Melbourne needs a second CBD – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

Seventy years ago, when Melbourne didn’t extend far beyond what we now consider to be middle suburbia, the state’s leading planners began plotting to decentralise the city.

Train lines and major arterials were largely designed in the 19th century with one destination in mind: the CBD.

The then chief planning authority – the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works – released a landmark report in 1954 that set out to determine the city’s future growth. It complained, even then, of Melbourne suffering from congestion and sprawling development. With a population of 1.4 million at the time, the board was preparing to hit 2.5 million by the 1990s (a figure reached two decades earlier).

Decentralisation was deemed essential and five new “district business centres” were selected – Box Hill, Preston, Footscray, Moorabbin and Dandenong – to become hubs of entertainment, department stores, offices, courts and government branches.

“Thus, for many people, the wearisome journey into the city centre could be avoided, and some relief afforded to the already overcrowded central area,” the report said.

In this series examining the possibility of a second CBD in Melbourne, The Age will delve into three of metropolitan Melbourne’s best options: Clayton, Box Hill and Sunshine.

Selected in consultation with experts, these locations are middle suburbs accessible to populous outer and inner parts of Melbourne, and sites of major…