Caroline Sanz-Veitch shares the maturing of Participatory Melbourne into cross-cutting work focused on New Urban Governance (aka how we enable better relationships between communities and our democratic systems). Caro reflects on the insights from the last year and what led us to the realisation that we must pave a new path through the lens of participation as an enabling condition, not a stand-alone project.

Three years ago, Regen Melbourne was established as a community project following the release of our foundational report, ‘Towards a Regenerative Melbourne’. This year, after a successful incubation by Small Giants Academy, we’re celebrating by becoming a registered charity and an independent entity in our own right.  

We talk a lot about the vision for a Swimmable Birrarung. But what does the full extent of this vision look like? Is getting in the water enough? (hint no). Nicole dives into the different ways in which ‘swimmable’ could come to life over the next few years (and decades).

Melbourne Invests in Systemic Transformation (MIST), is a new collaboration between local and global capital holders, fund managers and thought leaders. Convened by Regen Melbourne, the initiative seeks to achieve a paradigm shift in the impact and approach to deploying purpose-led capital across Greater Melbourne.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of a group of actors coming together to make Sydney’s Parramatta River swimmable again. Swimmable Birrarung Lead Convenor Charity Mosienyane spoke with one of the Parramatta project’s leads, Sarah Holland-Clift, about what our own river-healing initiative could learn from this Sydney success story. 

As the Swimmable Birrarung project moves into the Organising phase of Regen Melbourne’s SOIL framework, a new report outlines the Fields of Action underway for the river for 2024 and beyond. 

What’s next for the Melbourne Doughnut? Regen Melbourne Research Lead Alison Whitten and CEO Kaj Lofgren explain how our Doughnut will help sustain our regeneration efforts in the years to come. 

Director of Projects Nicole Barling-Luke explains how the different phases of Regen Melbourne’s SOIL methodology add up to systems transformation (or at least, how she thinks they will).