Professor Goad is one of three speakers at Wednesday afternoon’s Festival of Ideas session The Suburb Redeemed and the End of the Quarter Acre Dream. 

“Victorian residents need to accept the idea that Melbourne is on its way to becoming a series of real villages, possibly with their own skyscraper” says Professor Goad. 

 “Melbourne will be home to a different type of suburb, one that increases density without resorting to flats – such as a series of alternative housing types, like a courtyard house, smaller dwellings with outdoor rooms that increase scale density without sacrificing the home owners dream of having their own plot of land.”

“There are many other issues plaguing suburbia that link into this, including the loss of public parkland and the diminishing provision of public landscapes and community facilities, such as football ovals and swimming pools.”

“There are less and less of these facilities, meaning residents have to drive further to engage with these public spaces, which is simply not sustainable.”
The Festival of Ideas brings together more than 50 outstanding thinkers from around the world who will discuss and debate the issue of climate change/cultural change.

The festival will look at the science of climate change, but will also consider the impact of climate change on the community – societal, political, economical, medical, geographic and creative.

Professor Goad will be joined on the panel by Dr Peter Christoff and Associate Professor Andrew May from the University of Melbourne.  The session will be chaired by environmental law expert, Professor Lee Godden from 1.30pm in the Carrillo Gantner Theatre, Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne.