 Abstract | Dual occupancy, the development of two dwellings on a
single allotment, was initially formulated by the
Victorian Ministry of Housing in the late 1970s as a
housing policy. In the 1980s it became a planning issue
and was then developed as a key plank of metropolitan
planning policy by the (then) Ministry for Planning and
Environment, resulting in specific controls being
introduced into metropolitan planning schemes in 1985. By
1987 it had become a major mechanism for the
implementation of the government’s urban consolidation
policy.
This thesis traces the evolution of dual occupancy policy
and discusses its impact on urban consolidation of
metropolitan Melbourne. It explores three major
questions:
• How did dual occupancy become part of metropolitan
planning policy?
• What impact did dual occupancy have on housing and
building options from its inception (1985/86 to
1991/92)?
• Did dual occupancy contribute to increased growth
rates in the established municipalities of the
metropolitan area?
This thesis involved the application of a number of
different research methodologies, including interviews,
analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data and
some literature reviews.
Interviews were conducted with several key people who were
involved in formulation of dual occupancy policy. This
enabled the policy to be put into its proper metropolitan
context.
A central element of the thesis involved a detailed
analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics census data
for years 1985/86 through to 1991/92, including analysis
of building approval statistics, population data,
household size and household numbers for all
municipalities within the designated metropolitan area of
Melbourne. This allowed a number of trends to be
established and observations to be made about the impact
of dual occupancy developments on overall housing and
population characteristics.
The research represented in this thesis demonstrates that
although dual occupancy was successful as a form of
housing, it had little success as a contributor to urban
consolidation. The data in this thesis shows that a large
number of dual occupancies proportionate to other types of
dwellings were built in the established and growth
municipalities, but this form of development had a cost.
Dual occupancy did not contribute to stabilising the
population of established areas, nor did it contribute to
reducing the rate of growth of developing (outer)
municipalities. |
