NZ Visual Diary - entry 222
Melbourne
first impressions - Melbourne
From what I saw of Melbourne across daily walks to the Southern Cross railway station and nightly walks to restaurants, Melbourne has truly earned its reputation as one of the most liveable cities in the world.
The city sings to me.
Mature trees on city streets abound; sidewalks are extra wide and often host cafe street seating. But what makes the city especially remarkable is that Melbourne never abandoned its extensive network of city trams. Today, it has one of the largest networks of street trams in the world, admittedly new sleek tram cars, so convenient, comfortable and free. In fact, both bus and tram rides are free within the city centre. It is glorious!
What's more: trams lines run down the centre of streets, so car traffic is often limited to one lane in each direction . . . and I have not seen a one-way street. As a consequence, car traffic is nicely paced and greatly reduced, given the convenience of inner city public transport and ubiquity of inexpensive regional train.
It has honoured its past by not demolishing its colonial era buildings. Indeed, its monumental architecture, both commercial and public, has been handsomely restored and maintained. Also noteworthy is the attempt to construct contemporary buildings that are distinctive, and not simply boring structures in a bland modernist style.
The three photographs presented in this blog entry attempt to illustrate my architectural musings.
Melbourne is a model of how cities could and should evolve as truly liveable places. That said, it is an expensive city in which to live . . . affordable housing is an unsolved problem in Melbourne as it is elsewhere in large cities.