Step 4 Issues and opportunities
The aim of this step in the core process is to identify the issues and opportunities associated with achieving the vision and objectives, based on the evidence and understanding gained in the previous steps.
Identifying and overlaying issues and opportunities shows the areas of confluence and conflict between movement networks and places. It also highlights wider interventions outside the study area, and tests the robustness of options against a set of possible futures.
Detailed guidance on Step 4 of the Movement and Place Core Process can be found in the Practitioner's Guide to Movement and Place.
Identifying street environments
As an optional exercise, to help identify and understand the issues and opportunities, practitioners are invited to use the Movement and Place street environment identification method to narrow the focus of your investigation.
Movement and Place is all about matching the planning, design and operation of a street to its desired function. Identifying street environments is a method for supporting project team discussions about how to work towards achieving desired place and movement outcomes.
Street identification should focus on desired outcomes rather than by accepting a default perception based on either the road or street’s current performance or it’s road classification. When applied to existing conditions, street identification can be used to understand the gap between an existing state and a desired state. Street identification guides the design and operation of specific streets by identifying typologies, and relating the street to the principles and design elements that apply to those typologies.
See Identifying street environments for more information.
Scenario Testing
As part of the mapping of issues and opportunities to achieve the shared vision and objectives, practitioners are encouraged to investigate a range of scenarios to inform the options, based on trends, drivers, and opportunities presented by the plan or project.
Typically scenarios are circumstances external to the plan or project (such as a change in technology or economic conditions) that have the potential to impact the plan or project. Scenarios inform the development of options and can be used to test the robustness of options against a set of possible futures.
Scenarios for larger projects might include:
- changes in mobility preferences (e.g. mode share)
- changes in housing preferences (e.g. smaller houses closer to amenities)
- changes in climate, urban heat, and environmental risks
- demographic changes (e.g. regional or international migration).
NSW Common Planning Assumptions
NSW Common Planning Assumptions are the agreed information assets (data sets, parametres and assumptions, models and analytical tools) used by NSW Government and external stakeholders, to prepare proposals, business plans and strategies that rely on projections.
They provide a consistent evidence base for NSW Government agencies to use in planning for key services and infrastructure in the state, from schools and hospitals to roads and transport.
The use of common planning assumptions supports the Premier’s Priority for world class public service by giving NSW Government agencies easier access to the latest datasets and assumptions for planning well-targeted services and infrastructure in NSW.
Practitioners can access common planning assumption datasets, reports and other tools that NSW Government agencies develop here.