Our Metropolitan Futures

Message from the Chief Commissioner

Geoff Roberts AM

As  the strategic planners for Greater Sydney – the Commission’s role is to ensure Greater Sydney is productive, sustainable and liveable for all its citizens, now and in the future.

COVID-19 and its impacts on Greater Sydney have challenged us to consider the big issues of our time and our future. When we delivered the Metropolis of Three Cities in 2018  as the future for planning Greater Sydney, we couldn’t foresee an imminent pandemic that would radically change our lives and bring about change at unprecedented pace.

So, as we prepare the next Region Plan, we’ve partnered with the UK-based urban consultants The Business of Cities to undertake a global review of the impacts of COVID-19 on major cities, including more than 30 interviews with metropolitan leaders and planners internationally.

This is not an exercise in simply following what other great cities are doing.  We are partnering with them on the best outcomes for our citizens in our post-pandemic futures based on real evidence and experience. This is about providing the best future for each of our citizens in the next 5 years, 10 years, 20 years and 40 years.

A city is so much more than a collection of buildings, roads and transport lines. The soul of a city is its people. And we are home to one of the most diverse communities in the world, and that diversity is an enormous strength while our First Nations communities – the biggest in Australia – connect us to the country on which we live, work and play. We want to make Greater Sydney the best place for everyone.

The full report and a series of fact sheets on key findings are available for download.

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