Movement and Place

What is Movement and Place?

Roads and streets are complex environments that play an important part in achieving liveable and vibrant communities. They are not just for travelling from one place to another, but also a place where people live, socialise and go about doing everyday activities.

Movement and Place is an internationally recognised concept used nationally and overseas. It recognises that all roads and streets perform two key roles – movement and place, and that these have different objectives and priorities.

• For movement: Keep people and goods moving safely and efficiently.
• For place: Create places that that foster community connection, meet people’s needs and serve as a meeting place where people spend time to carry out a variety of activities.

Why are we developing a Movement and Place Framework for WA?

The development of towns and cities to be great places to live and support strong economies is an important priority for government. 

There is often pressure on roads and streets to do both movement and place roles well, and this can result in outcomes that don’t do either. That’s why we need to plan carefully for different types of users, and how roads and streets affect both the feel and function of a place, and the efficient use of the transport network.

The Movement and Place Framework being developed for Western Australia aims to facilitate better planning for WA’s future growth, resulting in:

• a consistent and balanced approach to considering the movement and place functions and priorities of our roads and streets
• more coordinated and efficient planning
• higher quality urban spaces, more liveable communities, and more efficient transport networks

The Framework is being developed by the Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure and the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage.