Multifunction Polis

Multifunction Polis
Population
 (Projected)
 • Total100,000−250,000

The Multifunction Polis (MFP) was a controversial scheme for a planned community in Australia proposed in 1987 and abandoned in 1998. From the Greek word polis, meaning "city", it was imagined as a place where work and leisure, lifetime education and intercultural exchange, research and manufacturing would be uniquely integrated.[1]

The MFP was intended to have an initial population of 100,000, though some modelling was done on the assumption of a population up to 250,000. Futuristic infrastructure and modern communications were expected to help attract high-tech industries.[2] Asian investors were targeted as an important source of funds, with an emphasis on Japanese investors.[3]

Several possible locations were put forward and in 1990 a site at Gillman, north of Adelaide, was selected. The proposal generated noisy opposition in Australia, with some critics claiming it would open the way for a Japanese settlement on Australian soil.[3] The MFP, at least as originally envisaged, never eventuated.

  1. ^ Hamilton, Walter (Walter Stuart); Hamilton, Walter; Australian Broadcasting Corporation; ABC Enterprises (1991), Serendipity city : Australia, Japan and the multifunction polis, ABC Books, ISBN 978-0-7333-0087-5
  2. ^ Hodge, Amanda (27 January 1998). "MFP failure leaves a red-faced nation". The Australian.
  3. ^ a b Hawke/Keating Government believed Multi Function Polis needed different name, Cabinet papers reveal The Advertiser, 1 January 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2016.