This is how it would look when the creek was flowing more fully: And this one is how it would look heading to Flinders Street Station: That would evidently be a massive improvement – aesthetically, commercially, socially, environmentally – on what we experience today. Just have a look at how, well, drab it is right now.

Photo: Joe Armao Gotta say this is hardly the place I'd be wanting to sit for a chat and a coffee: Photo: Joe Armao

Here's a dynamic view, or GIF, of how things would change: Gilbert and I will be online throughout today to chat with anyone interested in discussing this proposition – or other ideas to improve Melbourne as a place to work and live. Just post your comments and questions below and we'll respond. The (Ideas) Zone is an online space for you – a space for the community to discuss ways to make our city and our state even better places to live in and to work in, to share and to enjoy. Think about it as a forum to ask a simple yet crucial question: "What if…?" Each week we'll bring you a fresh idea. He reckons "Melbourne has matured to where it now needs a major catalyst for its next evolution to remain the world's most liveable city." He reckons, too, that Elizabeth Street is a bit of a "poor cousin" of CBD roads, and badly in need of change. Reclaiming Williams Creek would mean digging up much of Elizabeth Street – potentially from the very top of the CBD right through to Flinders Street. The notion is timely: it would dovetail splendidly with the upcoming and much needed revitalisation of one of the city's gems, Victoria Market, which sits at the top of Elizabeth Street. My colleague Aisha Dow wrote about that here.

Gilbert's notion could also save us from the floods that occur, sometimes massively, when Williams Creek is inundated. Here are some striking images from floods past. This one by Neville Bowler won an award: This, by the way, is how it was presented by The Age on February 18, 1972:

It's been happening for a long, long time. This is an image from December 8, 1862: And here is some amateur video footage taken five years ago: The project would be likely to attract more people to the area, so would probably benefit businesses in the long term, rather than causing them financial damage.

A similar project called Cheonggyecheon in downtown Seoul in South Korea has proved popular and successful. It is an urban renewal sensation, an 11-kilometre redevelopment along a creek that had been covered to make way for transport infrastructure. Here are some images of the transformation. First, let's have a look at the contruction phase: This what they got for their effort and investment:

The locals - and tourists - love it: And what's not to love? Day and night...

Gilbert has form on turning tired spaces into vibrant economic and social spaces. Not that many years ago, Melbourne's laneway were considered grotty, useless and dangerous places. The value and beauty of the graffiti in them was so unrecognised that gormless officials would order it whitewashed. They have become celebrated locally and internationally, and are a hugely valuable tourist attraction. Here he is in one of those revitalised spots, Hardware Lane: Such is the popularity of Melbourne's laneways that it is usually difficult to get through the crowds. Here's one of the most feted, Hosier Lane:

Finally taming Williams Creek and converting it into an asset would end a long and muddy and ignominious history. Robyn Annear writers about it in her marvellous book Bearbrass; Imagining Early Melbourne. She quotes William Westgarth (1815-1889), a merchant, financier, politician and historian as regretting that the boggy Elizabeth Street had ever been made a thoroughfare. He called it a "troublesome and unhealthy hollow" and said it should have been left as "a reservation of the natural grass and gum trees". He argued, too, that there should have been "a succession of ornamental lakes and fishponds" should have been created along the flood-prone gully that was Williams Creek. The corners of Elizabeth and Bourke streets and Elizabeth and Collins are particularly prone. Indeed, the latter was known as Lake Cashmore after Michael Cashmore, whose General Silk and Haberdashery Emporium, was built on the intersection in 1840. Here's an image, courtesy of our most excellent State Library, of the place during those times:

Gilbert sees the project as part of a bigger idea, which he summarises below: "This is a narrative of the resilient city and imagining what Melbourne will look like as a true 'Eco-City'. "Melbourne's narrative centres on thousands of years of indigenous settlement around the Birrarung tributary to which Williams Creek flowed. It has existed as a place that holds special meaning to the dreamtime stories of the Wurundjeri people. Yet now, as the current-day Elizabeth Street, it is the domain of vehicles/traffic, with the Creek masked in a polluted subterranean concrete drainpipe. "In today's cities we are searching for greater meaning that reveals the stories of the past and the land as it once was. This is lead by a bottom-up swell of support and community-led interest in the memory of how we got here, where we are going and why we need to try harder." Cities that have done this have improved life for their citizens. Here's another example, this time from Fukuoko City in Japan:

Berlin is having a think about it, too: So is China. Here's a plan for an urban canal in Suqian City, Jiangsu province.

And, while we're at it, I'm rather taken by plans for a five-foot barrelling wave site to be located on Steigersgracht Canal in the Netherlands, where perhaps the designers have been having a few legal tokes: Back to Gilbert: "Williams Creek could become the city's green spine – with the flowing water revived and exposed, native scrubs lining its banks, and the whistling of birdlife carrying through the dense tree canopy. Elizabeth Street will be known as the self-sustaining, resilient heart of the CBD and a walkable green oasis full of quirky shop and spontaneous day and night experiences. "This may be radical but it forms part of a larger vision to become conscious citizens. Melbourne would become: A city for the people – an integrated walking, cycling, transport hub.

– an integrated walking, cycling, transport hub. A gifting and sharing city – centred on share culture (i.e. car sharing) and providing spaces for spontaneity.

– centred on share culture (i.e. car sharing) and providing spaces for spontaneity. A city of villages – centred around systems of participatory democracy.

– centred around systems of participatory democracy. A city of enlightened development and planning – which adds to the community and eco-system.

– which adds to the community and eco-system. An inclusive city – socially just, equitable and providing places for all.

– socially just, equitable and providing places for all. A playful and fun city – always engaged, happy, joyful, full of street music and play.

– always engaged, happy, joyful, full of street music and play. A city centred on conscious consumption – localism and recycling.

– localism and recycling. A city that enriches/tells the indigenous story – a story of trade and connection and meaning making.

– a story of trade and connection and meaning making. A city that enhances our access to nature – for recreation and to be revived."

Gilbert knows the Elizabeth Street precinct intimately; he was behind the positioning of Queen Victoria Night Market place and the vision and masterplan for Melbourne Central Place. This is how he envisions the Williams Creek project working: "The creek development would be staged with the section between Flinders Street and Collins Street activated first (trams would terminate at Collins Street with only a short walk to Flinders Street Station). "Footpaths would become shared spaces that bleed into the creek with activation supported by the myriad of restaurants and cafes. The footpaths/piazza would also become and ancillary events space to happenings throughout the CBD. "Eco-cultural art would line the precinct, telling/reminding passers-by this area was once part of the 'Kakadu of the South' and a meeting/trading/celebration place of the Wurundjeri and Bunurong tribes. "This will be a place for birdlife, bees and wild grasses. A new and loved place for all Melbournians."

Right, over to you - let's share some ideas, let's have a conversation about our city. You are invited to post questions and comments below.