Melbourne

Melbourne’s Resilience Journey

Melbourne is a vibrant and proudly multicultural city of 4.9 million residents, originating from over 180 different countries. A “city of cities,” Melbourne is made up of 32 local government councils spread over 10,000 square km around Port Phillip Bay, an area that comprises hundreds of diverse local neighbourhoods, each with its own character, cultural mix, and set of advantages and problems.

Today, the scale and pace of demographic change in Melbourne are unprecedented. Projections suggest that by 2051 Melbourne will be home to approximately 7.7 million people, and is likely to be Australia’s largest city. Globalization continues to disrupt our economy and society, while climate change increases the risk of extreme events and undermines many of the assumptions we have relied on to plan and develop our city. To cope with this increasing complexity and uncertainty, we need a new approach.

This approach must be centred on our communities, on supporting and enabling them to adapt to accelerating changes and the associated stresses, to survive no matter what shocks occur, and to thrive confidently. By linking new resilience-building actions with existing efforts, we can build a Melbourne that is a better place for its future generations, and whose services and advantages can be enjoyed by all of its citizens.