Open space for everyone

Melburnians value having access to open space. These spaces are at the heart of thriving, liveable suburbs and towns. They help to support health and wellbeing; and provide environmental, cultural, social and economic benefits for the whole community.

These spaces are part of Country. They are landscapes that interweave ancient and contemporary, tangible and intangible Aboriginal values and heritage. The integration of First Nations people’s knowledge, interests and rights in the management of open space benefits us all.

Open space helps cool our city, building resilience to climate change, and helps create and maintain healthy biodiversity across our urban landscape.

Melbourne has a wonderful network of open space. But access to quality open space is not equitable, and community expectations and demands are constantly changing. Population growth, increasing housing density, health challenges and the impacts of climate change all add to the challenge of creating more equitable access.

Through Plan for Victoria (2025), you told us you want more open space, more walking and cycling paths and greener suburbs with more tree canopy. We will continue to review and reform how we plan and invest in Melbourne’s open space network to meet these expectations.

The Open Space for Everyone strategy, guidance and spatial data in the links below is provided to support public open space planners and managers as we continually adapt to create new opportunities and meet the challenges together.