All I want for Christmas is for my city to have…
- A high-density, diverse and vital city centre.
- Medium-density suburb hubs containing key residential services such as doctors, newsagents, post offices, supermarkets and pharmacies.
- Variety in property sizing and street layout providing diversity in occupational possibilities.
- A comprehensive public transport system that is less than a 5 minute walk from everywhere and, with less than a 3 minute wait, will take me anywhere.
- Streets dedicated to foot and bicycle traffic with underground, high-speed private transport arterials that bypass the city.
- Underground parking, leaving streets free of cars.
- Even, non-slip and pothole-free street surfaces.
- Lots of green at every scale, including large parks, smaller reserves, street trees and grass between tram tracks.
- A stormwater system that keeps the streets dry.
- Regularly located, legible street signage.
- Photovoltaic panels on, and water collection from, every roof.
- High-speed wireless internet everywhere.
- Well-serviced waste and recycling bins along all major streets.
- Facilities to support significant cultural and sporting events.
And, contrary to the current political position…
- No suburban sprawl.
…and inhabitants that don’t see these things as an inconvenience, or a far off pipe dream, but rather as just the starting point for a great city for the future as well as the present.