Client: Victorian Department of Transport and Planning (DTP)
Expertise: Planning Support Systems | Proof-of-Concept | Digital Twin | Project Management
The challenge
Regional Victorian towns are often overlooked in the planning process, meaning they can miss out on sustainable, healthy and equitable housing and neighbourhoods. Strategic and urban planning itself is complex and still largely manual, even though spatial data and digital tools could make it faster and more evidence-based.
DTP wanted to explore how planning scenarios, created using spatial data and planning support systems and visualised in a Digital Twin environment, could improve engagement and decision-making around government housing policy.
The FrontierSI solution
FrontierSI collaborated with DTP and the City Futures Research Centre of the University of New South Wales to implement scenario-based planning for three regional towns in Victoria.
Using the existing What If? planning support system (PSS) available through the Australian Housing Data Analytics Platform (AHDAP), the project explored how spatial data and modelling could inform sustainable growth.
The planning scenarios investigated aimed to maximise the use of existing infrastructure and services, mitigate climate risks, and gently densify the traditional regional housing typology of large block, low-density housing to diversify available housing stock in line with community diversity.
For each planning scenario, spatial data was gathered and the What If? PSS was used for challenging parts of the planning process, including:
- Analysing the suitability of land for different land uses.
- Projecting the future population trend and the land use demand.
- Allocating the projected land use demand to the most suitable locations (parcels) under various conditions.
- Visualising the results within the Digital Twin Victoria (DTV) platform.
The impact
Suitability evaluation result for a regional town: green is land most suitable for conversion to another land use type and red is land least suitable for conversion to another land use type.
The planning scenarios developed using the AHDAP What If? PSS and visualised in DTV:
- Established a repeatable method using spatial data and analysis tools to increase planning efficiency.
- Demonstrated how Digital Twin Victoria can make planning data more accessible and engaging for communities.
- Added value for planners, improving decision-making and informing policy around future housing needs.
This project shows how FrontierSI helps governments turn complex planning processes into practical, repeatable solutions that support sustainable, community-focused outcomes.
Contact Us
Looking to use spatial data to explore urban planning or future housing scenarios? Contact FrontierSI.