Melbourne's transformation from Doughnut City to Cafe Society!

Three historical videos capturing Melbourne's population growth and transformation since the 1950s are now available from the DPCD website.

In 1954, Melbourne was less than half the size it is today and experiencing a greater rate of population growth.

In response the Metropolitan Board of Works developed a plan to manage Melbourne’s growth. An 18 minute film called Planning for Melbourne’s Future was put together to promote plan and it was screened across the city in Hoyt's cinemas.

Planning for Melbourne’s Future (1954) is an intriguing insight into how Melburnians lived nearly sixty years ago and how planning faced many of the same challenges that it does today: a sprawling city, problems of services and infrastructure keeping pace with suburbanising populations, traffic congestion and overcrowded public transport. Sound familiar?

Also available for viewing are two videos showcasing Melbourne changing population and settlement trends over the last thirty years:

• From Doughnut City to Cafe Society (1988) highlights the revival of Melbourne's inner city.

• Changing Faces, Changing Places (2005) links Victoria's changing demography to changing settlement patterns.
  

These videos give a sense of the planning issues we have faced in our recent past and are still facing today.