Business News
Prominent urban planner Rob Adams sees Perth as a vibrant city with one major problem.
The director of urban design practice Adams Urban was one of the key minds behind Melbourne’s transformation during the past three decades.
On a recent visit to Perth, Mr Adams observed that, while the Western Australian capital had a lot going for it, plenty of work was required to ensure the city reached its potential.
“Perth, we’ve been charmed by it … it works during the day, you can see people using the city, and it’s humming. [But] it dies at night,” he said.
“I think Perth only has one major problem, and that’s nobody’s living downtown.”
Mr Adams was tapping into a widely held view among Perth’s decision makers that the city needed a bigger residential population.
And while state and local governments acknowledge the issue, the fact remains that many Western Australians have gravitated to suburban and coastal areas rather than the CBD.
Figures provided by the City of Perth show the city is trending in the right direction, however, with an increase from 10,138 people in 2001 to 34,624 in 2024.