About Melbourne 2030

The 'Melbourne 2030' plan is the Victorian Government's blueprint for the accommodation of an additional one million people in Melbourne by the year 2030. The plan seeks to change the shape of Melbourne radically. The vision is of a compact city in which growth will be concentrated in existing commercial centres (activity centres). Notwithstanding this fundamental departure from the low density pattern of the past, it is claimed that Melbourne's famed 'liveability' will be preserved.

This book explores:

• the intellectual origins of the plan;
• demographic assumptions behind the plan;
• the mode of implementation;
• the likely impact on the built environment;
• environmental and social consequences;
• heritage outcomes; and
• alternative planning options.

It also critically examines assumptions about the projected demand for higher density housing, and argues that the plan's 'compact city' vision is unlikely to be achieved because it fails to come to grips with the economic and demographic realities facing Melbourne.

ISBN 0-9757475-1-7 (web)
ISBN 0-9757475-0-9 (pb)

Purchasing Melbourne 2030

As of July 2008, Melbourne 2030 has become "open access", meaning that the online version of this book is now available for free. Read Melbourne 2030 online now.

Melbourne 2030 is also still available to purchase as a paperback: purchase a print copy of Melbourne 2030 here. The paperback book costs AUD $34.95; pricing and handling charges are additional.

Publication date

Melbourne 2030: Planning Rhetoric Versus Urban Reality was published on 22 March 2005.