Melbourne Now

Introduction

During the last two decades, Melbourne has experienced an urban renaissance. Once empty and uninviting streets and lanes have become busy centres of activity. Day and night the city is home to residents, workers and visitors, using the city in a variety of ways. Far from the 'old' city of grey office blocks that shut down at 5pm, today Melbourne is a welcoming and exciting place to be.

Melbourne's transformation has not happened by accident. Creative thinking was the spark that brought the city back to life. Partnerships between the City of Melbourne and Victorian Government The Postcode 3000 program brought residents to the city and new businesses sprang up to support them. Urban design strategies were implemented and a range of individual initiatives progressively helped to reinstate and reinforce the intrinsically dynamic qualities of the city.

By the turn of the century, Melbourne had overcome the economic downturn of the late 1980s. In 2008, Melbourne is once again a capital city of strength and energy, with a new but understated global standing.

Snapshot of the Municipality of Melbourne

(Source: City of Melbourne)

Melbourne now

Business and economy

Melbourne is major city in the global economy. Global cities are centres of production of key advanced services such as accounting,advertising, banking and law. They are home to firms with expertise, knowledge and global competance in these services and have offices around the world. Whilst Melbourne is not a prime world centre such as London, New York or Tokyo it is a major global centre in accounting, advertising and a minor global centre in banking and law.¹ Melbourne also has global strengths in architectural and engineering services and bio-medical science.

The economy of Melbourne is booming with record employment growth. Over 12,500 diverse enterprises now employ more than 298,000 people in the city, an increase of 21,000 since 2001 ².

Finance, business services and tertiary education are the strongest growth sectors. Melbourne rated 34th within the top 50 financial cities as surveyed by the Mastercard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index (2007)³, between Barcelona and Geneva, and second only to Sydney (14th) in Australia. Knowledge-based industries with great promise for the future have emerged, such as biotechnology and communications technologies. The city centre is a haven for creative entrepreneurs and is the retail capital of Australia, known for its fashion and other innovative enterprises.

The built area of the city has dramatically increased in size during the past decade, with more than 100 new buildings constructed. While the majority of large buildings were traditionally located in the CBD, the Docklands and Southbank precincts have widened the spread of these buildings and created entire new precincts.

The strong economy has generated a boom in residential development. Over 11,500 apartments were added to the city from 2001 to 2006, the majority of them high-rise developments that have created major new residential and entertainment areas.

Knowledge

Melbourne's two largest universities are the University of Melbourne (also called Melbourne University) and Monash University, the largest university in Australia. Both are members of the Group of Eight. Melbourne University ranked second among Australian universities in the 2006 THES international rankings. While The Times Higher Education Supplement ranked the University of Melbourne as the 22nd best university in the world, Monash University was ranked the 38th best university in the world. Melbourne was ranked the world's fourth top university city in 2008 after London, Boston and Tokyo.

City living

One of the most obvious impacts of this growth is in Melbourne's residential population. From 1991 to 2006 the population has more than doubled from around 34,600 to 76,000. The number of people living in the CBD increased from just 1000 in 1991 to over 9,000 in 2006 and continues to grow.

The increasing presence of international students in the city has contributed to a resurgence of city living. In 2006, the City of Melbourne's higher education international student community was approximately 21,700, of which 8,400 lived and studied in the City of Melbourne, 3,300 lived in the municipality and studied elsewhere, and 10,000 studied in the municipality and lived elsewhere.

[Insert population projection graph]

People have rediscovered Melbourne as an entertainment and cultural centre. Its streets, laneways and other public spaces are full of life and their development is in line with Melbourne's intrinsic physical character. With state-of-the art cultural and creative infrastructure and world-class sporting facilities in or near the city, Melbourne hosts over 300 cultural, sporting and other key events each year. There are now 1,500 bars, cafés and restaurants in the CBD area alone and a diverse multitude of entertainment, cultural and dining venues in its inner suburbs. These advantages make Melbourne a top visitor destination.

An average workday sees the population swell 10 times to over 700,000, including residents, workers, national and international visitors. On weeknights, the streets come alive with a new crowd, attracting 223,000 local visitors and about 63,000 national and international visitors ⁴.

Melbourne has also achieved significant recognition in the global economy. A 2006 international survey of 60 cities by the Anholt City Brands Index rated Melbourne the eighth best city brand. We are consistently ranked as one of the world's most liveable cities by the Economic Intelligence Unit Liveability Ranking. The Guardian Observer Traveller Awards voted Melbourne as the Number 1 favourite overseas destination in 2004.

References

1 : Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network Research Bulletin 5 :A Roster of World Cities (1999) J.V. Beaverstock, R.G. Smith and P.J. Taylor

2 : ABS (2006) Working Persons Profile

3 : Mastercard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index 2007

4 : City Research (2007) City User Estimates and Forecasts Model available online at Melbourne_Revised_City_User_Estimates_and_Forecasts_2004-2020.pdf