Recently I had the chance of looking at Melbourne from a ‘birds eye view’. From the 88th floor of the famous Eureka Skydeck, it looks fascinating and mesmerizing. And for an Architect, it gives an opportunity to understand and think about the planning, layout, and development of the city. As much it is evident that Melbourne is a coastal city and you see water stretched far away from the land, as it is a monocentric city. The CBD has the concentration of the density, offices, transportation, height, population, and pace. Melbourne gets flat and slows down as we move away from its hub. What could be the potential pros and cons of this scheme? Looking at the positives, getting to the workplaces is easier even if you stay in any suburb of the city (considering the internal transport network apart from the trains that get you into the city is efficient). Although is there really a need for huge office spaces after a pandemic that has changed our lives? The serenity of the residential suburbs can be preserved. A distinction between where you work and where you live might help people switch between some psychological zones to create a work life balance.
But the negatives create a need to rethink this setting. The city or the office areas of the CBD remain ghosted during the weekends or holidays. Is it worth for a humongous chunk of land to not be multiuse or to be vacant for more than 100 days a year specially when sustainability issues and environmental concerns are rising by the day? Also, this gives lesser opportunities for the 15-minute or 20-minute neighborhoods where people can walk or cycle to their workplaces, shopping centers, markets, etc. Is a polycentric city that is interconnected a better option or is there a need to reimagine most of the aspects of how we have been designing our cities?
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