Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece is just two years into a job that will be among the most challenging of a career that’s already spanned policy, politics, economics and business journalism.
Melbourne is often cited as the world’s most liveable city, he’s happy to note, but judging by the energy he’s brought to the role, it’s clear he knows that the accolade is neither lightly won nor easily maintained. It’s also clear he understands that much of the city’s liveability centres on the built environment.
- Lord Mayor Nick Reece is scheduled to address the Transition Risk Masterclass at Melbourne Town Hall on 8 September
If the City is to achieve its zero-carbon city status by 2040, mid tier buildings need to be retrofitted, so Reece has launched the Retrofit Melbourne Incentive Scheme to help owners and managers “deliver lower energy bills, improved tenant attraction and retention, and greater resilience to evolving energy and regulatory requirements.”
The City’s Green Factor tool takes the greening of the city to the rooftops and infrastructure of buildings themselves.
“I want to see a green roof revolution in Melbourne where we green our underutilised building tops, also putting in green infrastructure, green walls, green foyers into buildings,” he tells this podcast.
The City has also implemented “strong standards and requirements around growing its “urban forest” with aims to increase canopy cover by 2040, he says.
The goals go further, from improving the quality of apartments, many of which suffered badly under a former state government laissez faire policy, to the point that several media articles have cited at least 8000 completed but unsold apartments, thanks to their poor quality and windowless bedrooms that relied on “borrowed light”.
There are now design standards for new apartments and a design excellence process that includes minimum room sizes and bedrooms with windows.
But Reece is also keen to point out there’s a cohort of developers in Melbourne who need neither carrots nor sticks to produce excellence, such as Nightingale Housing and Hip V. Hype.
City of Melbourne is a sponsor of Transition Risk Melbourne on 8 September.
