A bold vision for city

OURS is a passionate and parochial community.

We are fiercely loyal and full of views on what is great about our region and what improvements can be made.

Which is why when the City of Greater Geelong put out the call to be involved in a plan to shape the future of our region, thousands put their hands up to be involved.

Today we present the fruits of all that labour and diverse opinion — the city’s Our Future 30-year vision.

It is filled with aspirations covering key areas of education, law and order, transport, housing and the environment, and focuses on our potential as a clever and creative city. Individual recommendations range from being able to travel from Geelong to Melbourne within 30 minutes, to having 10,000 people living in central Geelong.

The process of creating the vision has been one of the most comprehensive consultation tasks in the city’s history. More than 16,000 people over nine months were asked to contribute their aspirations for the region’s 30-year future through a series of workshops, presentations, community meetings and school visits.

It has formed much of the healing process after the failings of the previous elected council which was sacked by the State Government last year, bringing the community together to create some agency over their own future.

The decision to be led by the community is its masterstroke — nothing aspirational can be achieved without the buy-in of those who will be affected. However — much like past plans for convention centres, international shipping piers and even Guggenheim museums — much of the vision’s content will rely on funding and commitment from external stakeholders before it can become reality.

The Our Future document is a pathway to Geelong reaching the potential we know exists. It is the first step in creating the kind of place we want to inhabit.

As a vision it is exciting. But the hard work to making any of it a reality starts now.