Page 7 - U4SSC Case study: Participatory urban planning, June 2020

Melbourne – Australia place-making case

Authors: Gilbert Rochecouste; Craig Ingrey

Reviewer and editor: Gamze Hakli Geray

Introduction

The City of Melbourne is the main city of the state of Victoria, in Australia and is one of the most densely
populated cities in the country. The City of Melbourne and Village Well, one of Australia’s place-making
consultancy companies – focusing on arranging, transforming and creating public spaces that promote
people's health, happiness, and their wellbeing – initiated a cooperation project on sharing public
spaces. The purpose of the project was to apply the concept of place-making to engage community
members locally; to enhance public spaces; and to contribute to a healthy sustainable community.
Place-making is defined as the new environmentalism, using processes, tools and practices to create
liveable and resilient cities, towns, communities and places.

These three aspects could be implemented in the city by facilitating the creative patterns of the
designing and managing of public spaces, paying particular attention to the physical, cultural, and social
identities that define the city, and supporting its evolution and transformation.

Below is a summary of the ‘Melbourne Liveability Story’, and the opportunities to maintain and improve
the city’s social and built environment, as well as its identity and culture.

Melbourne boasts a compelling and modern story of transformation, which has arisen from the lessons
learned along the way over a number of decades.

The ‘Melbourne Liveability Story’ and its five core strengths are:

• the city’s collaborative culture and industry that focuses on people, inclusivity
and diversity;

• the city’s unique geography that has helped the city to address better innovation, responsiveness
to local culture, and designing properly for its climate conditions;
• its values and its focus on education, science and research, professional services and creative
industries;
• the city’s culture, its relationship with the built environment, and the interaction of people with
the environment;

• the city’s expertise in planning, design and delivery of quality city-making projects.

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