It’s a brave piece of social engineering that Moreland City Council believes will reduce car use in the congested inner north, address climate change and improve safety on the street.

One of the ways to achieve this greener, healthier, more pleasant future, according to the council, lies in something few people think about: car parks.

Under Victorian planning laws, developers are required to provide at least one car parking space per apartment, although councils can waive this requirement.

But “bold changes” endorsed by Moreland this month would make it one of the first suburban councils in Australia to remove minimum off-street parking requirements for all residential and commercial developments in some locations.

(This followed Melbourne City Council which removed these requirements in the CBD and some inner suburbs.)