Thank you for joining our live coverage of the opening night of Melbourne Assembly, hosted by The Age and the University of Melbourne.
We heard thought-provoking ideas about our city’s future from the panel members. Here’s a breakdown of tonight’s highlights:
World-leading urbanist, Professor Carlos Moreno, argued the concept of a 15-minute city was “absolutely possible” for Melbourne, as it hurtles towards a population of 9 million people by 2050. He cited climate change, loss of biodiversity and economic poverty as key challenges making cities harder for people to live in and navigate.Former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio declared the US was going through a “great American identity crisis”. He said police should their jobs in tandem with local communities to keep people safer.New University of Melbourne vice chancellor Carolyn Evans laid out her agenda as university leader in one of her first public speeches since her appointment. She described the federal government’s efforts to reduce the number of international student arrivals as “arrogant and short-sighted”, while calling for more funding towards research and development.De Blasio said leaders must significantly invest in social services and public infrastructure to reduce rates of street homelessness, warning it was “corrosive” to a city’s social fabric. He said higher and denser housing options were the answer to unaffordability challenges facing everyday people.