Implementation: Getting our act together

The previous metropolitan plan, Melbourne 2030 (Victorian State Government, 2002) vowed to reduce car dependency, improve housing choice, restrict urban expansion as part of a shift to greater environmental sustainability, and create a polycentric and 'compact' city with employment sub-centres. Twelve years on, Melbourne's housing affordability has reached crisis levels (see Chapter 2), jobs growth remains concentrated in the city centre (see Chapter 2), the State Government's response to climate mitigation and adaptation remains locked in denial (see Chapter 3), and metropolitan transport investments continue to be biased towards private cars (see Chapter 4). New planning efforts, such as inner city urban renewal projects in Docklands, have struggled to advance housing affordability and sustainability goals (Shaw, 2013). In addition, land use decisions have not been consistently integrated with infrastructure planning, especially around major transport projects (Dodson, 2009). The commentary provided in this book, and the empirical evidence provided by others (e.g. Mees, 2010; Delbosc & Currie, 2011; Whitzman & Mizrachi, 2012), emphatically shows that the 'liveable' Melbourne envisioned has not been delivered to the city's residents. This is a failure of implementation.