Implementing metropolitan strategies: Lessons from Melbourne

In 2002, the state government of Victoria, Australia, introduced a new 30-year metropolitan planning strategy for Melbourne. However, its implementation was problematic, at times ineffectual and at others the cause of community conflict. When a new government was elected in 2010 it announced the strategy's abandonment. This article evaluates the Melbourne strategy to examine its shortcomings. It concludes that it lacked the critical components of a clear purpose and vision, ownership, or at least acceptance, by all metropolitan stakeholders, including opposing politicians; and clear guidelines, actions (including expenditure) and regulation for implementation. These findings have relevance for metropolitan strategic planning in cities beyond Australia, as some of the underlying reasons, such as the neoliberal influence on policy, also exist in other city regions around the world.