Melbourne’s extremely heated discussion creates City’s first Chief Resilience Officer

Metropolitan strategies for dealing with blistering summer temperatures have business and resident survival squarely in their sights.

1 April, 2014

Melbourne CBD junks parking meters for pay-by-phone technology

Mobile apps and related payments are quickly starting to eliminate the need for costly hardwired infrastructure as councils look for ways to increase convenience and deter risk takers when it comes to clipping the ticket.

27 February, 2014

City of Melbourne gets lean and keen

By Kate Jackson The City of Melbourne was in the spotlight following the Australasian Lean Thinking and Practice Summit, held in Melbourne in May 2013. More than 200 people came to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre to hear Dr Jim Womack, the founder of the Lean movement, and numerous other speakers, to learn how […]

23 January, 2014

Fishermans Bend lures $2bn facelift

By Paul Hemsley The Victorian government has unveiled a new “draft vision” for the City of Melbourne’s ambitious plan to revitalise the Fishermans Bend industrial district that the government hopes will attract $2 billion in new investment from the private sector. A large curved peninsula of land in Port Melbourne that is separated from the […]

17 September, 2013

Melbourne wins global sustainability award

By Paul Hemsley The City of Melbourne has triumphed over New York and Berlin in worldwide contest for creating sustainability programs after the city’s submission won top honours for efforts in retrofitting older buildings to become much more environmentally friendly. The CBD council was this week awarded the C40 & Siemens City Climate Leadership Awards […]

5 September, 2013

Melbourne construction standards get greener

By Paul Hemsley The City of Melbourne has upped its efforts to become more environmentally sustainable by pledging an overhaul of building standards for energy, water and waste efficiency for new construction projects. Already a prominent proponent of regulatory strategies to increase energy efficiency and create a so-called “eco-city”, the inner metropolitan council has put […]

17 May, 2013

Melbourne declares itself ‘carbon neutral’

By Paul Hemsley The City of Melbourne has hailed itself as ‘carbon neutral’ after being certified by the Australian Government’s independent carbon offsetting authority Low Carbon Australia through the council’s effort to become one of the world’s most liveable and sustainable cities. Victoria’s capital city has joined the City of Sydney as well as two […]

22 March, 2013

Cycling group gets pushy on spending

By Julian Bajkowski An Australia-wide survey of expenditure by local governments on cycling infrastructure has found that inner-city municipalities are ploughing serious funding into facilities like bike paths, but warned that many suburban councils in Sydney and Melbourne have “irresponsibly low” spending. According to an annual study of 100 councils by cycling advocacy group Bicycle […]

20 November, 2012

Melbourne docks for urban renewal

Community infrastructure projects will proceed in Melbourne’s Docklands following the city council’s partnerships with other tiers of government and the private sector. The City of Melbourne’s plan for urban renewal is for $300 million in community infrastructure projects in Docklands. As part of the Docklands Community and Place Plan (DCPP), the council will be working […]

18 July, 2012

Capital works cycle from Melbourne budget

Infrastructure and community services will receive investment in a capital works program from the City of Melbourne. The council’s 2012-13 budget has allowed for the program to receive $110 million for a bicycle network, storm water harvesting initiatives, refurbishment and shelter for the homeless. According to the council, the investment in infrastructure and services will […]

27 June, 2012

Melbourne agrees to environmental upgrades

Two Melbourne based building sites will receive environmental upgrades under signed agreements with between local government and the private sector. The upgrades were signed under the City of Melbourne’s 1200 Buildings Program for 123 Queen Street and the Kings Technology Park (KTP) precinct. In the first privately funded environmental upgrade agreement through the 1200 Buildings […]

4 January, 2012

Melbourne gets in on the green act

By Lilia Guan   The Victorian Parliament has passed legislation to support large scale environmental retrofits of city buildings.   The City of Melbourne Act has been amended to enable Council, in partnership with Australian financial institutions, to enter into voluntary arrangements with building owners to help them obtain finance to environmentally retrofit their buildings. […]

27 September, 2010

Sydney, Melbourne recognised for design excellence

City of Sydney’s Paddington Reservoir Gardens was awarded for excellence in urban design. Image: City of Sydney/Fiora Sacco. By Angela Dorizas A rehabilitated public park in inner city Sydney and a research project on future growth in Melbourne are the recipients of this year’s prestigious Australian Award for Urban Design. The City of Sydney was […]

13 August, 2009