The City of Sydney has been recognised for international excellence alongside Vienna, Toronto and Auckland as part of the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew World City prize.
The Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize is a biennial award for outstanding liveable, vibrant and sustainable urban communities around the world. Named after Singapore’s first Prime Minister, the prize is a highlight of the upcoming World Cities Summit from 10–14 July in Singapore.
The major prize was awarded to city of Medellin with special mentions to Sydney, Vienna, Toronto and Auckland. Sydney was recognised for excellent governance and innovation in tackling urban challenges and delivering social, economic and environmental benefits to local communities.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the City of Sydney is committed to excellent urban policy and tackling climate change with real and immediate actions.
“It’s an honour to be recognised on the global stage for our strong governance and innovative approach to urban challenges,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Our long term plan, Sustainable Sydney 2030, is the cornerstone of everything we do to ensure the one million workers, residents and visitors who travel through our local area every day have a wonderful city to live, work and spend time in.
“Since 2004, we’ve completed over 250 major projects including parks, playgrounds, childcare, pools, libraries, theatres, community and cultural spaces. And we’re working on 370 projects as part of our 10-year plan. We’ve approved around $25 billion worth of high-quality development and significant urban renewal that is now underway.
“We’re delivering significant action on climate change and slashing carbon emissions in the heart of the nation’s largest city. We were Australia’s first carbon-neutral city and have already reduced carbon emissions by 21 per cent on 2006 levels amid strong economic growth.”
In 2006, the City began work on a long-term plan for our environmental, economic, social and cultural sustainability. Sydneysiders were consulted on the plan for the city’s future and a top priority for many people was taking meaningful action on climate change. They also said they wanted a city with a strong economy, one that supports the arts and connects its people to each other and the world.
The resulting plan, Sustainable Sydney 2030, lays out a vision for the City’s growth and development to remain a global sustainability and resilience leader.
To reach this target the City is taking strong action to slash emissions and improve energy efficiency across its own buildings and operations.
Around 2,500 local street lights have been replaced with energy-efficient LEDs, saving up to $800,000 in electricity bills and maintenance a year and reducing energy use from street lighting by nearly 45 per cent. And solar panels have been installed on major buildings across the city.
At Sydney Park, the city’s largest park, the City is harvesting and treating 590 million litres of stormwater through a water reuse system, which filters and recycles water for use in the park or before it enters the harbour and local waterways.
The City is also partnering with businesses and residents to reduce emissions and improve sustainable outcomes through dozens of workshops and programs, some of which have expanded across Australia.
Sydney’s urban canopy is being increased by 50 per cent by 2030 and 10,250 new trees have been planted across streets and parks to cool and beautify the city.
The City of Sydney encourages design excellence in private development and our own public projects and is advised by its Design Advisory Panel, made up of eminent practitioners, with an innovative design excellence program that requires a competitive design process for all major buildings – a world first for a local government area.
Through this program, over 100 projects have been awarded bonus floor space for design excellence, and a number have been recognised internationally. In the last 10 years, our public infrastructure projects have won over 80 national and international awards.
The City is working with the NSW government on light rail that will improve travel options for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists, as well as Sydney’s biggest urban development at Green Square that will be home to around 7,500 residents and 8,600 workers.
The City has committed $540 million over the next 10 years for the delivery of the town centre, a 13-hectare site at the centre of the Green Square development area.
In addition to extensive streetscape improvements and infrastructure works, the City is building world-class community facilities, including an aquatic centre, library and plaza, childcare centre, creative arts hub and three more public parks.
For media inquiries or images, contact City of Sydney Senior Media Advisor Claire Thompson phone 0408 414 376 or email cthompson1@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
For interviews with Lord Mayor Clover Moore, contact Matt Levinson on 0499 319 385 or email mlevinson@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au