How green spaces, pop-up events could boost Melbourne’s CBD

Experts say local authorities need to make Melbourne’s CBD more vibrant to bring people back to the city. Here’s what they are proposing.

An urban planner says the CBD must be ‘rebadged’, similar to successful inner city neighbourhoods. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Ideas such as closing some roads, creating more green spaces and holding pop-up street events have been proposed to revitalise Melbourne’s CBD.

Urban planners say local authorities need to make the central city more vibrant to attract people who otherwise avoid commuting and prefer working from home.

The City of Melbourne has encouraged more outdoor dining and supported pop-up events in the CBD while reducing car lanes and parking spaces in favour of bike paths in places like Exhibition Street.

The council is also revisiting its Postcode 3000 campaign which played a key role in activating the Hoddle Grid by facilitating residential development from the early 1990s.

But urban planner Mike Day, from firm Hatch RobertsDay, said the CBD should be rebadged as an “urban centre” similar to successful inner city neighbourhoods.

“They are thriving because they are a good mix of residential dwellings, small-business workplaces, entertainment and food venues,” he said.

“It’s prudent for planners to bring these elements into our central areas to ensure they are inviting settings for people to work, live and play, with meaningful social interaction.”

Mr Day has several recommendations including turning temporary vacant lots into green spaces like pocket parks, and temporarily closing some roads to activate public spaces.

Giving more space to pedestrians and cyclists in the inner city is part of a plan to get the CBD humming again. Picture: Eugene Hyland

The City of Melbourne has encouraged more outdoor dining and supported pop-up events in the CBD. Picture: David Crosling

“With most workers splitting their working hours between office and home, employees need an incentive to commute into the CBD,” he said.

“Closing semi-busy roads like Flinders Street to regularly hold pop-up street events such as street food markets, and this could also lead to more business for hospitality venues after work.”

Mr Day recommended giving more space to pedestrians and cyclists in the inner city with aesthetic streetscapes to make commutes safer and more enjoyable.

“Melbourne could follow London’s plan to extend footpaths, restrict driving on shopping streets, add more cycle lanes, and look to Paris’s development of 650 km of bike paths,” he said.

Also recommended is increasing CBD resident numbers by converting vacant offices into apartments and hotels.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said central Melbourne still had good demand for office space, and there was opportunity for more people to live in Docklands and emerging urban renewal areas like Fishermans Bend and the Arden precinct.

“Melbourne is the best 15-minute suburb in Australia,” she said.

“If you are a resident of the city, as I am, everything you could need from essential services to entertainment and culture, sport, ways in which you can pursue your passions — is available within a 15 minute walk in the CBD.”

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