On 19 Jun, the City of Sydney held a public engagement event, ‘Shaping Sydney to 2050 – Our City, Our Future’, at Sydney Town Hall. The event was held as a part of the development process for the City of Sydney’s new long-term plan, and it was attended by residents from the local communities. A staff from CLAIR Sydney attended the event to learn about planning processes in an Australian local government.
The City of Sydney has been promoting various measures in line with the City’s ‘Sustainable Sydney 2030’ plan formulated in 2007. From the beginning of this year, the City has been engaging with developing a new long-term plan for the year 2050.
At the event, key players at the City of Sydney, including the Mayor, reported on the City’s past efforts and achievements, as well as challenges for the future. There were also panel discussions held by experts and representatives from the community, including youths. In the panel discussions, there were discussions on the direction the City should focus on in relation to environmental measures such as climate change, urban growth, and multiculturalism as well as the City’s future image.
In the second half of the event, residents held workshops on five different areas. These areas were: environment, diversity, growth, liveability and economy. Residents enthusiastically spoke about which issues the City should prioritise, and discussed ideas to solve the issues.
The City of Sydney aims to submit the plan in June 2020 for City Council adoption, and will continue to hold events such as children’s summits to engage the local communities in the planning process. CLAIR Sydney will continue to follow the City of Sydney’s long-term planning efforts as a part of our research in Australian local governments.
