According to reports, in order to alleviate Melbourne’s population growth pressure, Victoria needs to build a series of new cities to accommodate 400,000 people. These cities are about 100 to 250 kilometers from the CBD and will be built directly on green spaces rather than expanding outwards in centers such as Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo. Scholars from three top Victorian universities have proposed a plan. This ambitious 20-year proposal is included in the plan.
It is reported that the location of the city will be determined according to the existing railway infrastructure, which will eventually be upgraded to high-speed rail. The population of the six new towns will reach at least 100,000. RMIT scholar Ralph Horne told the Herald Sun that these satellite cities will leave many residents out of Melbourne. “These cities offer new jobs, new housing opportunities, and completely different living arrangements, so Victorians will be drawn to the past.” RMIT, Monash University and the University of Melbourne are the new city for the public policy organization Balance Victoria. plan. The authors of the report said that the expanding cities are inefficient in many ways, including the way transportation is planned. “Considering the time of Victoria’s population growth and the current construction speed, it is prudent to plan for 20 years to establish a sustainable new center. We can build a new city that can accommodate 100,000 to 400,000 people and ease Melbourne. Traffic congestion pressures encourage new industries to settle in the area.” Experts also mentioned Milton Keynes in the UK to illustrate the benefits of purposefully building cities.
The city was built to ease the pressure on Greater London and is now one of the five fastest growing centres in the UK and a key economic hub. Horne said it is too early to determine which green spaces are best for building a new city. These new towns will reduce the number of cars as much as possible, and are more suitable for walking than existing towns, but they also pay more attention to public open space. The report pointed out that if the plan is to move forward, it needs the firm support of the state and the federal government.