationAreaReportpreparedforthe

VictorianEnvironmentalAssessmentCouncil

MetropolitanMelbourneInvestigation


2/17

VEACMelbourneInvestigationAreaDemographicsreport

TableofContents

Introduction 4

Population 6

Populationchange 7

Housing

8

Agestructure 9

Ethnicity 12

Socioeconomicstatus 13

Journeytowork 15

Diurnalpopulations

16

APPENDIX:

SummarydataforLocalGovernmentAreasintheMelbourneInvestigationArea 17

Technical Note: Geographical scales used in this report


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ListofFigures1. MelbourneInvestigationAreaLocalGovernmentAreas

2. Melbournesurbandevelopment1851to2004

3. PopulationofMelbourne1836to2006

4.

Proposed

Urban

Growth

Boundary

2009

Melbourne

Investigation

Area

5. Populationdensity2006CensusCollectionDistrictsinInvestigationArea

6. LGApopulationasapercentageofInvestigationAreapopulation2006

7. Indigenouspopulation2006StatisticalLocalAreasinInvestigationArea

8. Populationchange1996to2006SuburbsinInvestigationArea

9. Projectedpopulationgrowth2006to2026LGAsinInvestigationArea

10. Growthindexforhouseholds,dwellingsandpopulation1981to2006Victoria,

11. Averagehouseholdanddwellingsize1991to2003MetropolitanMelbourne

12. Medianhouseprice1996to2006SuburbsinInvestigationarea

13. Agestructure2006SelectedLGAsinInvestigationArea

14. Proportionofpopulationaged65yearsandover2006StatisticalLocalAreasin

InvestigationArea

15. Projectedagestructure2006and2026MelbourneStatisticalDivision.

16. Proportionofoverseasborn2006StatisticalLocalAreasinInvestigationArea

17. Proportionofoverseasbornwhohavearrivedsince2001StatisticalLocalAreasin

InvestigationArea2006

18. Medianindividualincome2006StatisticalLocalAreasinInvestigationArea

19.

Indexof

disadvantage

2006

Statistical

Local

Areas

in

Investigation

Area

20. Proportionofpopulationnotinthelabourforce2006StatisticalLocalAreasin

InvestigationArea

21. Journeytowork,modeoftravel2006MelbourneInvestigationArea

22 Journey to work selectedmodes of travel 2006 Melbourne Investigation Area


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Introduction

TheMelbourne

Investigation

Area

coversmostofmetropolitan

Melbourne1.Itcomprises29Local

GovernmentAreasandanareaof

5,640squarekilometres(figure1).

Byworldstandardsmetropolitan

Melbourneisalowdensity,sprawling

city.Founded

in

1836,

the

colonial

townestablisheditselfasaport.

Withtheadventofthe1850sgold

rush,itdevelopedrapidlyastheport

throughwhichmanynewmigrants

arrivedontheirwaytothegoldfields.

The1880ssawfurtherdevelopment

andalargeamountofurban

subdivisionand

land

speculation

took

placeatthistime(figure2).Itcame

toanabrupthaltwiththedepression

ofthe1890sandmanyofthe

speculativesubdivisionslayvacant

formanydecades.

The20th

centurysawcontinued

expansionofthecitywhich,atthe

endoftheSecondWorldWarhad

apopulationofaround1.2million.

Followingthewar,thecity

expandedgreatlydueto:strong

overseasmigration;thepostWar

babyboom;andgrowingpersonal

mobilitybroughtbywiderlevelsof

hi A lt


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Thebeginningofthenewcenturysawconcernsbeingraisedaboutthisongoingexpansionofthecity

andits

suburbs.

By

1996,

metropolitanMelbournes

population

had

reached

3.3

million

and

its

physicalbreadthwasaround90kilometres(WerribeetoPakenham).In2002anUrbanGrowth

BoundarywasintroducedaspartoftheMelbourne2030metropolitanplan.Anextensiontothis

occurredin2005andanotherproposedin2009duetounexpectedlyrapidpopulationgrowth(figure

4).

LocalGovernmentAreas(LGAs)in

theMelbourneInvestigationArea

varyin

size

from

Yarra

and

Port

Phillip,whicharearound20square

kilometresinarea,toouter

municipalitiesofMeltonWyndham

andHumeeacharound500square

kilometres in size The largest LGA


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Population

PopulationdensityPopulationdensityishighestin

areasthathavebeensettledthe

longestandcontainpredominantly

residentiallanduses.Suburbs

developedafterWorldWarTwo

tendtobeoflowerdensitydueto

thegreater

accessibility

of

areas

madepossiblethroughwidespread

carownershipanduse.The

influenceofMelbournesrailand

tramsystemsisevidentinthe

higherdensitiesfoundalongthese

linesofaccessibility(figure5).

Areasalong

the

Yarra

Valley

have

lowerpopulationdensitiesdueto

theconstraintscreatedbyflooding

andlandconservationwhilemany

areastothewestandaroundMonashshowapatchypatternofsettlementdensityduetothe

presenceoflargeareasofcommercialandindustrialland.AnotherfeatureofMelbournesplanning

anddevelopmentisthelocationofgreenwedgeswhichactasbreaksbetweencorridorsofurban

development.Eachofthesewedgesisevidentonthepopulationdensitymap.

PopulationdistributionTheInvestigationareahadan

EstimatedResidentPopulation

(ERP2)of3,459,140in2006.This

represents67.5percentof

Victoriaspopulation.

Municipalitieswiththegreatest

shareofthispopulationtendtobe

largeinsizeandarelocatedin

outerorfringeareas,notably

Casey, Monash and Brimbank.


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IndigenouspopulationAccordingtothe2006census,the

InvestigationArea

was

home

to

around12,600Indigenous

persons,representing0.4percent

oftheAreastotalpopulation.The

strongestclusterofIndigenous

residentsisinthemunicipalityof

Darebin,particularlyaroundthe

suburbofPreston.Northcoteto

thesouth

and

Whittlesea

to

the

northarealsohometorelatively

highproportionsofIndigenous

people(figure7).Otherthanthese

locations,Indigenouspeopleare

foundingreaterproportionsin

outersuburbsofMelbourne.

Populationchange

PopulationchangeThestrongestpopulationgrowthhasoccurredinoutersuburbs(newhousingestates)andincentral

Melbourne(high

density

apartment

style

development

in

locations

such

as

Docklands

and

Southbank).Growthhasbeensteadyinmostothersuburbanareasalthoughseveralbandsof

populationdeclinecanbeseeninoutersuburbstotheeast,westandnorthwest(figure8).This

coincideswithsuburbsthatweredevelopedinthe1970sand1980sandattractedlargenumbersof

youngfamilies(asfringesuburbsstilldotoday).

Sincethemid1990sthesesuburbs

haveexperiencedalossofyoung

adultsleavinghomethusleaving

apopulationofemptynesters.

Withhouseholdsizesdiminishingas

aresultofthisout movementof

youngadults,suchsuburbs

i l i d


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FuturepopulationgrowthPopulationprojectionspreparedby

theVictorianGovernmentindicate

continuedstrongpopulation

growthincentralMelbourneandin

fringesuburbsdesignatedfor

futureurbandevelopment(figure

9).Areasoflowergrowthcanbe

foundin

middle

and

outer

suburbs

andareastothenortheast.No

municipalityintheInvestigation

Areaisprojectedtoexperience

populationdeclineoverthecoming

twodecades.

Populationgrowthinanareamay

involveincreased

areas

of

land

usedforhousing.Alternativelyit

mayinvolveincreaseddensityof

population theexampleof

MelbourneCityCouncilisacasein

pointwherethedensityis

projectedtodoubleinthe20yearperiodto2026.Thismayplaceincreasingdemandonpublicland

andfacilitiesinthecentralcityarea.Notehowever,thatsuchassetsalreadycaterforapopulation

muchgreater

than

their

resident

population

due

to

the

large

numbers

of

daytime

visitors

(commuters)andtouristsattractedtocentralMelbourne.

Housing

Housingdemandhasincreasedmorestronglythanpopulationgrowthinrecentdecades.Thisis

largelybecauseofdeclininghouseholdsize(fewerpeopleperhouse).Evenapopulationwhichisnot

growingstronglyislikelytoneedanincreasingnumberanddiversityofhouses(figure10).


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Althoughhouseholdsizeisdecreasing,thesizeofnewhousesacrossmostofMelbourneis

increasing.Thiscanreflectincreasingrealwealthaswellaschanginglifestylesforexample,the

needfor

home

office

space

or

the

desire

to

have

home

theatres

and

other

activity

space

(figure

11).

PriceofHousingGenerally,housepricesarehigher

incentralandinnersuburbswhere

accesstotheCentralBusiness

Districtisgreater.However,

suburbsfurther

from

the

central

areawithhighamenityvalues(for

example,proximitytoPortPhillip

Bay,YarraValleyorDandenong

Rangeshavehigherhousevalues.

Thecentraleasternsuburbsaround

StonningtonandWhitehorsealso

havehighhousepricesbecauseof

accessto

private

education

facilities(figure12).

HousingandpubliclandAsacommunity,weareconsuming

morelandthaninthepastandthis

hasaneffectontheexpansionof

theurban

area

into

previously

rural

areas.Urbanconsolidationisone

policywhichaimstolessentheimpactofurbansprawl.Higherdensityhousingmayincrease

populationinsomeareas,potentiallyincreasingdemandoruseofpublicopenspaceandpublic

facilities.Provisionofopenspaceinhighdensitylocationsmaybechallengingduetolimited

availablespace,howeverinnovativeurbandesignapproachescanenhanceandmaximizepublic

spaceopportunitiesinsuchlocations.

Agestructure

AgestructureandpubliclandDifferentagegroupshavedifferentuseofpubliclandanddifferentneedsintermsofpublicfacilities

(eg.playgroundsforchildren,sportsovalsforteenagers,walkingpathwaysandseatingforseniors).


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Outersuburbs,bycontrast,showthepresenceoffamilyagegroupswithparents(3049)and

children(019)moredominant.Suchanageprofileisevidentinsuburbsthathavebeenrecently

developedwithyoungfamiliesbeingamajormarketfornewhousing.Establishedareasusuallyshow

amixoffeaturesastheyhaveexperiencedwavesofdevelopment,redevelopmentandpopulation

t B f thi th i fil h l ti l t ti ll


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YoungeragegroupsYoung

adults

tend

to

locate

in

centralandinnersuburbs.Forthis

reasonthemedianageofcentral

Melbourneislessthan30years

andproportionsofpeopleaged65

yearsandoverislessthan7%.

Someouterareasalsohavevery

lowproportionsofolderpeopleas

youngfamilies

tend

to

locate

in

newlydevelopedsuburbssuchas

MeltonandWyndham.

ProjectedagestructureWhileMelbournespopulationis

projectedtogrowstronglyoverthe

comingdecades,

particular

age

groupswillincreasetoagreater

extentthanothers(figure15).

ThelargenumberofpeopleborninthepostWorldWarTwobabyboomperiodarereaching

retirementageandtheywillcontributetolargenumbersofpeopleaged55yearsandoverbetween

2006and2026.

Highlevelsofoverseasmigrationwillcontributetogreaternumbersofpeopleintheir20sand30s

whicharepeakyearsforhavingchildren.Hence,by2026thereisalargenumberoffamilies(adults

aged25to40)andchildren(aged015)inthepopulation.Theseagegroupswilllessentheimpactof

populationageingonMelbournespopulationstructure.


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Ethnicity

EthnicityandpubliclandSomesurveyresearchhasbeen

undertakeninrelationtousageof

parksandpublicfacilitiesbyethnic

groups.Conclusionsfromsuch

researchisnotalwaysconsistent.The

SydneyParksGrouphasundertaken

regular

community

surveys

of

public

parkusageintheSydneymetropolitan

area(Environmetrics1998,2001and

TavernerResearch20043).Findings

suggestlittledifferenceinparkusage

betweenoverseasbornandAustralian

born,althoughthosespeakinga

languageotherthanEnglishathome

wereless

likely

to

have

visited

apark

intheweekprecedingthesurvey.

Anothersurveyconductedbythe

MonashTourismResearchUnitin

2008suggestslowerratesofparkuse

byfirstgenerationmigrants4.

OverseasbornThehighestproportionsofoverseas

bornarefoundinlocationsaround

FootscrayMaribyrnonginthewest,

PrestonCoburginthenorthand

DandenongSpringvaleinthesouth

east(figure16).Thesepatternsreflect

manywavesofpostWorldWarTwo

migration.

Thelocationalpatternofrecent

migrantarrivals(since2001)showsa

somewhatdifferentpatternthanthe

total overseas born population (figure


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Socioeconomicstatus

IncomeIncomeisacriticalfactorin

determiningchoicesand

opportunitiesforpeople.Those

onlowincomesmayface

constraintsintermsofaccessto

facilitiesorservicesthatare

costly

or

that

involve

transport

costs.Ontheotherhand,public

openspacecanprovidelowcost

recreationalopportunities

especiallywhenitislocated

withinreasonabledistancefrom

thoseonlowincomes.

Withinthe

Investigation

Area,

areasofhighestincomeare

foundtotheeast(Boroondara,

Stonnington,Yarra,PortPhillip)

andtothewestinWerribee

South(SanctuaryLakesand

PointCook).Areasoflowest

incomeincludeabandinthe

westernand

northern

suburbs

from

Footscray

through

to

Broadmeadows

and

in

the

south

east

areas

aroundDandenongandruralareasinthesouthernpartofCardinia(figure18).

DisadvantageDisadvantageusuallyreferstomultiplefactorswhichtogetherreducetheopportunities,lifechances

orhealthofindividualsorcommunities.Liketheindicatorofincome,itcansuggestgreaterorlesser

choicesoropportunitiesforsomecommunitiesthanothersandthiscanbeimportantwhen

consideringaccess

to

open

space

or

recreational

opportunities.

Given

that

health

status

is

apart

of

themeasureofdisadvantage,thepotentialbenefitsofaccesstopubliclandforrecreational

purposesmaybeimportant.

Thetypesoffactorsrecognisedasbeingimportantindeterminingadvantageordisadvantage

include:


14/17


TheABShasdevelopedSocio

economicIndexesforAreas(SEIFA)

whichcombine

these

and

other

factors.TheSEIFAIndexesare

widelyusedasameasureof

advantageanddisadvantage.

AnIndexofDisadvantageof1000

representstheAustralianaverage.

Scoreslowerthanthisrepresent

areasof

greater

disadvantage.

WithintheInvestigationArea,areas

ofgreatestdisadvantagearefound

tothewestinHobsonsBay,

BrimbankandMaribyrnong,tothe

northaroundBroadmeadowsand

tothesoutheastinDandenong

(figure19).

ThosenotinthelabourforceWhileunemployedpersonsare

definedas

those

seeking

employment,thecategoryofnot

inthelabourforce(NILF)includes

peopleofworkingage(15to65

years)whoarenotactivelyseeking

work.Thismayincludestayat

homeparentsorcarersorpeople

withouttheeconomicneedto

work.These

people

may

have

specificneedsintermsoftheiruse

ofpublicopenspace(forexample

childrensplaygrounds).

In the Investigation Area a ring of


15/17


JourneytoWork

TheABS

Census

collects

information

on

how

peopletravelledtoworkonthedayofthecensus.

Forthosewhotravelledtowork,thetypeof

transportusedisrecorded.Overall,the

InvestigationAreashowsthatcartravelisbyfar

themostcommonformoftransportused(81.5%),

followedbypublictransport(11%)(figure21).

Residentsinmiddleandcentralsuburbsof

Melbournehaveagreaterdiversityoftransport

modesavailable,andproximitytomajor

employmentcentres(suchasthecentralbusiness

district)alsoallowwalkingorcyclingtobeaviable

traveloptionformanycommuters(figure22).

Numbersofpeopleusingpublictransport,walking


16/17


Diurnalpopulations

Becauseof

the

daily

mobility

of

people,

the

population

of

Melbourne

municipalities

will

vary

during

thecourseofaday.Thishasparticularimplicationsforpubliclandbecausethelocationofpeopleat

differentpointsduringadaywillcreateparticularrecreationalorotherdemandsonpublicland

resources.

ThemostextremecaseisinthecentralcityofMelbournewhereweekdaypopulationscanbeashigh

as300,000duringdaytimeworkinghourswhereastheresidentpopulationislessthan50,000(figure

23).Becauseofthis,thepubliclandresourceslocatedinthecentralcityarelikelytoserviceamuch

higherpopulation

than

local

resident

numbers

would

suggest.

Residentialsuburbsoutsidethecentralcityoftendisplaytheoppositepattern,withpopulation

numbersdroppingduringtheday.Thiswouldtendtooccurduringtheworkingweekascommuters

travelledoutofthesuburb.Populationsarelikelytobemorestableinthesesuburbsonweekends.


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veac demographics report final 14.7.09

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