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It may just be lack of imagination on there part. But constantly I hear people from varying ages groups telling me how little there is to do in Adelaide. Perhaps rather then attracting outside people to SA we should focus on having more things to do/keeping those we have got and as a bonus possibly receiving more people as flow on from that. What things should we have/build to keep people entertained? I don't know but looking inward may be the solution instead of looking outward.

Hoops wrote:It may just be lack of imagination on there part. But constantly I hear people from varying ages groups telling me how little there is to do in Adelaide. Perhaps rather then attracting outside people to SA we should focus on having more things to do/keeping those we have got and as a bonus possibly receiving more people as flow on from that. What things should we have/build to keep people entertained? I don't know but looking inward may be the solution instead of looking outward.

It's an interesting situation Hoops, across Jan-March Adelaide has heaps of entertainment on offer (Fringe, Clipsal, TDU, WomAdelaide, Festival, Cricket, Tennis) and my wife and I attend as many as our budget will allow. These are definitely world-class activities and worth seeing. Even just hanging around in the city is entertaining at this time of year. However, the vast majority of my friends don't attend any of them! they stay at home and complain about a lack of things to do!?!. Apathy and a lack of imagination from within is definitely part of the problem. Yesterday was a great example, we went into the city to watch round 6 of the TDU and it was very exciting indeed. We had to leave a bit early and luckily Channel 10 had a delayed telecast of the race so i got to see the last few laps. I chatted with a couple of my friends on the phone later in the evening and they complained that the TDU race looked so boring on TV and that it was basically a bunch of foreigners anyway. sigh...

You guys are missing a point here.

Being able to hold world-class events means nothing. People will just come and then leave, just for the sake of attending those events.

What the state needs to do is being able to offer world class living. It is a motivation for people to migrate here and stay.

More jobs and more public amenities and facilities are just a few improvements that needs to be taken into serious consideration.

Edgar wrote:You guys are missing a point here.

Being able to hold world-class events means nothing. People will just come and then leave, just for the sake of attending those events.

What the state needs to do is being able to offer world class living. It is a motivation for people to migrate here and stay.

More jobs and more public amenities and facilities are just a few improvements that needs to be taken into serious consideration.

Hi Edgar, how do you define world class living? and are we doing enough in the CBD (& surrounds) with respect to public amenities? If not what should we be doing more of? There's lots of construction going on but appears to mainly be private residences and office space. There was an article in a weekend newspaper (The Australian?) where the mayor of perth is lamenting the same thing - lots of skyscrapers but no new civic buildings...

Also, seems to me that part of the problem is people visit Adelaide and say "1 million people - where are they all?" and the reality is most of us are happy in our backyards having a private bbq with close friends. This is a cultural thing and perhaps part of the reason why Adelaide is seen as being boring to foreigners who are (presumably) used to living in small apartments and hence have to socialise in public spaces. At least by having world class events in Adelaide we break our cultural trend of private entertainment

Wayno wrote:

Hoops wrote:It may just be lack of imagination on there part. But constantly I hear people from varying ages groups telling me how little there is to do in Adelaide. Perhaps rather then attracting outside people to SA we should focus on having more things to do/keeping those we have got and as a bonus possibly receiving more people as flow on from that. What things should we have/build to keep people entertained? I don't know but looking inward may be the solution instead of looking outward.

It's an interesting situation Hoops, across Jan-March Adelaide has heaps of entertainment on offer (Fringe, Clipsal, TDU, WomAdelaide, Festival, Cricket, Tennis) and my wife and I attend as many as our budget will allow. These are definitely world-class activities and worth seeing. Even just hanging around in the city is entertaining at this time of year. However, the vast majority of my friends don't attend any of them! they stay at home and complain about a lack of things to do!?!. Apathy and a lack of imagination from within is definitely part of the problem. Yesterday was a great example, we went into the city to watch round 6 of the TDU and it was very exciting indeed. We had to leave a bit early and luckily Channel 10 had a delayed telecast of the race so i got to see the last few laps. I chatted with a couple of my friends on the phone later in the evening and they complained that the TDU race looked so boring on TV and that it was basically a bunch of foreigners anyway. sigh...

Speaking personally and of my close friends. I personally aren't into watching any sports. My friends differ at for at least this part of the year they're like "yay Adelaide!" however give it 3 months and we have 9 months of Nothing exciting where they'll be talking about moving to Queensland or Sydney or Melbourne, Its good having a fun filled 3 months but i believe that there perhaps too packed?. Perhaps pushing for a fourth month. Then trying to fill the other 8months with activities. The thing is what? Also the fringe etc. I believe is starting to break into the Adelaide consciousness alot more then previously.

I think the most important key to the city's success is more residents living within the city area, which opens up more opportunities.

With so many apartments planned or u/c for the city, the CBD is going to be much more alive in a few years time. Not to mention how much the tramline extension is improving the city and opening up the southern CBD, and with the government more than likely going to create a western loop and other extensions, the city is going to be much more better and alive in a few years time - increasing number of commercial and other developments are also going to help.

Really the city is already changing!

crawf wrote:I think the most important key to the city's success is more residents living within the city area, which opens up more opportunities.

With so many apartments planned or u/c for the city, the CBD is going to be much more alive in a few years time. Not to mention how much the tramline extension is improving the city and opening up the southern CBD, and with the government more than likely going to create a western loop and other extensions, the city is going to be much more better and alive in a few years time - increasing number of commercial and other developments are also going to help.

Really the city is already changing!

Yep, good point Crawf, and with heaps more residents in the city hopefully the next ACC elections will wash away the ultra-conservatives! By the way, how many days til the next council election? not that i'm counting

crawf wrote:I think the most important key to the city's success is more residents living within the city area, which opens up more opportunities.

With so many apartments planned or u/c for the city, the CBD is going to be much more alive in a few years time. Not to mention how much the tramline extension is improving the city and opening up the southern CBD, and with the government more than likely going to create a western loop and other extensions, the city is going to be much more better and alive in a few years time - increasing number of commercial and other developments are also going to help.

Really the city is already changing!

I agree with this, however I think we have to be more dynamic in this regard.

Increasing the CBD population will definately make the CBD appear more alive, but also extend the hours of activity from the present 9-6 on certain days.

I think the ACC has to set an audacious target. I say 100 000 people living in the ACC area by 2020. I know this will be difficult to achieve if we maintain the present course of action. We need government initiated residential development in the city.

100,000 is a big target... between now and 2020, you are hoping that 82,000 extra people will live in the CBD? I think not. If we want to aim high, so we should, but I think a more realistic figure is 50 or 60k.

Shuz wrote:100,000 is a big target... between now and 2020, you are hoping that 82,000 extra people will live in the CBD? I think not. If we want to aim high, so we should, but I think a more realistic figure is 50 or 60k.

If we continue with our market based solutions such a target cannot be achieved. However if the government started to buy up under-utilized land in the CBD and started to build apartments, and sold them for the cost of construction, whilst selling any ground floor retail tenancy for profit, would certainly achieve the target.

This is my first post after stumbling across this site...

The problem we have in Adelaide (the issue here is Adelaide not SA), is not necessarily attracting people here... it's keeping the people we already have, in particular young people in their 20s and 30s.

Overseas migration to Adelaide is booming, largely because of the special recognition granted by the Feds... but how many of those people leave after their first obligatory few years!?!

The fastest growing population age-group in Adelaide is the over 50s, and we're continually losing our best and brightest interstate and overseas.

Young people are leaving in droves... most worryingly, it's skilled workers or tertiary educated young people that are the ones leaving. The very people we need to capitalise on the "mining boom" and ensure it motors along. The most innovative, entrepeneurial and savvy people leave because they:
- are starved of opportunity in terms of professional development and advancement
- are disgruntled by the provincial, backward-looking attitude of the incompetent morons who make the decisions
- realise that there is a can-do attitude in other places where their skills and enthusiasm will be valued
- appreciate a vibrant, bustling and diverse city that seems a distant dream in Adelaide.

However, I don't believe there is much hope of things changing as the incompentence and conservative attitude seeps too far through the population. Everything is too much of a challenge, all development is negative, change is a bad thing... things are fine and dandy as they are! There is no vision, a lack of a forward looking plan for the future of the city and the state. There is no consistent decision making framework to deal with the big ticket items, so everything is bogged down in parochialism and NIMBYism. There are too many vested interests and lobbying so that we get ad hoc development proposals that are inconsistent with what plans there are... it's about who your mates are and how much money you've put into the coffers.

This is the culture of Adelaide... and it's what needs to change before people will stay.

I will concentrate on a few things that the Government could do but isn't

Reduction or Abolishment of State Government Taxes such as Stamp Duty, Business Taxes etc

Heaps of affordable housing/appartments. South Australian Housing Trust would have to come back
in a big way... but this needs to be properly instrumented by splitting the banking sector in two
one interest rate for home buyers and another for speculative investors would most likely do the trick
also the removal of taxes payed on interest earned from savings accounts would give investors an alternative to property speculation, Also the removal of negative gearing

Better Roads and Public Transport. A proper freeway system and a electrified and expanded train and tram network with feeder buses. Increased frequencies and reliability.

Increase Investment and Links to Major Regional Centre's...

etc

No Clever Alias wrote:This is my first post after stumbling across this site...

The problem we have in Adelaide (the issue here is Adelaide not SA), is not necessarily attracting people here... it's keeping the people we already have, in particular young people in their 20s and 30s.

Overseas migration to Adelaide is booming, largely because of the special recognition granted by the Feds... but how many of those people leave after their first obligatory few years!?!

The fastest growing population age-group in Adelaide is the over 50s, and we're continually losing our best and brightest interstate and overseas.

Young people are leaving in droves... most worryingly, it's skilled workers or tertiary educated young people that are the ones leaving. The very people we need to capitalise on the "mining boom" and ensure it motors along. The most innovative, entrepeneurial and savvy people leave because they:
- are starved of opportunity in terms of professional development and advancement
- are disgruntled by the provincial, backward-looking attitude of the incompetent morons who make the decisions
- realise that there is a can-do attitude in other places where their skills and enthusiasm will be valued
- appreciate a vibrant, bustling and diverse city that seems a distant dream in Adelaide.

However, I don't believe there is much hope of things changing as the incompentence and conservative attitude seeps too far through the population. Everything is too much of a challenge, all development is negative, change is a bad thing... things are fine and dandy as they are! There is no vision, a lack of a forward looking plan for the future of the city and the state. There is no consistent decision making framework to deal with the big ticket items, so everything is bogged down in parochialism and NIMBYism. There are too many vested interests and lobbying so that we get ad hoc development proposals that are inconsistent with what plans there are... it's about who your mates are and how much money you've put into the coffers.

This is the culture of Adelaide... and it's what needs to change before people will stay.

The truth hurts.

I think one of the main problems is the lack of businesses associated with university graduates. Many university graduates leave for interstate as the other states provide incentives for young people to live there e.g. cheap housing near work places, as well as having well established industries, which melbourne and sydney have done quite well. I think the government should try to attract industry like chemistry, pharmacy, accounting and would cause youth to reconsider moving interstate.

Shuz wrote:100,000 is a big target... between now and 2020, you are hoping that 82,000 extra people will live in the CBD? I think not. If we want to aim high, so we should, but I think a more realistic figure is 50 or 60k.

Wasn't the ACC looking at having 65,000 people living the city. With the ACC currently looking at street by street for potential developments (such as apartments) like Angas Street.