Southbank Boulevard is one of Melbourne’s most densely populated suburbs. In the 2011 census, it was Melbourne’s only listing in Australia’s 20 most populated suburbs – the other 19 listings were in Sydney. View the list on the RP Data website.

The population of Southbank is made up of three main groups – residents, workers and visitors. Southbank’s population continues to change rapidly. There are currently 18,000 residents and just over 45,000 people who work in Southbank.

In the four years since 2011, the residential population has risen by 5,000 people. The population is projected to keep rising. By 2036, in just 20 years, it is predicted that the residential population will more than double to 46,000 people and the worker population will increase by over 35% to 62,000 workers.

Southbank has one of Melbourne’s lowest provisions of public open space per resident – measured as square metres of public open space per resident. With an increase of 5,000 residents since 2011, the public open space per resident ratio has dropped to just 3 square metres per resident – a lower provision that the CBD. When the number of workers is added, there is just 1 square metre of public open space per person. Based on the number of new residential and commercial developments currently underway and in the pipeline, the provision of public open space per resident will continue to shrink.

Why is public open space important in Southbank?

Melbourne is identified as one of the most liveable cities in the world and one of the contributory elements of this liveability is the quality and amount of public open space. Resident surveys consistently demonstrate that the accessibility and quality of public open space is an important factor in choosing to live in Melbourne. Public open space is important because it promotes social connectedness, physical health and well-being and it plays a critical role in the mitigation of the urban heat island effect and the resilience of cities to name a few. Find out more at our Open Space Strategy page.

Even though the Domain Parklands and the Royal Botanic Gardens are nearby, for many areas of Southbank these parklands are not easily accessible. The City of Melbourne Open Space Strategy recommends that a maximum 500 metre walking distance is used to determine accessibility and gap analysis. For much of Southbank, the Domain Parklands sits outside of the 500 metre walking distance.

The role of public open space in Southbank is even more critical given that 94% of the population live in apartments with little or no access to public open space. The creation of new public open space in Southbank will fulfil an important local need for residents and will directly affect the way residents can be involved in their local neighbourhood. Public open space can also fulfil other vital roles in Southbank including flood mitigation, urban forest diversity and resilience and provide space for events and the arts – in the heart of Melbourne’s cultural precinct.