Australian Suburbs
Just as many other countries, Australia consists of the inner city and suburbs. Their condition altered with the course of time, so people revealed their interest in living in different locations. For instance, in the 1980s the condition of the central part of Melbourne was rather poor, which made the population migrate out of it. As a result, even today many people traditionally prefer living in suburb areas.
About 50 years ago, the country was highly concerned with its private interests and focused on functioning as a centralized metropolis. However, it had poor planning strategies, which affected people’s living conditions and their satisfaction. In order to alter this situation, activists started initiating changes that were expected to overcome existing issues. For instance, the City of Melbourne strategy plan was focused on the improvement of significant buildings and other heritage areas, such as parks and gardens (Dayis & Wolff 1973).
Today, many parking places are returned to parkland, new residential units are added, as well as stores, bars, and restaurants. Melbourne’s suburbs improved housing as well. The revival of population growth increased the number of people interested in the development of these areas. It led to the residential development and triggered other changes. Medium-density housing became rather popular, as they could be afforded by one parent families and couples with no children.
Separate houses that used to be preferred by the population tend to be more expensive, so such option attracted more individuals. Still, its suburbs are facing issues even today. The population emphasizes that additional funding from the government is needed to overcome a lack of infrastructure and services. For instance, many bus stops require repairing. Innovative projects that can develop beneficial for the citizens things lack investment. Traffic issues at pick hours are reported in some suburbs. This issue not only prevents the representatives of the general public from getting to their employment but also increases the number of accidents. Public transport does not operate regularly and stops early in the evening (Adoranti & David 2013).
Cultural Mix
Melbourne’s population is mainly located not in the central part of the city but in its suburbs, which can be explained by the issues faced by it in the past. The representatives of the general public used to the fact that they are living in a doughnut city with a weak center and continued living out of it. The population started to suburbanize also because of the creation of the new railway lines and spread of car ownership, which made it easier to travel through the city.
Property speculation that was observed in the center also contributed to this change, as people were no longer able to afford to live in the urbanized territories. Then, those individuals that initially settled in the suburbs created their families, the members of which continued living there (Leuning 1998). In addition to that, Australian suburbs are full of people who came from other countries. Being limited in funds, they tend to prefer living outside of the city so that they can afford better conditions. What is more, such location allows them to make friends easier because people in the suburbs are friendlier and often know one another and they live closely.
Currently, Australia became one the most diverse countries because it has a lot of residents from abroad. It inherited many British characteristics during the colonial times. In addition to that, non-white immigrants entered the country at the same time. After the World War Two, a lot of people also came from New Zealand, Italy, Greece, and China. As a result, the population of Australia speaks more than 200 languages today.
Its main religion is Christianity, but a lot of individuals follow Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Aboriginal tradition religions, and others (Australia’s cultural diversity 2015). These people have a possibility to used all services provided to native citizens and also have an opportunity to attend their churches, restaurants with their national cuisine, be educated in native languages, celebrate their own holidays, etc. This freedom gives them a chance to share cultures and traditions. In addition to that, the possibility to resort to their heritage makes Australia more similar to their home country. Those people who have the same cultures tend to gather in groups. They even tend to start living in particular districts that can hardly be distinguished from the areas in native countries.
Melbourne: City and Suburbs
The City of Melbourne covers almost 38km2 out of all 10000km2 that belong to this metropolitan area. About 136,000 people live here. Regardless of the fact that about 50 years ago people preferred living in the suburb areas, today the majority of them live in the city. Almost 33,500 individuals stay in Melbourne because business is more developed in this area. As a result, individuals have more working opportunities and better chances to improve their state of living.
The youth also likes living in the city. However, they find it beneficial that this place has more entertainment locations, including those targeted at tourists. In comparison, only about 17,000 people live in Southbank and Carlton.
When comparing Melbourne and Carlton, for instance, it can be seen that while Melbourne includes various populations and is known for being the central business district where the majority of financial issues are addressed, Carlton seems to be a lovely place to live and entertain. The city, on the other hand, has a lot of markets, office space, and busy streets. Tourist and entertainment facilities are open all day and night long. Arts and cultural events are frequent for this place.
Significant sports events can be seen on a large screen so that both residents and visitors can gather and watch them. There are also parks and gardens where people can spend their free time. Carlton is not that diverse and is mainly represented by Italian community. However, with the course of time, many individuals from Asia and India also start living here. A lot of international students live here, but such tendency is mainly explained by the fact that this suburb is next to Melbourne and its universities. Carlton is calmer than the city, but it is also rather diverse and developed location (Melbourne profile 2017).
Expected Improvement
To make Melbourne more attractive for people, the government should consider the ways to prevent further segregation of communities. Economic and cultural diversity should be ensured because balance tends to appeal to more populations, as everyone can find something to his/her liking. There is also a necessity to enhance employment opportunities and ensure both private and public investment (Gleeson 2005). Affordable housing choices should be provided not only in the suburbs but also in the very city. Transportation system requires improvement as well. Public transport should be more developed, and roads should be widened to avoid traffic jams.
Reference List
Adoranti, K & David, R 2013, Outer suburbs are growing, but infrastructure and services aren’t keeping up. Web.
Australia’s cultural diversity. 2015. Web.
Gleeson, B 2005, What’s driving suburban Australia? Fear in the tank, hope on the horizon. Web.
Dayis, H & Wolff, M 1973, The Victorian city, Routledge, New York.
Leuning, M 1998, Doughnut city. Web.
Melbourne profile. 2017. Web.