The conversion of Melbourne

Tonkin, Ray (2011) The conversion of Melbourne. In: ICOMOS 17th General Assembly, 2011-11-27 / 2011-12-02, Paris, France. [Conference or Workshop Item]

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Abstract (in English)

In 1950 Melbourne, Australia was physically a nineteenth century city and socially and economically clinging to its past glories as the largest and richest city in the country. By the 1970s it realised that it needed to reassert its position over its rival, Sydney. After a short flirtation with American modernism and attempting to turn itself into an antipodean version of Los Angeles it struck out in a new direction which built on its prodigious architectural and social heritage. The paper will describe this journey, but in particular highlight the role that heritage conservation played in establishing Melbourne as an attractive, vibrant, economically dynamic and cultural city. How Melbourne moved from seeing its history and heritage as an economic impediment to embracing it as a valuable asset. It will point to several lessons, including: 1. the role of the past in determining the future of a place, 2. the need to search for new social and economic opportunities, 3. maintaining a broad view of what is important about a place and the limitations of simply preserving monuments, and 4. the importance of activism in establishing a political agenda. The paper will not be a hard edged economic paper, but rather a descriptive piece focussed on the adoption of different planning strategies and their impact in terms of population, economic activity and social outcomes.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Authors:	Authors Email Tonkin, Ray tonka@bigblue.net.au
Languages:	English
Keywords:	modernization; architectural; arcitectural heritage; social aspects; economic development; government policy; towns; management plans; australia; historic cities; historic towns; historical surveys; town planning schemes; town planning policy; cultural policy; urbanism; urban development; modern architecture; archbitectural projects
Subjects:	D. URBANISM > 03. Town and country planning H. HERITAGE TYPOLOGIES > 12. Historic towns and villages H. HERITAGE TYPOLOGIES > 14. Historic urban landscapes J. HERITAGE ECONOMICS > 02. Economic impact of heritage J. HERITAGE ECONOMICS > 03. Economic values of heritage
Name of monument, town, site, museum:	Melbourne, Australia; Sydney, Australia
ICOMOS Special Collection:	Scientific Symposium (ICOMOS General Assemblies)
ICOMOS Special Collection Volume:	2011, 17th
Depositing User:	intern icomos
Date Deposited:	11 Dec 2012 21:12
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2012 21:12
URI:	https://openarchive.icomos.org/id/eprint/1308

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