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Activity Centre
Performance Measurement
National Mainstreet Australia Conference

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Do you enjoy mainstreets like this?

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Or this?

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Question:
How do we plan for vibrant mainstreets
that are not all competing for the same
diminishing retail catchment?

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Sunshine
Precinct
Tour

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8.25
5.70
7.75
8.75
7.61
2.69
6.50
8.13
6.15
5.86
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00
Sydney Road, Brunswick

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Contents
 Activity Centre Performance Assessment Toolkit
 Eight criteria and metrics for measuring
performance
 Mainstreet assessment examples – precinct tours
 Purpose of measuring criteria and how achieving
high performance can contribute to successful
centres
 How this analysis can be used in planning

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Toolkit
 Developed to assist WA planning
move away from retail floorspace
caps
 Metrics form part of WA State
Planning Policy Activity Centres for
Perth & Peel
 Being used by local governments
for Local Commercial and Activity
Centre Strategies (LCACS)
 Used by centre owners to obtain
approval for
redevelopment/expansion – but
also seeing commercial benefits
A
c
tivityC
entre
P
erform
anc
eT
oolkit
 Explanatory ‘Toolkit’ produced for Property Council WA and
SA

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Chapel Street, South Yarra/Prahran
Economic Sustainability: 8.23
out of 10
Urban Form: 7.75 out of 10

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Sydney Road, Brunswick
Economic Sustainability: 7.61 out
of 10
Urban Form: 5.86 out of 10

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Acland St, Fitzroy St & Esplanade, St
Kilda
Economic Sustainability: 6.75 out of
10
Urban Form: 8.19 out of 10

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Hampshire Road, Sunshine
Economic Sustainability: 6.18
out of 10
Urban Form: 5.91 out of 10

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Activity
Intensity
6.80
4.70
5.50
5.70
7.40
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00
Average Mainstreet
Sunshine
St Kilda
Sydney Rd
Chapel St
Intensity
Metrics:
 Residential density
 Employment density

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New residential development in
Sunshine

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Activity
Diversity
7.75
7.50
8.25
8.25
8.00
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00
Average Mainstreet
Sunshine
St Kilda
Sydney Rd
Chapel St
Diversity

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Employme
nt
6.75
6.00
5.75
7.75
8.75
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00
Average Mainstreet
Sunshine
St Kilda
Sydney Rd
Chapel St
Employment

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Accessibili
ty
8.25
6.50
7.50
8.75
8.75
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00
Average Mainstreet
Sunshine
St Kilda
Sydney Rd
Chapel St
Accessibility

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Urban
Quality
5.83
4.09
8.59
2.69
6.40
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00
Average Mainstreet
Sunshine
St Kilda
Sydney Rd
Chapel St
Quality

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Urban
Amenity
7.19
6.25
8.28
6.50
7.50
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00
Average Mainstreet
Sunshine
St Kilda
Sydney Rd
Chapel St
Amenity

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Mobility
7.86
6.88
7.81
8.13
9.38
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00
Average Mainstreet
Sunshine
St Kilda
Sydney Rd
Chapel St
Mobility

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7.34
6.41
8.07
6.15
7.71
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00 9.00 10.00
Average Mainstreet
Sunshine
St Kilda
Sydney Rd
Chapel St
Safety
Safety

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8.23
7.61
6.75
6.18
7.75
5.86
8.19
5.91
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00
Chapel St Sydney Rd St Kilda Sunshine
Economic
Urban Form

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Why are these metrics useful?
 Economic metrics relate to the number and
diversity of users, and their ability to utilise the
centre
 Urban form metrics relate to attractiveness of
centre to users - visitors, residents or
businesses

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Common goal of successful
centres
 Centres are more sustainable, active and
utilised, and therefore more successful
 Greater commercial revenue, better places,
greater labour productivity, uplift in property
values, greater employment self-sufficiency
 More efficient and effective urban form
 Goal shared by all of us

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Who Problem Solution
Everyone
Decision-making without an
evidence base
Create a database of centre
assessments using a consistent set of
metrics
Aspire to be like successful
example centres but not sure how
Learn lessons and implement actions
from other cities and centres through
national benchmarking
Precinct
Association
Witness the day-to-day issues but
lack control over the big picture
Get better informed through centre
assessment - to take action in areas of
control, and influence higher decision
making
Centre Owner
Need approval to redevelop but
don’t know how to demonstrate
wider benefits of the proposal
Assess the current centre, and assess
how the DA will affect future
performance against each of the
metrics
How can we use this analysis?

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Who Problem Solution
Planning
Authority
Want to maximise the potential
of urban development and
infrastructure investment but
lack criteria for decision-making
Assess the current centre, and assess
how the masterplan will affect
future performance against each of
the metrics
Local
Government
Caught between state
government policy and targets,
and private sector development
pressures.
Measure the performance of each
centre in the LGA network to
determine their role and vision
within a Local Activity Centre
Strategy
State
Government
Needs to focus resources and
set sub-regional targets without
knowledge of individual centre
performance
Assess the highest performing and
most economically valuable centres
and fund infrastructure to maximise
their wider economic and social
impact

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In Conclusion
 Common goal of everyone here is to create
successful, interesting, accessible centres and
main streets.
 Common experience across Australia
 Different tools and levers available to different
authorities
 Common starting point is consistent measurement
 Lots of data available that isn’t being used to full
potential

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