Introduction > Melbourne 2030 in summary

Melbourne 2030 – planning for sustainable growth is a 30-year plan to manage growth and change across metropolitan Melbourne and the surrounding region. It emphasises the city’s interdependence with regional Victoria, to provide maximum benefit to the whole State.

In the next 30 years, Melbourne will grow by up to one million people and will consolidate its reputation as one of the most liveable, attractive and prosperous areas in the world for residents, business and visitors.

In establishing and articulating this vision through a set of Principles and nine Key Directions, Melbourne 2030 provides a framework for governments at all levels to respond to the diverse needs of those who live and work in and near to Melbourne, and those who visit.

Melbourne 2030 is a plan for the growth and development of the metropolitan area. An important objective is to ensure that Melbourne retains the qualities that people enjoy about it. Despite a slowdown in population growth, Melbourne will grow substantially over the next 30 years. It is appropriate to plan for the capacity to comfortably absorb up to 620,000 extra households over that time while protecting and enhancing our existing suburbs.

The main thrust is to continue to protect the liveability of the established areas and to increasingly concentrate major change in strategic redevelopment sites such as activity centres and underdeveloped land. While a good supply of land for development will be maintained in growth areas, over time there will be a shift away from growth on the fringe of the city.

This will help prevent urban expansion into surrounding rural land. The trend towards fewer people in each household will continue to support demand for well-located apartment lifestyles around activity centres. This will be supported by an expanded and more attractive public transport system.

Melbourne 2030 focuses primarily on the metropolitan Melbourne urban area and the nearby non-urban areas. However, it also deals more broadly with the wider region where, increasingly, development is linked to and affected by metropolitan Melbourne in terms of commuting, business and recreation. Hence, Melbourne 2030 also considers the area between metropolitan Melbourne and the regional centres of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, and the Latrobe Valley.

Economic, social and environmental matters are integral to Melbourne 2030, but it is not an economic development plan, a community development strategy or a comprehensive environmental management plan. Rather, it gives a high-level overview of the directions metropolitan Melbourne is expected to take. Its clear focus is the management of future growth, land use and infrastructure investment. It will provide a vital context for other sectoral plans in areas like transport and housing.