info@gcc.nsw.gov.au
In 2018 the Greater Sydney Commission released our Region Plan, A Metropolis of Three Cities. This was a plan for the decades ahead that began its work in the present: by reimagining Greater Sydney as three cities within a metropolis, rather than a metropolis sprawling around a single CBD.
It was a major shift in how we thought about the city and the people who live in it, now and in the future.
We considered how Sydney was working - and how it wasn't - because our job is to make a great city even better.
The conclusions reached in A Metropolis of Three Cities are based on the need to create three 30-minute cities where jobs and the things we love are within reach by public transport any day of the week. Having a job close to home, the local services you and your family need, and access to a great park or open space in your neighbourhood can make a significant difference to quality of life.
The 2018 Greater Sydney Region Plan (GSRP) was developed together with the State Infrastructure Strategy and Future Transport 2056. Aligning land use and infrastructure planning, in theory and practice, became a central part of Greater Sydney's planning.
This matters because it helps government take a more coordinated approach to sharing opportunities and resolving challenges.
I see three key challenges on the horizon. Firstly, we need more jobs, more quickly and in more places. Secondly, we need to bring the environment to the centre of how we think and talk about Greater Sydney as we respond to climate change and protect the health of our natural assets. Thirdly, we can't lose sight of how fundamental housing is to people.
A just city that acknowledges its past and embraces the future will look to reconciliation with its First Peoples. Australia's First Peoples are our first scientists, engineers, mathematicians and artists. As home to the world's oldest continuing culture, we have much to learn and celebrate.
Our goal is to make Greater Sydney more connected: connected to its environment and its communities, and an even better place to live. We are enabling many and diverse opportunities for feedback as we make sure we are fulfilling that objective. Sydney is a city that inspires passion and debate and we look forward to productive and spirited discussion.
Geoff Roberts AM
Chief Commissioner