Future directions for open space and the public realm

About This Project

Melbourne is renowned for its extensive parklands and gardens, but outside the CBD the provision of open space is lower. In particular the established inner ring of suburbs have much more limited amounts of open space. The City of Stonnington, in the inner south-east of the city has the second lowest provision of open space in Greater Melbourne.

Despite its shortage, Council recognises that open space is a critical element of a healthy, liveable and resilient Stonnington. It is important for the physical and mental health of residents, healthy ecosystems, and economic development.

We were engaged to write a future directions paper for open space and the public realm in Stonnington. The paper will inform future council strategies, and drew together research and insights from our global network of park leaders, etc.

We used insights and ideas from the research to identify future directions for open space and the public realm in Stonnington. We focussed on key themes, including local living, open space and local movement networks and the concept of sweating the asset – getting more from what we already have. The work drew on learnings from cities around the world and their response to the COVID19 pandemic.