With millions of dollars now on the table for housing after the Commonwealth Games were cancelled, experts say new thinking is needed to make sure it benefits the most people.
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As infill is becoming more popular in Melbourne's outer suburbs and housing is increasing, to 25 or 30 dwellings per hectare, more walkable infrastructure is needed, Swinburne University senior research fellow Stephen Glackin said.
"They don't need to be car dependent anymore, because they're actually quite dense," he said.
"They need new little villages in the middle of them that people can walk to, but they weren't designed for that."
Dr Glackin said the regions were positioned to think about creative changes to the way housing developments were created, before there was too much sprawl.
![Drone picture of Ballarat East and Eureka area from Sovereign Hill. Picture by Adam Spencer. Drone picture of Ballarat East and Eureka area from Sovereign Hill. Picture by Adam Spencer.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/173106531/561b1a49-feee-44e4-b912-04cc7de6863e.jpg/r0_0_3985_2989_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
He said the state government could lead this creativity with its commitment to 1300 affordable and social housing in the regions.
"There is a huge capability for the state to intervene and go right, 'we're going to try something new, let's try higher densities', for example, in the region and show that it works," Dr Glackin said.
He said it would be important for council to be involved in the decision making.
To alleviate housing issues in other areas, Dr Glackin said government should be looking to increase housing varierty.
There were limited options for downsizing in Melbourne, so the housing moves were typically slow.
"Unfortunately, buying a new apartment in a well located area is almost the same as selling an old three bedroom house that's not terribly well kept up," he said.
"If you're older and you want to downsize, then you expect to get some money on the side so you're sort of trading off your land for an apartment."
Dr Glackin said there were limited options for affordable apartment living in Melbourne's outer suburbs, let alone in the regions.
He said the government could have capacity to increase the variety of housing options, even if the area might not be profitable for developers to build apartments.
"This is where government investment can help, it can create a new norm [that becomes] a viable business model in this area," Dr Glackin said.
"I don't particularly like governments dictating what markets are but at the same time, they have an opportunity to show how things can be done differently and create the new reality that we want."
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