Consuming the urban environment: report on results from extension of 2009 ARC Discovery 'Living in Melbourne' survey to residents of selected precincts in the City of Melbourne

The raison d'etre for this research is outlined in Appendix 1 (the scope of the ARC Discovery Project). The context or driving forces behind the research relate to several key challenges that urban Australia must confront in the early part of the 21st century: (1) resource constraints (especially water, land and petroleum); (2) carbon constraints (linked to CO2 emissions from use of fossil fuels and their link to climate change); (3) a rapidly increasing population that will need to be housed in cities; and (4) an unsustainable ecological footprint which is associated with our current lifestyle and consumption patterns. In order to respond effectively to these challenges and wind back our ecological footprint, solutions must come from our cities and their inhabitants. The key question is, where are the most prospective intervention points? 1. individuals and households: their attitudes and values related to the environment and consumption; 2. buildings: their performance in relation to resource use, in particular, water and energy; 3. infrastructure: their performance in relation to centralised versus distributed operation and delivery; and 4. urban form, density and transport system: to the extent that they play a role in variability in urban environmental performance. This report provides a preliminary and descriptive analysis of individual and household behaviour with particular reference to City of Melbourne residents and the type of dwelling occupied.