Moreton Bay is one of Australia’sfastest growing regions and is on track to become a 21st centurylifestyle-focused polycentric city, connected to businesses and communities,set against the captivating backdrop of natural ecological expanses.

Workingcollaboratively with Moreton Bay Regional Council (MBRC), Archipelago provideda compelling vision to reclassify Moreton Bay from a ‘regional’ to a ‘city’council under the Local Government Regulation 2012. This change will guideMoreton Bay’s transition into a highly connected, future-proofed precinct thatwill set the benchmark for other Australian cities and drive an agenda for anequal distribution of opportunities, wealth, and lifestyle. With a strongpolycentric city vision, Moreton Bay City Council will plan and implement thefoundations of a new and exciting city form, which will continue to grow andevolve over the coming years.

The 20^th Century conceptof a traditional city form represents a carbon intensive, transport-dependent, andoverwhelmingly urban environment. Although productive, this model presents socialand environmental limitations which are increasingly concerning in our ever-growingand warming cities. With employment choice and economic capital concentrated inthe city centre, social inequality thrives through reduced distribution ofwealth and opportunities in outer suburbs. The monocentric city formcontributes to cycles of inequality, imbalance, and discrimination across allplatforms, and requires thoughtful transformation.

The transition to a polycentric city modelwould introduce a loose-fit, lifestyle-rich landscape of opportunities forworking, living, learning and leisure, with a low rise, distributed ecosystemof distinctive urban centres. A strong north-south movement corridor has beendelivered via the Bruce Highway and will be supplemented with duplications intime. Complementing our north-south movement corridors are east-westconnections derived from both infrastructure and natural assets. Theseeast-west connections reinforce the potential for high quality accessibilityand efficient movement throughout the Moreton Bay region. To unlock theregions’ full polycentric potential, the activation of our existing ripariancorridors is paramount. We can use these east-west corridors as greenconnections to supplement existing east-west infrastructure. This willintroduce pedestrian and e-mobility innovation that reconnects the city to thebay.

The proposed polycentriccity shape distributes opportunities more equitably, creating a way of livingthat reduces the socio-economic cross section and delivers a more egalitariansociety. In our future, Moreton Bay city will be less aplace that people go ‘through’ on their way to the Sunshine Coast andincreasingly a place that people go ‘to’ for work, learning, leisure, tourism,and entertainment.

Approximately 10,000 people are projectedto move to the Moreton Bay region per year, with the region’s population to behigher than the whole state of Tasmania by 2041. The project has been widelyconsulted to lift our aspirations for what is possible through this moment ofchange, and to translate people’s fears into excitement and optimism of ourshared vision for a truly great city.

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