Issues and Values
Values
At the start of the Future Melbourne project, the City of Melbourne sought to get an understanding of the values that matter to the Melbourne community. Through a series of forums, online events and surveys, these values have been identified and defined as follows:
- a city for people
A city for people provides spaces for people and accounts for the needs of residents and visitors. It’s a city that is young and vibrant, liveable and lived in, humanitarian, radical; a quality city with a strong sense of place and places for people, a city of diverse communities and interests, and that recognises and celebrates its specific attributes and is a place to be proud of.
- an inclusive city - a city for everyone
An inclusive city is engaging and embracing; tolerant, friendly, community oriented, compassionate, comfortable and responsive, adaptable and interesting.
- a diverse and convivial city
A diverse city recognises and values diversity. It’s a friendly city, where people talk to each other, where visitors feel welcome, and difference is embraced and accepted.
Diverse cities promote equity and accessibility for all (from children to elderly), embrace multiculturalism. A diverse city is an elegant city.
- an intelligent and creative city
An intelligent and creative city fosters learning and research. It’s at the cutting edge in the arts, business and education. It’s a city that is creative, innovative, that leads, that is dynamic and adaptable; and is a research city.
- a safe and democratic city
In a safe and democratic city, people never feel afraid. It’s a city where ordinary people have influence.
This is a city that’s safe and secure with human, political and intellectual freedom, with democracy and political robustness, community engagement and social capital and well-connected communities.
- a green city
A green city values what we have, uses resources wisely and cares for the community, future generations and the environment.
A green city promotes sustainability, biodiversity, heritage/preservation and conservation; it focuses on local imperatives such as: parks, gardens, fresh air, clean streets and clean rivers/bay; and takes its global responsibilities seriously, being careful with finite resources and playing its part in solving problems like climate change.
- a prosperous city
In a prosperous city, business and enterprise flourishes and people share in the prosperity. It’s a entrepreneurial, with international ‘connectivity' and strong global links.
Issues
The final Future Melbourne plan must stays relevant through the many changes our city can expect during the next decade. Therefore, we need to identify the issues that will continue to affect the long-term future of Melbourne, regardless of the direction we choose for the city.
Melbourne is part of a much bigger world, and while we can work to shape the future direction of the city, we need to keep global issues in mind.
Examples of issues that will influence the future of Melbourne include:
- climate change;
- decline of manufacturing;
- rising energy costs;
- water shortages;
- housing security/access;
- public safety and vitality; and
- cultural identity.
