Transport and land use planning for South-East Queensland

iMOVE’s Integrated land use and transport modelling project, with partners the Department of Transport and Main Roads (Queensland) (TMR) and the University of Queensland, was driven by TMR’s desire to develop the capability to influence land use planning to better utilise and account for changes in the future transport network capacity.

This capability serves both a state and local government perspectives, significantly enhancing the integration and alignment between transport and land use planning. It enables TMR to empirically evaluate various land-use scenarios in response to major infrastructure projects, such as Cross River Rail.

The project was comprised of three interlinked stages:

The project was comprised of three interlinked stages:

The project was comprised of three interlinked stages:

• Stage 1: Compilation of a knowledge base capturing international best practice that will inform Stage 2.
• Stage 2: Development of an integrated land use and transport modelling framework.
• Stage 3: Implement and operationalise a prototype model in an SEQ context.

Integrated population, transport, land use modelling: An operating manual for TMR

All of the work completed within this project culminated in the production of a comprehensive manual for the POPDAM (POPulation and Dwelling Allocation Modelling) prototype modelling framework for South-East Queensland (SEQ). The POPDAM framework equips TMR with enhanced capacities to conduct ongoing analyses, supporting the development of an integrated regional land use and transport plan.

Leveraging the existing population and dwelling projection models utilised by the Queensland Government, along with TMR’s current strategic transport model, the POPDAM framework enables empirical testing of various infrastructure scenarios, assessing their impacts on local population dynamics across SEQ.

The POPDAM prototype functionality allows:

• Linking outputs from SEQ transport modelling to a dwelling allocation module with an accessibility component.
• Production of estimates of attached and detached dwelling numbers at the small area (SA2) level.
• Production of population and age-sex disaggregation scenarios at the small area (SA2) level; and
• Testing of transport, land use, test planning, and educational scenarios.

The manual acts as a comprehensive guide for operating and maintaining of the POPDAM prototype LUTI modelling framework for SEQ. Implemented in Alteryx, it is designed to align seamlessly with TMR’s technology stack, ensuring optimal integration and usability.

While the specific area of focus for this project was South-East Queensland in its practical application, the empirical approach are designed in a way such that they can be re-deployed for any major urban area.

Report findings

The manual, Integrated population, transport, land use modelling: An operating manual for TMR, has been produced and already in use, developing the ShapingSEQ (South East Queensland Regional Plan)

More information is available upon request.

Expected project impacts

The UQ team is thrilled to unveil a cutting-edge and robust modelling framework and software prototype, showcasing analytical innovation. Leveraging government-owned data, our solution is now seamlessly integrated and fully operational within the workflows of the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads. This marks a significant addition to the Department’s capacity to explore scenarios of population and housing futures in response to key infrastructure projects across South-East Queensland.

UQ POPDAM Research Team