It’s been almost thirty years since Postcode 3000 transformed this city into a place that people could call home. Marvellous Melbourne, a place of diverse cultural sophistication, had become the world’s richest city by the 1890s, but it wasn’t looking so marvellous by the 1990s. Nor was this the first time the city had been hollowed out by economic decline. This time, however, a bold approach took advantage of collapsed property prices to create a city of confident, creative neighbourhoods – the heart of the state and the envy of the nation.

This is exactly the type of bold thinking that is needed right now – because this time, it’s our health as well as our prosperity that’s at stake. With Melbourne set to become Australia’s most populous city within this decade, we need to invest ourselves ambitiously in a future that’s welcoming and accessible. In doing so, we need to ensure that our seven-time “world’s most liveable city” becomes a hospitable place for people with and without homes, with and without jobs.

I am profoundly invested in the future of Melbourne. I am a CBD resident, ratepayer, worker, creator and adventurer. Melbourne is my home: my retreat, my backyard and my horizon. This is where I live, work and dream. It’s where I launch into the world – and where I always return.

Let’s look at some ways Melbourne can prepare itself for a future of radical uncertainty: some obvious steps we can action immediately; some more strategic approaches; and then, some ideas that are a bit more of a stretch…

 

>>> Read on at the City of Melbourne’s City of the Future program, examining how the pandemic has changed our perspective on Melbourne’s future, and book in for the discussion on Saturday 4 July 2020

 

IMAGE: From my Step 1: Survey the Scene workshops, presented as part of The South Project 2010 international gathering How can a network activate a public? at West Space’s The West Wing in the Melbourne Central shopping centre.