ZONING

Northcote’s current zoning is dominated primarily by residential land use making up a total 80% of the suburb. These residential areas as shown in shades of pinks on the accompanying map, can be broken down into various categories, which differ in regulation of building heights and density. Neighbourhood residential zoning which is more predominant in the west of the suburb, encapsulates land area dominated by Victoria and Edward style buildings, while comparative general residential zoning includes Victorian, Edwardian and Inter-war mix style dwelling types (City of Darebin, 2017).

Commercial zoning is allocated in areas to enhance retail, office, business, entertainment and community uses (VPA, 2018). Currently, commercial zoning is concentrated within the precincts core at the intersection of High Street, Arthurton Road and Separation Street. This creates increased dependence on commercial activity within the precincts centre and can be attributed to a lack of secondary commercial district that is accessible to other areas of the suburb. This in turn largely minimises walkability, increasing car usage and thus increasing carbon emissions. St George’s Road is also categorised by pockets of commercial zoning, however due to the lower densuty and inconsitent commercial land use, much of the existing commercial land plots lay dormant and underutilised.

MIXED USE

Mixed use is a key element of urban sustainability and resilience as it offers the potential maximise walkability, minimise car dependence, and thus reduce air pollution and urban heat vulnerability (Bahadure & Kotharkar, 2015). As highlighted by the shades of red on the map, Northcote currently houses significantly minimal mixed used development making up less than 10% of current land use zoning. The current allocation of mixed use is spread sparsely across suburb, highlighting no specific integration with the existing urban fabric or commercial districts. Thus, such land use allocation could be increased in future to enhance the walkability and spatial allocation of commerical catchment areas.