Melbourne · Urban Centre
How much of daily life sits within a walk of home — a transparent 0–10 walkability score and the everyday destinations you can reach on foot: shops, public transport, schools, parks and health services, plus the streets and terrain in between.
A typical slope of 4.7% makes Melbourne's terrain about the same as the rest of Victoria. This is a very walkable area where 86.6% of homes have a 15-minute-city walkshed, which is far above the state figure of 74.3%. Most residents can easily reach a variety of local services on foot.
All urban centre areas, 2021. The marker is Melbourne — very walkable of areas.
Share of homes (G-NAF addresses) in Melbourne by walking time to the nearest amenity of each type, on an elevation-aware pedestrian network. How we calculate this →
The overall walkability score and how much of daily life is a short walk away.
The walkability score for Melbourne is 7.4, which is considered very walkable and a little above the Victorian average of 6.4. Residents have access to 6.9 different amenity types within a 15-minute walk.
7.4
Very walkable of urban centre areas.
A 0–10 score for how much of daily life sits within an easy walk of the average home — weighing how close groceries, public transport, cafés, parks, health services, schools, culture and everyday services are, and how many of each. Walking times are measured on an elevation-aware pedestrian network, so hills count against reach. The methodology page describes how the score is put together.
6.9
Higher than 90% of urban centre areas.
How many of the eight everyday amenity types — groceries, food & drink, health, schools, parks, culture, everyday services and public transport — the average home can reach on foot within 15 minutes, out of 8.
86.6%
Higher than 78% of urban centre areas.
Share of local homes that can reach at least five of the eight everyday amenity types within a 15-minute walk — the "15-minute city" test. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
How many homes can walk to groceries, transport, schools, parks and health services.
Access to essentials is far above state levels, with 98.9% of homes near a park and 90.2% near a school. While 81% of people can walk to a park in five minutes, only 34% can reach health services in that same time.
85.7%
Higher than 76% of urban centre areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries or everyday shopping. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
93.8%
Higher than 89% of urban centre areas.
Share of local homes within a 10-minute walk of a public-transport stop — bus, train, tram or ferry. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
90.2%
Higher than 78% of urban centre areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a school. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
98.9%
Higher than 79% of urban centre areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a park or area of open space. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
76.9%
Higher than 79% of urban centre areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of health services such as a GP, pharmacy or hospital. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
Amenity density, how well the streets connect, and how hilly the walk is.
There are 244 intersections per square kilometre in the area. However, there are 13.9 walkable amenities per 1,000 residents, which is a little below the state figure of 15.7.
13.9
Lower than 64% of urban centre areas.
Walkable amenities — shops, cafés, parks, health services, schools, cultural and community places, everyday services and public-transport stops — per 1,000 residents. Measures how much is around, apart from how far it is to walk there.
244
Higher than 99% of urban centre areas.
Walkable street intersections per square kilometre. Denser, better-connected street grids give more direct routes on foot than winding, cul-de-sac layouts.
4.7%
Higher than 51% of urban centre areas.
Average terrain slope across the area, as a percent grade. Steeper ground shortens how far people will walk; it is already folded into the walkability score through the elevation-aware pedestrian network, and is shown here on its own for context.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Walkability in Melbourne [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ucl/UCL201001/melbourne/topic/walkability
