GUEST FOREWORD
An artist’s impression of the Arden Precinct for which the VPA has developed a structure plan. Image courtesy VPA.
Designing for a post-pandemic world C Stuart Moseley CEO, Victorian Planning Authority
14 | Master Builders Victoria
OVID-19, as we are all rapidly coming to terms with, is a world-changing event. It’s more than the public health implications and the economic damage the pandemic has triggered. COVID-19 will clearly have significant implications for our cities. But none of us can predict exactly what this impact will be, or how the aspirations of our communities and households will change, and for how long. It’s simply too early to tell. Some commentary suggests that COVID-19 will change everything — capital cities and central business districts will become obsolete, workers will henceforth work from their (increasingly far-flung) homes, many will be fearful of density and public transport and will flee to live and work in the suburbs and regional towns. Other commentators see the pandemic as little more than a temporary blip, and that as soon as there is a
vaccine everything will get back to the way it was. Of course, what actually happens will fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. And though it is too early to tell what the full impact might be, the challenge for all of us in the city-building business is twofold. First, we need to get the fundamentals right and keep the options open. This is the key to future-proofing better outcomes and enabling design and market innovation to meet as-yet-unforeseen consumer demands and preferences. We have only just begun to find solutions for how people can live, work and play in dense urban environments safely. Much of the solution will lie not in the form of our buildings, but in how we approach their design and manage their use.
Volume 75 Issue 03
