Management of urban waterways in Melbourne, Australia: 2 – integration and future directions

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper continues the analysis of the management of urban waterways in Greater Melbourne, Australia, commenced with our first paper. We focus first on the increasing emphasis on waterways and their corridors as part of Melbourne’s liveability, and then on the future management of waterways and their corridors in the face of the three most pressing future challenges – climate change, population increase, and urban expansion and densification. The long history of the development of parks, gardens and open spaces in Melbourne is reviewed. These open-spaces initially occurred with quite strong linkage to the waterways, enabled by the city’s unique institutional arrangements, but were substantially weakened as a result of policy and governance reforms in the 1990s. Melbourne will need to substantially improve the integration of the management of urban waterways and their corridors with the planning, development and management of the city’s associated green spaces if it is to achieve the expected community liveability standards in the face of the above three future challenges. Additionally, if waterway management remains with the existing agency (Melbourne Water), the authorising environment and the culture and mindset of this agency will need to change its focus from the current ‘city servicing’ institutional model to a ‘city shaping’ model.