What makes a happier, healthier Melbourne? Tell us what you think

This week, we’re looking at the health of Melbourne as part of our countdown to a new three-day forum bringing together the people, ideas and conversations shaping the place many of us call home.

The Melbourne Assembly , an initiative of The Age presented in partnership with the University of Melbourne, seeks to spark crucial conversations about the future of our city across four themes: shaping the city, healthy places and people, innovation and education, plus sport and the arts.

Last week, we heard from Cara Waters about the theme of shaping the city.

Today, urban affairs writer Cassandra Morgan looks at the theme of healthy places and people, including the way our suburbs are designed, how our homes are built and the walkability of our city, which can impact community wellness and resilience.

The proposition of what makes a healthy city extends far beyond our access to healthcare.

It starts with light, space and ventilation inside our homes in an increasingly vertical and high-density world, and stretches beyond apartment balconies to the ground floor.

What’s there to keep us connected to each other, and to nature, when many Melbourne suburbs have scarce tree canopy cover ( which is linked to our psychiatric, respiratory and cardiovascular health)?

The proposition follows us, too, when we travel to work, school or the supermarket. How did we get there, and how long did it take? How did we feel on the journey, and where were we inclined to go after we fulfilled our responsibilities for the day?

Global planning pioneer Carlos Moreno , who is headlining Melbourne Assembly alongside former New York mayor Bill de Blasio , has mulled this over, and coined the idea of the “15-minute city”.

The principle that everything you need should be within 15 minutes’ walk of your home – schools, shops, libraries, parks, transport, job opportunities and healthcare – will be central to conversations for our future at Melbourne Assembly, where Moreno and de Blasio will join local experts in canvassing the brightest ideas for our city.

The first key pillar of the conference is shaping the city , and we’re exploring the challenges we face and potential solutions as the city hurtles towards a population of 10 million on the way to becoming one of the world’s great metropolises.

For the next key pillar of healthy places and people, Sydney’s deputy mayor Jess Miller, who grew up on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, will be among our experts sharing ideas for the city’s future.

She’ll sit on the Melbourne Assembly panel, but will also talk to The Age about her vision for a greener, better-connected city in a series of features leading up to the event.

Kelvyn Lavelle – adviser to infrastructure business Plenary, former chair of the new Footscray Hospital project, and West of Melbourne Economic Development Alliance (WoMEDA) board member – will also join the panel, as will Liam Wallis, creative entrepreneur and founding director of ethical property developer HIP V. HYPE.