Population density overview
Summary of indicator
| Indicator Name | Amenity and Use |
| Indicator Type | Supplementary |
| User Outcome | Local opportunities |
Objective
To measure the density of people across a given area. Higher density standards assist in enhancing economic productivity, encourage more sustainable patterns of travel, facilitate a more suitable mix of new dwellings and increase occupational densities to support a more productive workforce.
Application guidance
Cities change with time. The focus of planning our cities should be on the density of population so that cities can grow and shrink in areas. If a neighbourhood is too sparse, then efficiency is lost; if it is too dense, then it can become an uncomfortable habitat with increased congestion. Additionally, if a neighbourhood grows in population and services do not keep pace, there are fewer amenities per person, such as schools and hospitals, resulting in more competition and higher prices for fewer beds and admissions.
This indicator will support practitioners to understand the density of population in an area. Based on the outcome of this assessment, practitioners can determine the capacity of an area to absorb more population / housing and demand for a range of services and amenities.
Practitioners can use the population densityin Travel Zone 2016 metric to measure the population count per square kilometre by travel zone.
Metric
Population density in Travel Zone 2016
Related indicators
Recommendation
To further refine the measurement of population density, the assessment could be limited to residential mesh blocks within travel zones. This, however, would exclude population within non-residential areas (i.e. mixed use residential / retail).