Inclusive City

Industrial lands are often overlooked and perceived as the city’s “ugly backyards.” Yet, they play a crucial role in sustaining urban life and economies. From auto repair, construction, logistics, and food manufacturing to data centres, advanced manufacturing, and creative industries, these places support the jobs and services that make cities inclusive and resilient.

Decades of rezoning and redeveloping industrial lands to build housing and mixed-use activity centres, and their exclusion from sustainable and inclusive planning mandates, jeopardise their productive potential.

The Inclusive City studio responds by exploring how we can intervene to support industrial activity and create mixed-use industrial places for more equitable, connected, and sustainable futures. Working across four distinct contexts, students uncovered how Melbourne’s industrial precincts operate as informal activity centres and how planning can better manage the conflicts and opportunities that emerge from the proximity of industry, housing, and transport.

Studio Lead: Carl Grodach