There are currently more people working, living and studying in the Melbourne CBD than ever before, with a rise of 25% in employment compared to a mere one tenth expansion of floor space over the past 14 years.
Data from the the City of Melbourne Economic Profile shows that Melbourne has a high discrepancy between growth in employment and area expansion.
Home to over half of the cities jobs, the area can often seem chaotic. But, do Melburnians care?
Local resident, Shelly Tait, chooses to live in the CBD with her partner despite environmental factors such as noise and pollution.
“They’re probably the only things that bother me, just congestion and definitely the fumes.”
The CBD offers a plethora of unique places to explore. There are over fifty public and commercial art galleries, and countless café, bar and dining experiences.
High traffic, inside and outside
The CBD is comprised of the two oldest areas in Melbourne: the Hoddle Grid and Queen Victoria Market. The area has been refashioned many times in the past 181 years, keeping up to the demands of modern life.
Now, the 6.2 square kilometers making up the district are mainly allocated to offices, with only 0.2 square kilometers of open space.
With so much floor space dedicated to infrastructure it is often assumed that traffic and parking are major issues in the CBD.
However there are currently 64,000 off-street parking spaces, more than double of what was available in the late 70s.
Greg Barker drives to work in the CBD and says getting in and out of the district is difficult.
“Traffic’s bad but I mean once you’re in here its okay. Getting in and out is hard because of problems with traffic. But I’m sure they’ll sort that out in the next 20 to 30 years” he says.
