AS a proud South Australian it pains me to say this, but there’s just something about Melbourne.
Every time I get back home after spending some time over the border, I can’t help but think that they’ve got it right.
From the culture to the public transport system, it just works. Sure it’s not without its faults, but what city is?
Adelaide and its greater areas doesn’t need to be another Melbourne, but there are things that could and should be borrowed to enhance what is already a fantastic slice of the country.
For the most part, Melbournians would rarely need to venture outside their own suburb and into the hustle and bustle of the city.
And if they did, the ease of simply hoping on a tram makes commuting across the urban sprawl so much more convenient.
Pretty much every suburb has an identity and character of its own.
Fitzroy, for example, is completely different to Carlton or Collingwood despite being sandwiched between the two.
But here in Adelaide, and in parts of the north in particular, suburbs rarely have character or identity beyond a few standouts.
Rapid development hasn’t helped that, and the ease of moving around hasn’t been considered.
In somewhere like Prahran, you could walk for a kilometre along Chapell St on a Saturday and be almost overwhelmed by the amount of eating or drinking options.
Back over the border in an area like Munno Para, for example, you’d have to hop on a train and head into Adelaide for something to do.
It’s a lesson for our planning department – you can’t just drop a few thousands houses on a plot of land and expect to build a community if they aren’t given a reason to spend their time or money close to home.
As a state we have come a long way in the past decade or so, but there’s so much we have missed or neglected too.
