Urban Sustainability In Melbourne

2.0 THE CONCEPT OF URBAN SUSTAINABILITY

Most people live in the urban areas because of better a life; research indicates that over half of the world’s population lives in the urban centers (Brown et al. 2012). People are looking for employment which they believe can be easily found in the urban areas (Dixon & Eames 2014). Therefore, the problems or challenges experienced in the urban areas are mostly contributed by this huge population. Most people have always held the perception that life in the urban areas can be more comfortable than rural areas; indeed, there are a lot of opportunities in the urban areas. However, that would only be possible if the city is environmentally conscious about the threats and challenges

The city still has rooms to grow and develop to become as competitive as other cities with good environmental sustainability strategies like Curitiba, Totnes, and Hammarby. Some of the city’s strengths include diverse industry base, skilled and multicultural workforce, good sporting, art and cultural capital. Melbourne has undergone various industrial transformations since Australia opened up its economic global competition in the late 1900s (Alliance 2009). Melbourne has been one of the cities that have exploited this opportunity by shifting its manufacturing focus from locally based to global based. As such, the city has been able to diversify its workforce which consists of educated, flexible and multicultural personnel (Alliance 2009). The industries have been able to offer employment to a huge population. Research shows that most of the people employed in Melbourne come from over 200 countries across the world. It also consists of people speaking over 230 languages with more than 130 diverse religious backgrounds (Alliance

Melbourne city is faced with social class discrimination threat; where the upper class enjoys every privilege including better houses because they can afford it, while the lower and middle class continue to struggle. Melbourne is not different to other cities across the world that experience urban challenges. However, the city’s management has enacted various strategies that can help the city achieve its goals. Some of the goals of Melbourne is to become a city of people by supporting every member of the community irrespective of his/her religion, sex, disability, economic and social status, to be a creative city by supporting the artistic expressions, be a prosperous city by supporting investors, and be an eco-city by building a sustainable town that is more competitive in terms of environmental conservation and urban planning (Lorenz et al. 2008). To be able to achieve these goals, the city needs to come up with effective sustainability strategies that will place it at a competitive level locally and