The City of Sydney has unveiled its long term strategic plan – Sustainable Sydney 2030-2050 Continuing the Vision – which will guide the harbour city out of the pandemic and assist in its recovery.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore says the vision builds on the Sustainable Sydney 2030 framework, which underlines the City’s desire to create a greener, more connected, affordable and equitable city.

“All successful cities have long-term plans to ensure their economies and communities prosper, business invests with confidence and all governments work together providing essential infrastructure and services,” she says.

“Sustainable Sydney 2030, developed after extensive consultation and research, and working with many of the world’s best urban thinkers and strategists, has guided our work to create a green, global and connected city for over a decade.

“In building on the plan and extending our vision to 2050, we are reinforcing the community’s priorities, extending targets and pushing ourselves harder to ensure Sydney’s liveability, sustainability and diversity now and into the future.

“Underpinned by sound data and analysis and the most up to date science, Sustainable Sydney 2030–2050 Continuing the Vision outlines our ambitious environmental, economic, social and cultural aspirations.”

city of sydney sustainable sydney

The planning processes for the framework began in 2019, with a citizens jury of 43 randomly selected residents considering a number of transformative concepts to be implemented by 2050. The concepts include more green spaces, improved transport, ease of access around the harbour, climate action and cultural identity.

“The cities that will recover and thrive most effectively are the ones that provide affordable housing, working and cultural space, a myriad of cultural offerings, walking, cycling and excellent late-night public transport, green, cool calm streets, laneways, small bars and late-night activity,” Moore says.

“The City of Sydney has, for over a decade, understood these to be the attributes of great and competitive cities and has made them a priority. What we are hearing from the community is that the reform appetite for this agenda has only accelerated post-Covid and we need to match that with accelerating our pace of reform.

“The pandemic brought into even sharper focus the importance of access to parks and open space, support for our most vulnerable communities and creative industries, and the need to foster social cohesion. It reinforced the need for the city centre to operate as a place of entertainment, culture and innovation. And it showed us economic success and liveability have never been more intertwined.

“The vision we outlined for 2030 and are now extending to 2050 capitalises on this and aims for a sustainable future where our city is a leader in sustainable growth, creativity and innovation, with a 24-hour economy and opportunities for all.”

city of sydney sustainable sydney

Each of the floated projects have been developed in conjunction with a number of local built environment specialists. Please find a description of each project below.

Yananurala – acknowledging Country on Sydney harbour‘s foreshore walk

Yananurala is a nine-kilometre walk that highlights Aboriginal history and culture at places along the Sydney harbour foreshore. Yananurala translates to Walking on Country and will share Aboriginal perspectives and stories through a series of artworks and installations from Pirrama (Pyrmont) to Woolloomooloo, including Barangaroo, Ta-ra (Dawes Point) and Warrane (Circular Quay).

Making space for culture

The City of Sydney will look to ensure it makes space for culture and creativity to retain the long-term future of creative workers and the cultural vibrancy of Sydney. Making space for culture is a two-part strategy for creating and preserving cultural and creative space in Sydney – precinct revitalisation around the cultural assets we have, and the establishment of a creative land trust.

Reimagining our community assets

Council is intent on futureproofing facilities, halls and open spaces. It will work with local communities to understand how these spaces can be transformed for future uses.

City space improvement program

A projected population increase means spaces to move, gather and recreate will become imperative. Road spaces will be converted into public spaces throughout the city, with the potential of timed road closures and temporary use of parking for lunchtime activation, leading to more permanent transformations that benefit public life in the city centre enabling a greener city.

Three linked squares

Three squares at Circular Quay, Town Hall and Central will be linked through the transformation of George Street which will enliven the city centre. The proposal builds on George Street improvements to date and the redevelopment of Central, both of which fulfil Jan Gehl’s 2030 vision for a pedestrian spine linked by three squares.

The green city

City of Sydney aims to boost green cover by 40 percent by 2050, with canopy to cover 27 percent of the harbour city. Plans range from planting more trees, shrubs and plants to amending planning controls to make it easier for new developments to include elements like a green roof.

The water city

Through cleaning up Sydney Harbour’s water system, there may be opportunities for recreation on the foreshore. This includes public swimming. City of Sydney believes it can remediate the body of water and protect it from future infrastructure.

Other measures include connecting Green Square to a metro station in Zetland, utilising the Metro as a network of support for communities and the economy and creating additional models to increase the supply of affordable housing.

Sustainable Sydney 2030-2050 Continuing the Vision will be presented to Council on 11 April 2022. The vision has been translated into the City of Sydney’s next community strategic plan. The documents will set out the priorities and resources for Sustainable Sydney 2030-2050 Continuing the Vision over the short, medium, and longer term. The plans will be exhibited for community feedback before being presented to Council for adoption in June.

To view the full Sustainable Sydney 2030-2050 Continuing the Vision, click here.

Images: Supplied

Jarrod Reedie

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