Aurora is a housing estate in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia designed to provide homes with higher levels of energy and

water efficiency Water efficiency is the practice of reducing water consumption by measuring the amount of water required for a particular purpose and is proportionate to the amount of essential water used.Vickers, Amy. “Water use and conservation." Amherst, MA ...

. The plan is to build it over 15 years and to have 8500 residences.

Location

Aurora is now located partly within the suburb of

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

(an outer northern suburb of Melbourne) and partly within the rural locality of Wollert. Aurora is in the

City of Whittlesea The City of Whittlesea is a local government area located in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covers an area of , and in June 2018, it had a population of 223,322. History What became ...

council area. It is about 20 km from the Melbourne CBD and is approximately 668 ha in area. It is bound by the Hume Freeway (to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

), Epping Road, Craigieburn Road and O'Herns Road on the west, east, north and south sides respectively. It is north of the ring road and west of Plenty Road.

Sustainability

Homes in Aurora will be expected to have an

energy efficiency rating The Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) is a score applied to dwellings in the Australian Capital Territory. It ranges from zero to six system– the higher the number of stars, the better. This is mandatory for all dwellings offered for sale in the ...

of at least 6 stars, achieved by using efficient appliances, solar-heating of water where possible, insulation of buildings and houses designed with good ventilation and orientation of windows. Streets are designed for optimal capturing of solar power. Aurora's water efficiency measures aim to have 54% less

potable water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ag ...

consumed per person than normal houses, and are expected to discharge 90% less water into the sea. Water efficient appliances will be used to minimise consumption.

Rain gardens Rain gardens, also called bioretention facilities, are one of a variety of practices designed to increase rain runoff reabsorption by the soil. They can also be used to treat polluted stormwater runoff. Rain gardens are designed landscape sites t ...

are used to trap

stormwater Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed la ...

ensuring that water is retained inland and water & pollutants are not washed into the sea.

Stormwater Stormwater, also spelled storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed la ...

captured from houses is drained into water tanks before being heated to supply domestic hot water.

Wastewater Wastewater is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of domestic, industr ...

Sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...

is drained to the suburb's

wastewater treatment plant Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environmen ...

, where it is recycled for (non-potable) reuse, with 300 megalitres stored to meet the demand for non-potable water while the remainder can be sold.

Transport

The suburb is designed to encourage walking and use of public transport. 20% of Aurora's land is parkland or reserves. The

Mernda railway line The Mernda railway line (previously the South Morang line, Epping line and Whittlesea line) is a commuter rail passenger train service in Melbourne, Australia. It operates between Flinders Street in the Melbourne central business district and ...

originally continued to Whittlesea but the line beyond Mernda has not been in use since the diesel service was discontinued. As part of the Aurora development it was anticipated that the government would extend an electrified railway line north-west to Aurora. Such a development would have provided an energy efficient public transport service to the city for residents of Aurora. The proposal was costed between $76 million and $300 million, and would branch off the South Morang line at Lalor, with new stations at Epping Plaza, Aurora and Epping North. The extension of the suburban network to Aurora has been highlighted as a public transport priority. New rail lines in outer suburbs crucial to easing traffic chaos : Media Releases : News : The University of Melbourne
This proposal, however, is on hold indefinitely.

References

Websites

Vicurban: Aurora

Museum Victoria's overview
* Presentation by Tim Grant (of the

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scienc ...

on Aurora's

ecological footprint The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounti ...

link

Specific

{{City of Whittlesea suburbs

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...