Future Melbourne as One of World's Top Sustainable Cities

By 2020, per capita greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 35 per cent per resident and 59 per cent per worker under a target identified in ‘Future Melbourne’ – said to be the most ambitious community consultation project ever undertaken by the City of Melbourne.

Around 15,000 individuals, businesses, organisations and community groups from across Melbourne and the globe have participated in the Future Melbourne consultation program.

After over 13 months of community consultation, participation and collaboration, the ‘Future Melbourne’ Reference Group has delivered a draft plan to Council for consideration at its September meeting.

Lord Mayor John So said Future Melbourne had been the most ambitious community consultation project ever undertaken by the City of Melbourne.

Planning Committee Chair, Councillor Catherine Ng, said the draft plan aimed to build on Melbourne’s liveability and become one of the world’s top 10 most sustainable cities.

Future Melbourne sets out six goals:
1. A city for people
2. A prosperous city
3. An eco-city
4. A knowledge city
5. A creative city
6. A connected city.

A selection of 10 headline targets have been identified to measure progress towards the six Future Melbourne goals for the municipality by 2020. These include:

1. all visitors to and residents of the city feel welcome, safe and engaged;
2. all residents, businesses and visitors easily and affordably access the internet;
3. at least 140,000 people live in the municipality of Melbourne;
4. at least 20 per cent of new housing in the municipality is affordable or social housing;
5. total employment in the municipality is more than 400,000;
6. per capita greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 have reduced by 35 per cent per resident and 59 per cent per worker from 2006 levels;
7. per capita drinking water use by 2020 has reduced by 40 per cent per resident and 50 per cent per worker compared to 2000 levels;
8. metropolitan Melbourne is ranked in the world’s top research centres;
9. metropolitan Melbourne is ranked in the world’s top five cities for international higher education; and
10. 90 per cent of people travel to work in the Melbourne CBD by walking, bicycle and or public transport.

Future Melbourne Reference Group Chair, Carol Schwartz says the Future Melbourne draft plan was developed by engaging with Melbourne’s many communities.

Future Melbourne began in June 2007 as a community plan sponsored by the City of Melbourne and was developed collaboratively via an ongoing open public engagement strategy.

Some 15,000 individuals, businesses, organisations and community groups from across Melbourne participated in the Future Melbourne consultation program.

During the final round of public consultation (May-June 2008) 6500 people logged onto the wiki ( www.futuremelbourne.com.au) and 200 individual edits were made to the draft plan; over 200 stakeholders were individually briefed on the plan in various forums/meetings.

For more information go to: http://www.futuremelbourne.com.au/wiki/view/FMPlan