Urban
Key Messages
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Urban density reflects the number of people living in an area and influences how the city functions. Focusing increased densities in and around locations that have good access to high-frequency public transport, employment and services will create communities that are well‑planned and use land efficiently.
Urban density is particularly important in Queensland’s southeast. The South East Queensland Regional Plan 2017 (ShapingSEQ) aims to accommodate the region’s urban growth in the urban footprint, with 60% of all additional dwellings being accommodated through consolidation and 40% through expansion.
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Housing diversity provides for our changing lifestyles, demographics and housing preferences, while supporting choice and affordability. Planning for the region can accommodate these changes by enabling new models of living, services and lifestyle, including inter-generational living and the ability to age in place. With a focus on promoting design as a way to improve housing choice in the region, particularly through the attached dwellings (1–3 storeys) form of housing, we can create liveable urban places and spaces for our communities.
Housing diversity is particularly important in Queensland’s southeast. ShapingSEQ promotes housing diversity that will support the creation of great places throughout the region and focus on urban quality that contributes to a more socially cohesive and economically successful region.
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A transport system that is highly efficient has economic, environmental and social benefits, including faster freight and travel times, fewer vehicular emissions, and less time spent commuting. Efficiency can reduce congestion and improve travel time reliability which in turn can result in lower emissions, providing air quality and health benefits.
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Bikeways are used for both commuting and recreational uses. When the community cycles more often, it contributes to making our transport system more sustainable, and helps us to maintain a healthy environment and more active lifestyle. High levels of cycling contribute to the vitality of our cities and towns, helping to encourage a sense of community and connectedness.
State
- Housing diversity in Queensland
Detached dwellings dominate Queensland’s housing stock, however building approvals for high-rise (attached 4+ storeys) dwellings accounted for 19% of all approvals from 1 July 2016 to 31 December 2019, compared to 5% of dwelling stock in 2016.
- Change in density in residential areas
Queenslanders are living at higher dwelling densities, including on smaller lots in new urban subdivisions.
- Efficiency of the daily commute
The efficiency of the daily road network commute is marginally changing. Road network performance is unchanged when taking population growth, traffic and economic development into account.
- Percentage of the network with reliable travel times
The Queensland public transport sector is performing better than the target benchmarks (agreed service levels), particularly in South East Queensland. Public transport patronage is generally improving in Queensland. The addition of new networks increases public transport use.
- Use of bikeways in SEQ
Overall use of major bikeways in South East Queensland is increasing.
Pressure
- Increase in heavy vehicles
Almost 10 times the number of light commercial vehicles were on-road in Queensland compared with heavy freight vehicles as at 30 June 2019. The number of registered light commercial vehicles has more than doubled since 30 June 2001; the number of heavy freight vehicles has increased by 49% in the same period.
- Change in urban land use extent
The extent of urbanisation varies greatly between Natural Resource Management (NRM) regions across Queensland. The most urbanised regions are in the east and south — South East Queensland NRM region (15.50%), Reef NRM region (4.10%), Burnett Mary NRM region (2.80%), and Wet Tropics NRM region (2.27%) — while western and northern regions remain least urbanised.
Resources
| SEQ Growth Monitoring Program | The South East Queensland (SEQ) Growth Monitoring Program (GMP) provides comprehensive monitoring and annual reporting about land supply and development across local government areas in SEQ and the region. The GMP will assess progress made towards accommodating SEQ’s dwelling supply benchmarks, to inform future reviews of the regional plan and adjustment of policies and programs as required. Two of the core measures for reporting as part of the program are the indicators in this report – Housing Type and Housing Density. The Land Supply and Development Monitoring online report and Measures that Matter dashboard are key components of the GMP. The Land Supply and Development Monitoring (LSDM) online report for SEQ provides detailed data and analysis regarding the nature and location of land supply and development activity across SEQ. This provides a single point of truth for such data, informed by updates of existing models developed and managed by Councils and utility providers across SEQ. The LSDM online report is a key input to the delivery of the land supply and development monitoring function for the GMP. The report is released annually. Measures that Matter are reported on through the GMP, and are a set of measures of the progress in implementing ShapingSEQ. Measures are maintained and reported on regularly and are available an online dashboard. Two measures directly relate to the indicators reported on through the SoE report: Measure 3 – Housing Type The Housing type measure monitors elements of housing diversity in SEQ. This measure reports on the type of dwellings being delivered on an SEQ LGA and region-wide basis. A more diverse housing stock over time would be an indicator of success for regional plan implementation. Measure 4 – Housing Density The Housing density measure monitors the efficient land use in SEQ. This measure reports on mean population weighted dwelling density of all mesh blocks in each SEQ LGA and SEQ overall. An indicator of successful regional plan implementation would be an increase over time in dwelling density in SEQ. |
| Queensland Government Statistician’s Office reporting | The Queensland Government Statistician’s Office analyses and reports on median lot size data (housing density). |
| TransLink PT Performance Dashboard | Translink publishes the PT Performance Dashboard each quarter. The dashboard is a digital resources that brings greater accessibility and visibility of performance on SEQ’s public transport network. The Dashboard represents the SEQ area from the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast, and includes measures from on-time running, patronage, fines and warnings, passage injuries and 25 customer experience metrics. |
| Brisbane City Council bikeway counts | Brisbane City Council automated and manual bike and pedestrian, bikeway and cycling monitoring data. Used to capture cycleway patronage and support bikeway planning. |
| Queensland vehicle registration data | The Queensland Government provides data on the registration and information for all vehicles, trailers, caravans and motorcycles registered in Queensland. The information relates to vehicle make, year, colour, category, body shape and fuel type. Vehicle registration data is divided into a number of separate resources under two categories: light vehicles and other vehicles. |
| Department of Transport and Main Roads annual report | The Department of Transport and Main Roads Annual Report describes the department’s achievements, performance, outlook and financial position for the reporting year against the Strategic Plan. It is a key accountability document and is the main way the department reports on its performance to Parliament and the community. |