Current Projects:

Environmental Indicators For Metropolitan Melbourne (EIMM)

The Environmental Indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne Bulletin was born in 1998 because most people and institutions working to make environmental improvements at a local level did not have easy access to data about the urban environment. Instead, data had to be gleaned out of scattered sources from our many government departments, non-government organizations and academic institutions. Without up-to-date environmental data we cannot effectively gauge the condition of our local environment, or when and where to best initiate change.

The Bulletin provides at-your-fingertips access to a wide spectrum of environmental information which is divided up into themes chosen for their relevance at a local level: Air Emission, Air Quality, Beach and Bay, Biodiversity, Buildings, Greenhouse, Litter, Open Space, Transport, Waste and Water. Every second year half of these themes are revisited and updated. A range of indicators are reported on in each theme, to provide a measure of the pressures, condition and responses to a theme. We hope that the Bulletin will help people to engage in effective  action to improve the urban environment.

The Bulletin is an independent and collaborative production of the Australian Institute of Urban Studies (Vic.) and the City of Melbourne, and supported by over half of Melbourne's local councils and relevant State agencies. The latest bulletin and a full archive of past bulletins is now published on the AIUS (Vic.)website at http://www.aius.org.au/indicators/index.cfm .

AIUS is currently planning a review of the EIMM project with the aim of mapping the direction for the next seven years but also to ensure the EIMM fits well within the emerging context of a shared framework of State and local government sustainability policy and that it will also align with the framework to be set by the Victorian Government’s Commissioner for the Environment’s State of The Environment Report to be published in 2008.  http://www.ces.vic.gov.au/CES/wcmn301.nsf/Home+Page/08A1CF07F5528C6CCA256F41000434FD?open

Projects in Development:

In recent years a broad consensus has emerged between governments, industry and research institutions on the need to build more compact Australian cities. In this context of urban consolidation AIUS has identified the need for better local information and understanding about this move towards urban consolidation In particular the themes of urban safety and urban transport and mobility have become important dimensions of government policy and public interest. Building on the successful model of the Environmental Indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne (EIMM) http://www.aius.org.au/indicators/about.cfm , AIUS (Vic.) has initiated development of proposals for two new urban indicator projects: Transport and Mobility Indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne (TMIMM) and Urban Safety Indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne (USIMM).

Indicator reporting is a key information link between policy and action. The EIMM is successful because it meets the need to bring broad urban issues and policy objectives down into the various local perspectives of the participating local Councils where better understanding and informed action initiatives can take root.  AIUS has been convening the EIMM annually since 1998 and some key features of this project include:

• an active, ongoing  collaboration of the metropolitan and the relevant Victorian State Government agencies.
• Pooling resources to engage expertise to produce a cost effective product
• An ongoing forum for the responsible public officers to share information and issues from their respective perspectives
• Reporting at a local government level using an agreed consistent set of themes and indicators that allows for cross Council comparisons. 
• Coordinated funding and in-kind contributions from all the participating organizations.
• A shared perspective for both local and state governments and their agencies.

It is proposed to take model tested in the EIMM and develop frameworks for two new sibling projects on urban safety and transport and mobility.

Transport and Mobility Indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne. Draft Discussion Paper. 12th April 2005
Prepared by: Dr.Jan Scheurer and David Mayes

Purpose:
To develop a detailed discussion paper for a project to report annually and at a local level on transport and mobility Indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne.

• Journey-to-work modal split (a census item) at highly aggregated levels;
• Infrastructure development (particularly for cycling).

There is as yet little consideration for mobility conditions as users perceive (and respond to) them, for specific mobility profiles in local areas, and for the links and correlation between mobility conditions and other fields of sustainability.

Melbourne 2030 sets an ambitious goal for shifting mode choice across the metropolitan area. Between 1995 and 2020,

• Car use is intended to decrease from 74% of all trips to roughly 60%;
• Public transport use is intended to increase from 7% of all trips to roughly 15%;
• Walking and cycling are intended to increase from 19% of all trips to roughly 25%.

While providing a host of general policy directions and aspirations related to these goals, the strategy is characterized by a lack of directives and targets towards particular locations and market segments in order to achieve these changes.

• Quantify the impact of behavioral strategies on mode choice. This requires a systematic and ongoing evaluation of TravelSmart results to identify in detail where and with what target groups such programs are successful or unsuccessful. Correlations with ABS and DOI data can help localizing precincts or population segments with characteristics relevant to mobility behavior: variations in vehicle ownership, public transport usage, work-home co-location etc. Experiences from Melbourne’s emerging car sharing organizations could play a role here as well.
• Provide a set of localized mobility indicators to inform policy development at council level. Activity centers in particular could be systematically assessed with regard to accessibility for each mode of transport, built form, demographic data, parking conditions, pedestrian-friendly urban design features and the quality of public transport interchanges. Similar indicators could be formulated for residential areas or employment clusters by correlating council data with ABS and DOI figures as well as on-site surveying.
• Clarify the links between mobility policy and other fields of sustainability. Mobility indicators could be correlated, geographically and/or by socio-economic milieu, with findings in the areas of environmental protection, social justice, economic robustness, cultural diversity, urban form etc.

• all local councils in metro Melbourne  .
• State Government in particular the TravelSmart group and others from the Public Transport Division at DOI and the Transit Cities program at DSE.
• Non-governmental organizations including  Metropolitan Transport Forum (MTF), the Victorian Local Government Association (VLGA) and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI).
• Academic partners include RMIT University (Reimagining the Australian Suburb research group), and possibly AHURI and Monash University

Dr. Jan Scheurer - jan.scheurer@rmit.edu.au
David Mayes - dlmayes@optusnet.com.au

Urban Safety Indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne. Draft brief March 2005

Purpose: 
To develop a set of indicators for measuring community safety and security for Melbourne.

• Community safety and security are considered essential for supporting the livability of urban areas.
• The community has concerns about safety and security that may restrict mobility and activity and reduce independence.
• There are many theories regarding the safety and security performance of various urban areas.
• Safety and security issues are frequently cited as justifying a particular action or initiative in an area.
• There are two separate issues concerning community safety: the actual safety and the perceived safety of an area.
• Melbourne 2030 policy 5.3: Improve community safety and encourage neighbourhood design that makes people feel safe.
• Currently there is no independent reporting to the community of safety and security indicators.

• Investigate current safety and security reporting in metropolitan Melbourne
• Develop criteria and a methodology for safety and security measurement and a suite of indicators for metropolitan Melbourne
• Consider how the indicators might be developed in terms of locational reporting and spatial characteristics. Refer to Environmental Indicators for Metropolitan Melbourne published by AIUS and City of Melbourne.
• Consider that this information could be used to inform actions and initiatives in the built environment to reduce the risk to safety and to focus the form of the information provided to be useful in this context.
• Consider various crime patterns, and various fear patterns with urban context or form; various policing techniques such as private security services, neighbourhood watch, CCTV, improved lighting.

A discussion paper is being jointly developed by AIUS and a post graduate student group under Dr. Carolyn Whitzmann from the Faculty of Architecture Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne and will be completed by June2005.

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