Back in 2015 The Age published a research study conducted by Deloitte Access Economics and Tract Consultants that ranked every suburb in Melbourne by a set of criteria that contributed to ‘liveability’. Along with a long list of rankings from 1 to 321, there was a nice colour-coded map that graphically showed how each suburb fared. It predictably showed lots of deep blue ‘Liveable’ suburbs close to the city with to the less liveable yellow, orange and red suburbs further out, particularly in lower socio-economic regions.
Cremorne showed up quite distinctly on the map as an island of yellow in a sea of blues and greens, A strange anomaly smack in the middle of the city. Cremorne was ranked 135, between Cheltenham and Braybrook. The rest of Richmond made it to 67. Most of the rest of Yarra fared better again: Collingwood at 60, Abbotsford at33, Carlton at 15.
The criteria to determine these rankings included all the things that make inner city suburbs attractive places to live – public transport, shopping, cafes, restaurants etc. Cremorne shares all these attributes with the rest of Richmond. The key aspects that it would appear to fail on is ‘public open space’ and ‘tree cover’. ‘Road congestion’ might be another factor though there is plenty of that in the rest of Richmond. Planning for appropriate green, open public space in Cremorne has been neglected