Published by The Biophilic Blueprint | Written by Anjelica Smilovitis, Founder

Olive Urban Managing Director Steven Lionakis.

Walkable streets, vibrant public spaces and connected communities aren’t luxuries—they’re essentials for human health, social connection and economic vitality. Yet as the pressure to deliver more housing grows, are these conversations being sidelined in planning?

In this conversation with The Biophilic Blueprint, we spoke with Managing Director Steven Lionakis about how urban planning shouldn’t just solve today’s problems—it should nurture cities that thrive for decades.

This year, Steven stepped out on his own founding Olive Urban—a Melbourne-based consultancy specialising in urban planning, development consulting and creating vibrant, people-focused places.

“I took the plunge and established my own business grounded in the belief that city planning should focus on longevity, rather than short-term fixes or temporary solutions,” he told The Biophilic Blueprint.

He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table with 20 years in local government. “I did a lot of Place Making during that time,” he said. “The last four years I spent in the private industry with Mecone, a Sydney-based planning consultancy.”

Olive Urban is more than a business name for Steven. It’s symbolic of his heritage, his parents’ journey of starting with “nothing,” and the longstanding olive trees in his yard growing up, he shares. His mum migrated to Australia in 1962, and his dad in 1966. Shortly after they arrived, they got married and moved into their home in Preston in August 1968.

Steven grew up surrounded by his father’s olive trees. One tree, more than 40 years old, still thrives and grafts new life.

The olive tree embodies longevity, peace, love and nourishment—values deeply embedded in Greek culture and values he weaves into his work with clients.

“My love of olive trees, coupled with urban, a reflection of my passion for cities … seemed a natural proud fit when establishing the name, as it carries my story, passion and commitment,” he shared.

At the core is a drive to challenge Melbourne’s approach to urban planning—asking not just how many buildings go up, but what kinds of places are being created. Do they foster community and connection? Do they support economic vitality? Are they walkable, lively and rich with culture?

Steven has seen firsthand how planning can either foster vibrant communities or leave neighbourhoods lifeless and fragmented.

He points out that much of the planning conversation in Melbourne and Sydney focuses on housing shortages. “We’re trying to fix and plug that hole, and make sure we get more housing on the ground. But housing is just one component of what makes a city tick. It’s not just the buildings themselves; it’s also the places that we create at ground level. It’s the uses we have, and for people to go out and explore.”

“If we just have a short-minded thing of providing plans just for housing, then over time, we're creating lots of problems for our cities by not having the appropriate places, such as open space, public spaces, like those great examples of European cities where they have those embedded in the cities.

“I don't think we do that enough in our Australian planning system.”

Walkable streets, connected communities and lessons from Blue Zones

Steven draws lessons from his travels to Greece, his parents’ migrant story, and the way they built strong connections with neighbours in Melbourne. He also looks to Blue Zones—places around the world where people often live past 100—and the organically evolving neighbourhoods of cities like Athens. These experiences show him that Place goes beyond infrastructure—it should shape lives.

“When you travel around the world, you experience the good and the bad. Yes, we have it good in Melbourne—but we can also learn from other cities as well.” A key lesson is walkability, he says. “When you go to other cities, the older cities framework is all walkable, and when people walk, they spend more money, organically fuelling the economy. When people walk, it becomes a better place and sense of place.

“We need to make sure that our cities are also designed for walkability, making those spaces more accessible and comfortable for people. Walking is the number one physical activity. When you look at the stats and figures about how much government spends on walking infrastructure, it’s minute compared to road infrastructure.

“Where’s the balance? Yes—when you build more roads, more people use them. But if you improve your pedestrian interface and walking environments, more people walk as well.”

Steven notes examples from Blue Zones—regions around the world where people often live past 100. “It’s not just the diet; it’s also the mental stimulation. The older community… there’s not much dementia. They talk to each other, stay entertained, and keep interacting. "

“That’s what makes those Blue Zones so unique. They also walk to places. They’re not car-reliant. There’s a lot of things that we as a society can look at and say, well, why are they living to 120 and still healthy?”

Yet, for Melbourne, Steven sees gaps especially in growth areas. “I have lived in the growth areas in Melbourne, and like most growth areas across Australia, we’re not creating a sense of community. We're building houses with double garages. People park their cars, get their groceries, go inside, and no one knows the neighbours. We’ve seen this repeat over and over. We need it for housing affordability, but there’s no sense of community.”

Steven Lionakis’s parents in Preston, 1968, shortly after migrating to Australia, holding his eldest sister as a baby.

Shaping neighbourhoods: lessons from his parents

Watching his parents connect with neighbours across cultures, has highlighted for him the contrast with neighbourhoods where connection is absent. “The old Europeans, they sit on the front veranda and talk to the neighbors. They're sharing lemons. They're sharing ideas, stories. They're having their Greek coffee on the porch—just interacting.

“Sometimes they also build gates between the fences. Our next door neighbour was Macedonian. My parents are Greek, and they still had this wonderful relationship. And I don't think we do that enough. We don't think about those interactions too much.

“We think about how the proposal meets planning policy, but not about how it creates a sense of community and improves those interactions with your neighbours.”

Fostering connection and cultural engagement

This fostering of connection and community is strong in Steven’s Greek heritage—and forms his consultancy work by remembering the importance of culture and stories in planning.

He adds that the rigidity of planning can sometimes stifle the organic growth of a place.

“Being Greek, I'm an admirer of Athens, and how Athens has rebounded after the GFC. Now you go there, it's such a vibrant 24/7 city—because they take a step back and let the uses evolve over time.

“In those cities, you have a hub of the panel business downstairs, apartments upstairs, and next door to the panel builders is your restaurant …next door to that is your butcher. It’s not organised like typical Melbourne planning zones, but it works. Hence why those places have a sense of community.

“Even though they live in high-density apartments, they tend to still have a community. They still talk to their neighbours. Everyone knows each other. The buildings might not be architecturally pleasing, but they've been built for families and have good cross ventilation and amenity inside them.”

Closer to home, he points to Eaton Mall in Oakleigh, a Greek area in Melbourne as an example of functional vibrancy. “Any given time, it's always activated, and they’ve got a sense of community because the uses are right. The uses are balanced.”

Steven criticizes density-focused planning that overlooks Placemaking, pointing to a lack of allocation for new parks and insufficiently wide footpaths. “It’s just density for the sake of density, rather than densities for places.”

“We have good bones, we’ve still got it, and we’ve still got that culture. But there’s a catch-22—we’re experiencing the tail end of all the lockdowns, the inflation and cost of living crises, housing shortages, and other issues which have compounded into what is currently seen on the ground.”

He says that solving the housing crisis by building more homes is only part of the story. Like an olive tree, which endures through generations, thoughtful, long-term city planning creates communities where people can flourish—and feel at home.

Through Olive Urban, Steven works with planners and developers encouraging people to step back and see the bigger picture. The work focuses on planning with care and solutions that grow with the city to respect its character and serve generations to come.

“When I assist clients, and when I look at their designs and architects, I don't get too caught up in height or the built form. Really, my concern is, how does the building respond at ground level? Because I think that's what makes a place, and that makes a building.

“After a certain point, we look at a tall building… and it's just a tall building. But people remember how that building touches the ground and how it interacts with the community.

“I’ll put the perspective of—how can we improve the sense of address, sense of place, of surveillance and opportunities that planning should be all about—and embedding those into design outcomes, making sure we’re not just creating a development to make money. We are creating a development that is responsive to the environment,” Steven told The Biophilic Blueprint.

He said while development is necessary it must consider the bigger picture. “We need housing to accommodate our population growth. Development should occur and needs to occur, but if there’s no consideration of the place—what sense of place are we creating for the community, or for future generations?

“That ties back to Olive Urban—longevity. Built forms to last generations, rather than short-term fixes.”

Good examples of housing and regenerative planning

Steven notes there are promising stories of regenerative thinking that creates community and housing. “There are great examples across Melbourne of developments like Nightingale Housing, and others, which are bringing their own models of delivering housing that are very sustainable and provide that sense of community,” Steven says.

Nightingale Housing is a not-for-profit organisation delivering homes that are socially, financially and environmentally sustainable—Putting people and the planet first.

“There are a lot of good examples out there, and I think the State Government is trying really hard to concentrate development in the inner rings—they're called 70/30 split. 70 percent of new development to be in metropolitan Melbourne and 30 percent in the growth areas,” Steven explained.

“That’s a good vision and starting point. But it’s not just about housing. How do we then create vibrant hubs with access to local jobs, parks and amenities, so people don’t have to go to the CBD? That’s the vibrancy I want to see in our centres and cities.”

For him, the future of Victoria lies in learning from the past. “We need to remember what made Melbourne great: multiculturalism, food, nightlife, open space. When planning new precincts and suburbs, we need that thinking behind it, rather than making it look like a new area. Sometimes, they’re too polished; they lack character.”

For Steven, the lessons from his parents, the olive trees in their backyard and the streets of Athens form a vision: cities designed not just for living, but for community. Places where neighbours know each other, where children can play safely, where cafés, shops, and workplaces coexist seamlessly.

Places where cities don’t just function—they flourish.

“It’s not just about housing or building tall towers; it’s about how those buildings interact with the people around them, how they create spaces that bring life to the streets, parks, and squares. If we get that right, we’re not just building for today—we’re building for generations to come,” Steven said.

The Biophilic Blueprint Champions Longevity in Urban Planning

Olive Urban champions a slower, more considered approach to city planning—one that listens to the needs of communities, respects culture and creates spaces that go beyond simply providing housing. By prioritising walkable streets, vibrant public spaces, and meaningful connections between people—alongside development—this approach not only fosters social wellbeing but also ensures cities are resilient and adaptable over time. This “slowness” in planning allows attention to extend beyond immediate pressures, incorporating environmental care, cultural context and long-term community needs.

References & Further Reading

Olive Urban: For more information, contact Steven Lionakis at www.oliveurban.com.au

Nightingale Housing: Explore their projects at www.nightingalehousing.org

Roots of Longevity with Steven Lionakis: A Call to Build Places That Truly Connect