City profile

Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, Australia, has a Gross Regional Product (GRP) estimated at US$ 76 billion. The city is characterized by a high educational attainment, with 54.2% of its population holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Key industries driving Melbourne's economy include professional, scientific and technical services, with significant contributions from finance and insurance sectors. Melbourne is also known for its extensive parks and gardens, vibrant arts scene, and as a major centre for theatre and street art.

Melbourne excels in Investor Attractiveness, Assets and Infrastructure, and Urban Management and Governance.

The city has a vibrant economic environment, supported by a flourishing cultural scene and robust educational institutions, which attract international talent and foster innovation. It has also had significant investments in digital technology and renewable energy projects.

The city's Liveability and Loveability is enhanced by its extensive parks and sports facilities, which contribute to a high quality of life, though it faces challenges related to the cost of living and housing affordability. The city also struggles with unprecedented heat waves which are projected to get worse.

Insight

Arup has used UHeat, a digital tool employing AI and satellite images which picks out where urban forms are exacerbating heat, to analyse Melbourne city centre on its hottest day in 2023. The findings show that Melbourne Central is up to 6°C hotter than it would be in an undeveloped setting. UHeat draws on an advanced climate model by the University of Reading in the UK and demonstrates how advanced digital tools can bring academic models to real-word scenarios to find the causes of the UHI effect. It can then rapidly model solutions to show how the strategic deployment of nature and other interventions can help cities reduce the impact of hot spots.
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