CIVIC is not proving a priority for any of the parties in the run up to the election. Canberra's showcase has attracted few large-scale spending proposals.
The Labor Party does not have a formal policy for Civic improvement and is running on a combination of previous spending and small-scale commitments made well before the election.
The Liberal Party plans to release an urban policy this week but it will not be nearly as extensive as the $27million Gungahlin policy it issued last week.
The Greens say they believe Civic and the city's inner suburbs will benefit from their policy to encourage increased residential density, which should make for a livelier environment.
Local business figures say Canberra could have one of the most exciting business districts in Australia. But most of the focus in Civic over recent years has been on the extensions to the Canberra Centre.
A newly elected member of the board of Canberra CBD Ltd, Peter Barclay, has told the Sunday Canberra Times that some improvements are already apparent in Civic.
Canberra CBD is charged with spending the levy ($1.6million in 2008-09) raised from city property owners to promote the area.
Mr Barclay, who runs King O'Malley's Pub, said the screening of films in Garema Place as part of Floriade was a good step, as was the sprucing up of the area before the festival.
He said exciting plans for summer included more open-air entertainment and extensive Christmas decorations. In recent weeks Canberra CBD has also been cleaning up the Sydney and Melbourne buildings.
Mr Barclay says he wants to see more flexible planning to allow for innovative retail developments, such as using the CBD's network of lanes and courtyards, ''but there is already far more momentum for change''.
Among Labor's new commitments for Civic is a free tourist bus service in the Parliamentary Triangle, extra bus services for office workers at lunchtime and improvements to bus shelters. It is also committing $2 million a year to refurbish pavement and street furniture around the Sydney and Melbourne buildings.
The Liberals want to reopen an ACT Government shopfront in Civic, at a cost of $2.8million. The Canberra Liberals say they will also invest $1 million extra every year to repair and maintain the CBD.