Community views on a flood-prone Melbourne suburb – the site of a former swamp and now a fashionable bayside enclave – are the focus of a new publication.

‘Towards a Water Sensitive Elwood: A Community Vision and Transition Pathways’ is part of research for the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities (CRCWSC) project Mapping Water Sensitive City Scenarios (A4.2).

Elwood, a bayside suburb in Melbourne’s southeast, was historically the site of a swamp until its drainage in the late nineteenth century and is periodically prone to major flooding.

Twenty-four community members were involved in giving their opinions and feedback on transition strategies throughout three workshops over a four-month period in mid-2015.

The authors noted that the workshops “resulted in a rich source of ideas for strategies and solutions for improving Elwood’s water sensitivity, highlighting the value of developing local and regional-scale solutions with community knowledge and support.”