- Published:
- Thursday 14 July 2016
Minister for Planning Richard Wynne has toured world-leading urban renewal sites and met with international planning experts to examine how best-practice urban planning can be applied in Melbourne.
Over nine days, Mr Wynne met with chief planners, state ministers, local governments and leading planners in Vancouver, Toronto, New York and Chicago.
Mr Wynne met with Vancouver’s City Hall and visited the South East False Creeks site, which was home to the city’s 2010 Winter Olympics village and is now under redevelopment.
Toronto’s waterfront redevelopment shares parallels with Australia’s biggest urban renewal project, Fishermans Bend, and Mr Wynne discussed delivery methods and governance structures.
Mr Wynne also met with renowned urban theorist Richard Florida at the Martin Prosperity Institute.
In New York, he visited the Brooklyn Naval Yards, the Brooklyn Bridge Park and the High Line, areas which have been transformed through smart planning to create jobs and more housing.
Inclusionary zoning, which the Andrews Labor Government is delivering as part of Plan Melbourne, has successfully been used in Brooklyn to deliver more than 20,000 units in the last decade.
In Chicago, Mr Wynne met with the city’s Architecture Foundation, visited the Marina City development and the successful “606” parkland project.
The four cities visited face similar challenges to Melbourne, such as the need to stimulate jobs growth, accommodate growing populations and improve housing affordability.
Each offers lessons for Melbourne in maintaining its liveability status, manage growth sustainably and be internationally competitive.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Planning Richard Wynne
“These are cities experiencing growth and housing affordability pressures, which show us how we can achieve a healthy social and economic mix in urban renewal areas.”
“There are more than 600 hectares of under-used and old industrial land around inner Melbourne which we can develop and we’re making sure detailed planning work sets a new international benchmark.”