Land use planning policy receives much public attention: we are constantly reading about the funding for infrastructure, the revitalisation of commercial centres, the rapid rate of urban decay, gentrification of the inner cities, and the problem of the expanding urban fringe. This study examines the effects of town planning on the shape and structure of the Melbourne metropolitan area since the Second World War. It shows that Melbourne's planners have seldom achieved what they set out to do and describes the technocratic character of town planning in Victoria. Shaping Melbourne's Future?relates town planning and urban developments to the social and economic base which defines them, touching on the broader themes of history, sociology, geography and politics.