Livable Melbourne

"We've doubled the number of pedestrians in the street simply by widening the [sidewalk] and planting a few trees. Any city can do this." -Robert Adams, Director, Melbourne Design and Urban Environment

"If you are willing to give people the space they need, to give bicycles the space they need, then you can have a complete change of behavior." Jan Gehl, founding partner, Gehl Architects

Melbourne has done a phenomenal job creating a healthy, livable city. In a remarkably short period of time (10-15 years), city leaders transformed Melbourne into a vibrant city bustling with walkers, bikers, and public transit. The city is full of cozy, human-scaled nooks that have been created by using trees and other landscaping to define spaces and by converting old alleyways into charming corridors. To improve safety, they have focused on non-traditional law enforcement, including promotion of sidewalk businesses, as well as slightly elevated sidewalk seating areas to increase the number of eyes on the street.




Additional background information here:
http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/melbourne/