Placement and integration of amenities Print

Design Outcome

Subdivision design locates amenities where they have maximum exposure and accessibility

Good access to amenities like parks or local shops increases the likelihood that amenities and the routes to them will be used more, and users will feel safer.

This maximises the social and economic return on the community’s investment in those amenities through: • higher property values, • a stronger sense of local identity • more public use of expensive infrastructure like parks and playground equipment.

Better Design Practice

Connections between important amenities and features should be highlighted through street layout, street trees and other prompts.
Locate amenities and exemplar development on prominent sites. For example at intersections or on sites that are highly visible.
Integrate amenities and routes to them into the subdivision by maximising their road frontage, and planning for future land uses to overlook the amenities. Landscaping should also be used to emphasise the presence of features in the subdivision.

Rules of Thumb

1. Aim to have public street fronts (or the fronts of dwellings) for at least two thirds of all open spaces and retained natural features, except habitat or ecological spaces not intended for recreational use or human access.

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Placement and integration of amenities Print

Design Outcome

Subdivision design locates amenities where they have maximum exposure and accessibility

​​​​​​Good access to amenities like parks or local shops increases the likelihood that amenities and the routes to them will be used more, and users will feel safer.

Better Design Practice

Rules of Thumb

1. Aim to have public street fronts (or the fronts of dwellings) for at least two thirds of all open spaces and retained natural features, except habitat or ecological spaces not intended for recreational use or human access.

Good access to amenities like parks or local shops increases the likelihood that amenities and the routes to them will be used more, and users will feel safer.