Download: Planning and designing healthy new communities: Selandra Rise – Research highlights (PDF, 318 KB)

Download: Planning and designing healthy new communities: Selandra Rise – Research summary (PDF, 788 KB)

Selandra Rise is a new housing development located in Melbourne’s south-east growth corridor, where residents have bought land and built new houses over a period of several years. This research project aimed to discover how design and planning of a new residential community could improve the health and wellbeing of residents.

Developed through a VicHealth Research Practice Fellowship, it was conducted at RMIT by Dr Cecily Maller, Senior Research Fellow with co-researcher Dr Larissa Nicholls, Research Fellow. In partnership with Stockland, the Metropolitan Planning Authority, the City of Casey, the Planning Institute of Australia (Vic) and VicHealth, a key focus of the research was the development of recommendations to inform design and planning of future residential communities.

The key research findings and recommendations cover five areas:

• Length of travel to work and health outcomes
• Public transport and connectivity
• Community engagement and social connection
• Physical activity
• Neighbourhood satisfaction and wellbeing