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David Yencken: Creating places for people

The man who revitalised Melbourne is an advocate of human-scale cities that put people at the centre.

By Rebecca Macfie In Culture

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14th July, 2012
Melbourne in the early 1980s was down-at-heel and dreary. Inner-city streets were deserted at night and on weekends. The Yarra River, like a grubby snake, slid through the centre of town, flanked by warehouses and railway lines. Eighty per cent of the traffic along Swanston St swept through the city without stopping. Nowadays, Melbourne is consistently rated one of the most liveable cities in the world – the Economist Intelligence Unit places it first, while Monocle magazine rates it sixth, with Auckland in ninth place. In a recent interview with the Listener, Auckland Mayor Len ...

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