Place-Making in Megaprojects in Melbourne

Abstract

This article analyses state-led place-making practices in Melbourne. The two levels of government that influence planning in Melbourne make much of the city as ‘culturally vibrant’ and ‘creative’, and have incorporated creative city-inspired place-making principles into many layers of the planning system. An examination of the development of two mixed-use megaprojects in central Melbourne reveals however that ideals of culturally engaging public places, and indeed of creative landscapes for middle-class consumption, wither in the face of more basic imperatives for economic development. In these case studies the ‘creative city’, no matter how the idea is interpreted, has little traction eithe..