Does Metropolitan Policy Guide Urban Consolidation in Melbourne’s Greyfields? Assessing Policy and Development Outcomes in Reservoir

ABSTRACT Melbourne’s current metropolitan plan targets greyfield areas for urban regeneration to increase density, while relying on local governments to implement urban consolidation. This article evaluates the effectiveness of Melbourne’s metropolitan and local policies for greyfield urban consolidation and its implications for the future of the city. Melbourne’s middle ring suburbs are important areas of potential greyfield densification, containing large amounts of low density, obsolete ageing housing stock in high-amenity locations. This research however finds the quality of metropolitan and local planning policy is low, the integration between metropolitan and local policy is poor and that development outcomes do not reflect policy aims for greyfield urban consolidation. The paper calls for governments to adopt new policy approaches to greyfield planning as the current, fragmented approach appears ineffective in delivering urban consolidation in greyfield areas.