University researchers in Victoria studying the State’s pressing need to decentralise its population have declared that a lot could be learned from the experience of building and populating Canberra.
Examining Australia’s historical patterns of decentralisation over the last 100 years, the researchers from the RMIT University, Monash and the University of Melbourne released the report Balancing Victoria: Prospects for Decentralisation determining that Canberra’s experience held the answers to creating successful new cities.
Co-author of the Report, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of RMIT Research and Innovation, Professor Ralph Horne, said Canberra was built from the ground up in the early 1900s, and its success laid in long-term cross-institutional support for building a new urban centre in regional Australia.
Professor Horne said the report identified eight principles essential to a new city creation. Among them were strong government commitment; community buy in; infrastructure design focused on sustainability; and bipartisan agreement from both Australian and Victorian governments.
“Victoria would have a strong chance in achieving vibrant, ultra-modern and highly sustainable new cities if governments delivered even six of the eight recommended principles,” Professor Horne said.
He said decentralisation needed to be integrated into a wider, long term network of policies on affordable housing, accessible transport, high speed rail, and long-range economic planning to be successful.
He said Canberra had succeeded because of strong and consistent backing across the community.
The researchers’ 51-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
