'Melbourne is evolving by accident' - 3AW (blog)

Neil Mitchell says Melbourne is sleepwalking its way towards becoming a monster high-rise city, with authorities giving little consideration to the long-term implications of the current building "revolution".

The number of residents in Melbourne's CBD is expected to double in the next five years as the government's penchant for approving residential tower blocks shows no signs of abating.

Since 2010, Planning Minister Matthew Guy has signed off on 82 permits for new high-rise apartment buildings in and around the CBD, which will add around 117 towers to Melbourne's skyline and potentially inject nearly 60,000 residents into the city.

Speaking on 3AW Mornings, Neil Mitchell said the fabric of Melbourne is changing, and we're not pausing to ponder the ramifications.

"There's a revolution underway, or an experiment, and I don't think it's being thought through properly," he said.

"I'm talking about the state government's enthusiasm for approving new residential towers, turning us into Hong Kong.

"We are changing massively the cultural, social and financial make-up of the city and we've got international investors in the middle of it.

"I'm not saying all this is bad but it will make Melbourne a more cosmopolitan, high-rise, busy city and it's going to need facilities.

"Perhaps that's the way of the future - but this seems to be evolving by accident rather than design."

Outlining his vision for Melbourne's future, Matthew Guy told Neil Mitchell he wants to confine the majority of the city's population growth to the CBD so as not to overburden the suburbs.

"Historically, where your generation and mine might have headed to London for a year or two to experience life in the big city, I want kids from London or New York or Asia to come to Melbourne to experience life in our city," he said.

"I would rather have a strong population growth in the central area of Melbourne than sporadically across every small street or every cul-de-sac across the city."

LISTEN IN FULL: Matthew Guy tells Neil Mitchell says he wants to concentrate population growth in the CBD

Paul Osborne, founder of Secret Agent, a properly research firm, told Neil Mitchell the design of modern apartments is changing the make-up of the city's demographics.

"I think it's a shame that there hasn't been more long-term thought in terms of building a place that people will live in for 15 years of 10 years," he said.

"It is purely based around the investment side of it and you're [getting] a purely tenanted CBD. So I think that's not a good thing."

LISTEN IN FULL: Paul Osborne, founder of Secret Agent, says new apartments are being marketed towards students

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