Hello World, this is Urban.com.au calling
As is the tradition when a new piece of software is created, the first output should be to produce the words "Hello World".
Hello World, this is Urban.com.au calling
Who are we?
We're a group of like-minded individuals who have cultivated each of our own specific interests over the past decade - with regard to the direction Melbourne is moving toward - primarily meeting at SkyscraperCity in the past.
We're a group of people with diverse political views, backgrounds & outlooks on life; we grew up in vastly different areas of the city and currently live in a range of suburbs in different corners of the city.
We are all united in the broad belief that the future of Melbourne is urban rather than suburban. That is: larger & denser in population, grander in terms of diversity - architecturally and culturally - and above all else sustainable for the future generations who are born here or who migrate here. We make no apology for our opposition of continued outward low-density suburban expansion & wholesale private vehicle transport network expansion - the 'garden city' model of auto-centric urban planning that has been with us for more than half a century.
We advocate retrofitting all the appropriate areas of the existing footprint of Melbourne - whether it's the centre of the city or the outer fringe in Pakenham, Craigieburn or Werribee - through investment in the public transport modes that will have the most immediate and sustainable affect to alleviating congestion in existing areas and the public transport modes that will facilitate higher-density residential & employment centres over time. In fact we aim to make it one of our primary goals to show the public of Melbourne that 'higher-density' is a term that is just as diverse as the city's population itself and it doesn't necessarily mean high-rise towers nextdoor to existing single family homes. In saying that however, high-rise towers are a large and legitimate part of the solution, in the appropriate areas.
We are incredibly lucky to have a vast range of skills, work histories and academic backgrounds on staff & in our contributor pool, including but not limited to: architects, urban planners, information managers, archivists, environmental scientists, construction managers & students - above all we are Melburnians & Urbanists: Melburnists.
Take some time to read our manifesto and we encourage everyone to register a free account and participate in the discussion on the future of Urban.com.au.
The Urban.com.au website is owned by Alamar AV Communications Pty Ltd which has a small group of shareholders - all of them will be participating on the site in some shape or form - and the company has two directors: Alastair Taylor and Mark Baljak.
