Now I know this isn't a particularly new topic but a recent presentation by Mark Watts (Arup London) identified some key differences that exist between Melbourne and some of the world's big cities.
Mark has a fascinating role where he gets to tackle one key issue for a major city (as chosen by each Mayor) in design workshops around the world. Under the title of 'C40', Mark and others were recently in Melbourne to tackle 'Smart Grids' with some very interesting outcomes that we hope will become public in the near future.
But this isn't what I am talking about today. Mark's background was with the Greater London Authority as a key advisor to Ken Livingstone who delivered, amongst other things, the Congestion Charge and the Carbon Strategy for London. Mark was fundamental in the success of both these schemes so I asked him questions on how they made it happen.
Mark's first observation was Melbourne's incredible lack of urban density immediately outside of the CBD. The forecasts for Melbourne suggest a population of between 5 and 8 million over the next few decades. This sort of growth will place Melbourne in similar leagues to London, Paris, Barcelona etc.
Mark's second observation was Australia's continued obsession with the private car. He also remarked on the small scale of the public transport system in relation to European cities and noted that whilst it has the bones, it is a long way off supporting a population of 5 million or more. In the same week Mark was here, new public transport ridership figures suggest that public transport patronage growth in Melbourne has levelled off presumably because we just cant get on the trams and trains!
Finally, he mentioned Ken's political prowess. When Ken proposed the congestion charge it was entirely driven from an appreciation that congestion was the number 1 issue for Londoners, even ahead of crime, health, education etc. Ken knew that a scheme that actually benefited more Londoners that is hindered, would be a politically winning policy if it could actually be delivered. Even with the entire UK press running campaigns against the congestion charge, once it was implemented, the majority of people saw what it was and the benefits it was delivering and Ken's popularity rocketed.
Can Melbourne learn anything from this?
Well, lack of urban density is a major problem and one that I believe is being actively fuelled by the current Minister for Planning. This has to change. Melbourne is rapidly slipping down the 'most liveable city' league and the solution does not lie in urban fringe sub-divisions that compromise the economics of developing buildings greater than 3 storeys.
Car obsession is intriguing and to me seems to be the elephant in the room. Modern thinking recognises that the US system of continual car-focussed urban design doesn't work and yet scarily, Australia's car use is higher than many places in America. Hybrids are really just a side step and we really need to enable larger numbers of people to live without a car (this isn't crazy talk in those large cities mentioned earlier).
Finally, we need political leadership. Melbourne's politicians and Departments are proving to be either unwilling or unable to really decide and deliver. Ken made an extraordinary move with his policies around schemes such as congestion however he made highly informed decisions and he made strong allies in the private sector that helped him deliver this change. In Melbourne it seems that the large property developers influence the decisions and these companies are naturally risk adverse and sceptical of change - and that just isn't leadership.
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