As a city for people, Melbourne will be a great place to live, with a strong sense of community and a welcoming, supportive atmosphere. Melbourne will prosper because our municipality is a great place to live. We will take up local job and business opportunities and will make use of local recreational and cultural facilities. Sustainability will be part of our everyday lives.
Future Melbourne 2008

Overview

Melbourne being a Great place to live and liveability as concept were discussed by a large number of people. There is a lot of overlap with a lot of the other Priorities in this Goal including Inclusive Community and Designed for People.

There was a desire for strong communities based around connectedness and putting people in many areas of city life. There was a desire to create a welcoming and supportive atmosphere. Safety was also a high priority for many in a number of different ways .

Community amenity in terms of cleanliness, free of visual pollution and smell with better provision of water stations and rubbish bins desired. Jobs and the organisation of work were discussed but not as much as the previous topics.

There were overlaps between this Priority and 1.2. Inclusive Community, 1.4. Designed for People, 1.5. An Affordable Place to Live

Summary of ideas (total 394 statements)

Community connectedness and development (118 statements)

Almost one third of comments made in this priority were focused on connectedness between people and developing communities. The desire for interaction between people was expressed, as well as other similar sentiments.

People commonly described wanting a community that is caring, compassionate, nurturing, family-friendly and inclusive. Inclusiveness, while relevant, is covered extensively in detail in priority 1.2 Inclusive communities. This statement is similar to many others that were made.

Sustained relationships/ Sense of community – The future has strong relationships with community, peers and family. Look after all areas of the community including homeless people.

Many people wanted the City of Melbourne to prioritise, focus, sustain and nurture the people within the city.

People and citizen-centric where people feel valued, welcome and part of the city that nurtures them.

Many people provided ideas on how to develop communities, to ensure that such connectedness and sense of community is enhanced. Suggestions were that more work be done on bringing communities together through community engagement, neighbourhood networking events and street or community leaders. Storytelling was identified by a few people as a method for developing a sense of community and cohesion. Specific suggestions on how to achieve this were provided, including providing sensor technologies in public spaces, location-based software applications and developing a physical space such as a ‘speakers corner’.

Increasing and enabling the sharing, access and use of vacant/underutilised public space or office space was desired by several people. They stated that this will help create communities by supporting neighbourhood development as well as creating value for communities and potentially taking welcoming and inclusive community spaces to the next level. Specific share concepts were suggested, such as a register similar to carshare or Airbnb; a policy which supports this approach when new neighbourhoods are created and as part of a ‘Goodwill Exchange’. Often the need for this type of approach was identified as the high cost currently to community groups in getting access to useable space. Research into this area was suggested and desired. The quote below is quite a short idea, compared to other more detailed ideas, which made similar points.

Utilise vacant office spaces -- How about turning vacant office spaces into a pop-up gallery for up-and-coming artists? Somewhere inside for the homeless to sleep at night? A play centre for kids to run around? Something temporary, easily moveable but creating more for the community.

Several people suggested ensuring that new developments are built around families, schooling and community facilities, parks/green space and gardens; as well as transport and other services. Similarly, a few people stated that it is particularly important to provide for older people (through housing, facilities, amenities) as they contribute to the sense of community and cohesion.

Utilisation of good sustainable art and design principles was also identified as important. Discussion of how people want communities planned is contained in priority 1.4 (urban planning section) and comment on how spaces should be designed is also covered under priority 1.4. (urban design section).

Community amenity and amenities (81 statements)

Community amenity (the sensory component of place) and community amenities (the physical aspects of public place) were identified in almost one fifth of comments made under this priority. The points made covered a broad range of topics, with no one area dominating.

Neighbourhood amenity was considered important. A large number of people sought a cleaner, rubbish-free city. Several people stated that more rubbish bins were required and a few people stated that stricter littering policies (or enforcement of such policies) were needed to combat rubbish. Elizabeth Street, Swanston Street, alleyways and train tracks were identified in particular as needing attention.

A cleaner city -- I live in Melbourne, the one thing I can't stand is that Melbourne is too dirty, it needs to be cleaner. Things such as allowing people to smoking in certain areas and littering should have stricter laws. The fact that people drop their cigarettes on the floor or just throw a piece of wrapping is wrong. If people are going to walk their dogs in the streets, they need to have the responsibility of making sure they are being cleaned up after. Melbourne needs more control over what happens and how the city gets so dirty.

A range of other amenity issues was also identified. Many people commented on visual pollution; several identified billboards and advertising, a few identified graffiti, and a few identified the rundown nature of buildings. Several people wanted noise-reduced/quiet neighbourhoods. Air traffic, amplified music, vehicles and construction noises were identified as issues, and enforcement of noise limits were desired. A few people commented on issues of smell from garbage and the smell of the morning after.

A broad range of community amenities was desired by people. Several people wanted more water stations strategically located around the city. These additions are to help deter bottled water use and consumption of unhealthy drinks. Water stations were suggested as needing to be filtered, well-drained and also their location advertised.

A couple of people wanted more shelter from sun and from rain on the streets and a couple of people generally stated that they wanted more, better or functional public amenities. Other public amenities identified for improvement included benches, seating, lockers, street lamps, child-friendly railings, toilets, hand basins and no horse-drawn carriages.

A safe Melbourne (68 statements)

A large number of people raised the issue of safety. Safety in general was identified as a desirable component by many. Many people also raised the issue of safety for particular groups of people such as women, children, elderly, people with a disability, the disadvantaged and the homeless. This included several people suggesting safe sleeping-spaces for homeless people and the availability of safety services (family-violence service, security office and officers, digital and wearable apps and devices, good lighting, emergency services, police and fire brigade).

I'd love the city to be 100% safe. Not having to worry about my wife (or in the future, kids).

Street, transport and public space safety were each identified by several people. This included safe pedestrian areas, street crossings, safe access to toilets, and pedestrian safety during major events. Several people also stated that crime rates need to be reduced. Terrorism, drug, alcohol and climate change safety were also mentioned.

Safety was also desired around schools, housing, recreation spaces and communities, particularly in crime hotspots. Specific areas identified as needing attention with regards to safety included: Degraves Street Underpass, pedestrian safety during big events at the MCG and also council housing. Some thinking into how to foster safety awareness in terms of education was suggested by one person and another noted that security needs to be balanced between presence and the creation of hostile environments.

Note that night-time safety is discussed under Priority 3.2 A stimulating and safe 24 hour city; and public transport safety is discussed under Priority 6.1. Effective and integrated public transport.

Liveable Melbourne (59 statements)

Liveability and similar sentiments were raised in a large number of comments. The general terms “liveable” and “liveability” were identified by a large number of people as desirable.

The most thriving, liveable and sustainable city in the world

Liveability was described as comprising individual and community living standards. Overall, there was a desire in these comments for Melbourne to be a genuinely great place to live, work, play and visit. Liveability was described by some as being focused on people ahead of money, development and cars. This was one statement that expressed this sentiment.

Melbourne in the year 2026, should, hopefully be still one of, if not the most, liveable cities in the world. It should hopefully still be a global destination for tourism and sport, but also it should be more of a people based city, building the city around the person.

A few people stated that the central city should be as liveable as outer areas. Others stated that the suburbs and neighbourhoods should be considered along with the central city in terms of liveability. Liveability comments included references to housing, recreation, open space, opportunities (various), a mix of activities and experiences, pleasure and leisure. People also described wanting a city that had character, culture, creativity and that was beautiful, thriving, engaging, inspiring, sustainable and peaceful. Most of these concepts are covered in detail in various places throughout this report.

Jobs (41 statements)

A large number of people referred to jobs and employment. Many of these were general references, such as more jobs and job opportunities, though there were also several people who raised the issue of job proximity and access. Creating employment hubs or clusters in the suburbs, enabling work from home (through providing high-quality internet connections for example) or ensuring that housing is located near employment were all suggested ways to more flexibly enable people to work. It was also noted by some people that this flexibility would improve congestion issues in the city.

I'd love to see mini-cities in the outer suburbs to keep some of the traffic outside of the current CBD area. Places where numerous jobs can be found. Business parks which house large companies etc.

Youth employment training, pathways, mentoring programmes and employment support were desired by some people; including more accessible advertising of jobs for youth. Various job creation ideas were provided, including longer opening hours, suburban shopping complexes, rooftop gardens, tourism ventures, commitment to renewable energy targets, water conservation, knowledge-based opportunities, health, digital technologies and design industries.

Creating a more sustainable or resilient workforce was commented on by a few people and noted to be achieved by becoming a Sharing City, or adopting a 5-6hour work day. Rules around contractual jobs, as well as reasonable pay and conditions, and a solid welfare structure were also desired.

Vibrant and fun Melbourne (27 Statements)

A large number of people desired a vibrant and fun Melbourne. Vibrant and fun was commonly linked with creativity, excitement, inspiration and liveability, predominantly expressed in short statements, similar to this one.

A vibrant, exciting and very liveable city for everyone