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How liveable is Melbourne really? In what ways are our social and environmental challenges interrelated? How might we move beyond GDP and measure our holistic progress as a city?
As Melburnians, we take great pride in the liveability of our city. From Cranbourne to Melton, the Dandenongs to Williamstown, Melbourne has always been a great place to live.
Yet, while Melbourne consistently ranks as one of the most livable cities in the world, that title conceals an uncomfortable fact: our city is currently living beyond its means. What we have comes at a hidden cost to people globally and the planet – and it's a price too high to pay. And, the best of our city isn't equally available to everyone.
On Global Doughnut Day, Regen Melbourne will launch the first City Portrait for Greater Melbourne, based on the 'Melbourne Doughnut'. The City Portrait is a tool to help places explore what it means to be 'in the Doughnut', in the safe and just space for humanity. It provides a holistic way of describing and measuring our aspirations for a city which values collaboration over competition, wellbeing over infinite growth and regeneration over extraction.
Alison Whiten, Research Lead at Regen Melbourne, said this represents an Australian-first in measuring wellbeing at the scale of a city.
"The City Portrait is more than just a research project. We have taken the same collaborative approach that we apply to all of Regen Melbourne's projects, engaging with experts from across academia, industry and government to define outcomes and identify what is most meaningful to measure."
City Portraits around the world center on Doughnut Economics, a framework that proposes an economic mindset that's fit for our times. In 2020, Amsterdam was the first place to create a City Portrait. Since then, policymakers, economists and activists globally have adopted this approach. Now, it's our turn.
The journey to develop a City Portrait for Greater Melbourne began in 2020, when Regen Melbourne was born out of the dual crises of the COVID-19 lockdowns and Black Summer fires. We released our report, Towards a Regenerative Melbourne, in April 2021 as a roadmap built on the experiences of over 500 Melburnians.
Over the past year, we have worked with researchers and practitioners across academia, government and industry to develop a rich digital platform that brings to life a data-based understanding of Melbourne's current state and its potential.
"Melbourne's City Portrait indicates that we need to see significant change to balance human thriving with environmental health. This can feel scary, but we know that it's possible to achieve big change when we need it." – Alison Whiten
For Kaj Lofgren, CEO of Regen Melbourne, the City Portrait points to the types of systemic interventions we need.
"Despite the many strengths of our beautiful city, we are facing a web of interconnected social and environmental challenges. These challenges require epic levels of collaboration and new ways of measuring progress."
Regen Melbourne participated in Global Doughnut Day alongside more than 30 places such as Beijing, Mexico City, Vermont and Brazil, with keynote speakers such as Doughnut Economics author Kate Raworth.
The time for action is now. Melbourne can be home to thriving people, in a thriving place, while respecting the wellbeing of all people and the health of the whole planet.
