Croydon South: your 20-minute neighbourhood

Imagine living in a neighbourhood where everything you need is accessible within 20 minutes of your doorstep.

Council is piloting a ‘20-minute neighbourhood’ project in Croydon South and is keen to identify neighbourhood strengths, local needs and opportunities for improvement.  

The project is being funded by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning as a key feature of the Victorian Government’s Plan Melbourne 2017-2050, which identifies a need for suburbs to be better connected with services and infrastructure in place.

The concept of the 20-minute neighbourhood is about giving residents the ability to ‘live locally’, where most of their daily needs – shops, childcare, schools, parks and doctors – can be met within a 20-minute walk, cycle or public transport trip from home. 

The pilot program will be undertaken over 12 months, and will be completed in partnership with the community, the Heart Foundation and Victoria Walks. 

To get the conversation started, Council will be seeking input from the community to find out what things you most like about the Croydon South neighbourhood and what you would like to see changed. 

The concept of a 20-minute neighbourhood ties in with the Maroondah 2040 Community Vision as a great place to live, work, play and visit.

Arrabri Ward Councillor Tony Dib said the idea is to create walkable, healthy, cohesive, sustainable communities with strong local economies, while reducing the need to travel by car and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

“As part of this project we recognise that a person’s place of employment will not necessarily be within 20 minutes, but if we can reduce travel times and the time spent in the car, we will have a healthier and happier community,” Cr Dib said. 

“While research tells us that 68.5 per cent of Maroondah residents travel outside of the area for work, wouldn’t it be nice if everything else was accessible within a 20-minute walk, cycle or bus or train ride home.  

“Croydon South, like each community in Maroondah, has its unique needs and preferences, as well as diverse populations. We want to hear your ideas, your concerns and your favourite locations, so that together we can build an even stronger neighbourhood in Croydon South,” Cr Dib said. 

We need your help to find out everything there is to know about Croydon South – both the things you love and the things you think can be improved. All of this will contribute to making Croydon South the healthiest, most vibrant and thriving neighbourhood it can be.  

Complete our survey