To make the green visa scheme work in Melbourne, we’d need to embrace some chaos. Sure, not every street would be a success, and not everyone would enjoy the results of their neighbours’ plantings. But cities shouldn’t always be designed with sleek uniformity and bureaucratic oversight. Provided they are accessible and safe, they should also aim to have personality, variety, and acceptance of imperfection.

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In addition to environmental, climate, water, green space, and habitat goals, Marseille’s Green Visa improved safety, social justice, and inclusion. The program’s success helped build public support and capacity and included uptake by cafes, shops, and other businesses. Like Melbourne, Marseille has hot summers, but the plants are thriving. The city has mandated only Mediterranean species, so they are suited to the conditions. Invasive, toxic, or dangerous plants are forbidden.

Marseille still battles the perception that it is a crime hub. The sound of police sirens night and day may reinforce its gangland reputation, but it’s also a place of connected communities and good ideas, ones that we should borrow. After all, the City of Paris, which has long looked down on its grubbier, less sophisticated sibling, liked the idea so much that it adopted the same program in 2022.

Justine Costigan is a Melbourne writer and the co-host of Light, Cities and Architecture, a podcast about sustainability and the built environment.

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