Land Use Planning and its Role in Transforming the Adelaide-Gawler Line into a Transit Corridor of Connected Transit Oriented Developments

The 2010 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide (2010 30YPGA) is a milestone achievement in the planning of public transit networks for the Greater Adelaide metropolitan area because of its explicit strategy of intensifying development densities along the city's major transport corridors and its vision of creating a network of transit oriented developments serviced by high quality integrated transport services. The improvements to the Adelaide-Gawler commuter rail line which are envisaged in the new Plan, call for increased urban densities 800m on either side of the rail line together with several transit oriented developments (TODs) along its 42km length. In addition to the efficiency and viability of public transit along the Adelaide-Gawler line being dramatically improved, the functionality, vibrancy, diversity and quality of urban life also have the potential to be significantly revitalised. This paper reviews the Portland paradigm that has strongly influenced the content and policy direction of Adelaide’s 2010 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide (2010 30YPGA), and then reviews the latest policy changes for transforming the Adelaide-Gawler commuter rail line into a genuine public transit corridor that is part of a wider metropolitan public transit network. The example of Mawson Lakes, an emerging TOD along the Adelaide-Gawler commuter rail line is used as a case study for exploring how this urban transformation is currently progressing and should provide lessons for the future planning and development of other proposed TODs along this line, such as at Salisbury and Elizabeth. 1.