We found this to be a very interesting and topical article by Royce Millar that was published in the Age. Of particular interest are the differing views of stakeholders from within the CBD and those in the suburbs and the sheer impact working from home has had on the CBD.

Forever the CBD has been seen as the lifeblood of any major city however over time, this view has changed and the voices calling for decentralisation to the suburbs and regional centres have become louder and louder.

It has become apparent that the hangover from the COVID restricted way of life is that more and more people are loving the extra time you have in your life by staying local. While this is gold for the local shops and cafes in the suburbs, it’s a disaster for businesses in places like the CBD where your business relies heavily on the transient worker population.

People have grown accustomed to the extra time you have by not having to commute to work and don’t want to give this valuable commodity back.

In recent times whenever a member of our office has been into the CBD, the common consensus has been that it looks sad or does not look like Melbourne.

While our office believes that the concept of decentralisation has merit, we also believe that there is nothing better than the hustle and bustle of a pre COVID CBD where there was always something happening.

Things are clearly going to be different in a post COVID world but let’s hope that Melbourne and the CBD can get back to being the thriving destination it once was.


Article: the Age, "To CBD or not to CBD? COVID’s question for the future of Melbourne"

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