Melbourne’s 20-Minute Cities

March 2018

As Melbourne’s urban sprawl continues with traffic congestion and long commute times on the rise, the 20-minute city concept is increasingly being realised in Melbourne’s western suburbs with many making the smart choice to live, work and play in the region.

The 20-minute concept is one of the core focuses of the Andrews government’s Melbourne blueprint for 2050, with the idea of creating a series of ‘20-minute neighbourhoods’, where people can access everything from work, recreation, schools and medical care all within 20 minutes from home.

ASX 300-listed property developer Cedar Woods has noticed this trend at its St Albans master planned community St.A, where a number of sales have gone to buyers wanting to live close to the amenity offered within the suburb.

The Maple Release, the latest release in St.A, is already 80 per cent sold since launching in March and so far the majority of sales have been to the owner occupier market.

Phung Nguyen, a 28-year-old radiographer, and her partner recently purchased a four bedroom townhome in St.A, primarily due to its close proximity to her workplace as well as the best shops and amenity in the area.

"Our reasons for purchasing a property in St.A came down to the location. I work in several different hospitals in the western areas and this played a huge role in the locations we were looking at,” says Nguyen.

“We plan on spending a majority of our time living locally. St.A is pretty much in the heart of the suburb, we will look to utilise local services on Alfrieda Street for day-to-day tasks such as dining out, groceries and the medical centre.”

Cedar Woods Chief Operating Officer Patrick Archer says it is not surprising that buyers are wanting to adopt the 20-minute city concept within St Albans and stay local.

“St Albans is one of Melbourne’s growing suburbs. There is healthy growth forecast for the region and buyers are happy to spend a majority of their time in this area,” says Mr. Archer.

“The 20-minute city concept is definitely a reality for purchasers in St.A. They have everything nearby from hospitals, education, employment and recreation, and understand it simply isn’t feasible to travel daily from one side of Melbourne to the other.”

In particular, St.A and its surrounds make up part of the Sunshine National Employment Cluster, which is home to over 14,000 jobs. Plan Melbourne has earmarked the cluster to become one of three emerging employment precincts across Melbourne.