Melbourne 2030

The Metropolitan Strategy Melbourne 2030 is a Victorian Government strategic planning policy framework for the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne, intended to cover the period 2001–2030. During this period the population of the metropolitan area is expected to grow by a million people to over 5 million. Population projections now predict Melbourne's population could reach 7 million by that time and the State Government has since changed its strategy on the policy, abandoning the urban growth boundary in the north and west of Melbourne and compromising green wedges.

Introduced by the Bracks (ALP) government, its main elements are based on well-established planning principles for Transit-oriented development:

The existence of Melbourne 2030 gives the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) the policy rationale to determine planning disputes in favour of developments that it judges to be in accordance with the metropolitan strategy's objectives.

The policy was amended in late 2008 to become Melbourne @ Five Million in response to increased population forecasts and an increased demand for housing. The update provisioned for an extended growth boundary and is reinforcing the aim of a multi-centre metropolitan area by lifting the hierarchic level of six Principal Activity Centres (PAC) to Central Activities Districts (CAD). The centres of Box Hill, Broadmeadows, Dandenong, Footscray, Frankston and Ringwood will thus have to provide similar services and functions as central Melbourne.

There are 93 Major Activity Centres, including: Altona, Altona Gate (Altona North), Brunswick, Cheltenham, Eltham, Ivanhoe, Kew, Mornington, Nunawading, The Pines (Doncaster East), Preston, Rosebud, Sandringham, South Melbourne, St. Kilda, Williamstown.

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