Strategic Planning

The University of Sydney

STRATEGIC PLANNING AND DESIGN

Strategic Planning in Action - Assessment 2

Group Component Abstract Increasing urbanisation has escalated the importance of a city as an “engine of economic growth” (Cities Alliance, n.d.). This has led to a need for cities to be strategic for their investment plans and their future growth to ensure maximum utilization of the existing resources, and to take full advantage of the opportunities. Strategic planning is a tool which can mobilize the potential of urbanisation and help communities to have a say in the future development of the city where they are going to reside. But, it involves a framework which can be executed at a macro level and micro level in the city, thus, posing a need for a well-coordinated plan at all the hierarchical levels in a city and across other cities. This creates the understanding of the concept of “strategic planning” at various scales, methodology of creating a strategic plan, integration of strategic plan with other plans for the city, the role of stakeholders and quality of the plan and few other important aspects to be considered to ensure a successful strategic plan for the growth of the city. Hence, this report analyses the Greater Sydney Regional Plan: a Metropolis of Three Cities – connecting people (GSRP) in detail to understand the ingredients of a strategic plan and develop the critical analytic skills required for the development of a strategic plan. This analysis involves the understanding of all the aspects of GSRP to inspect the alignment of the proposal with the vision and objectives of the plan for the city.

SIDs: 490186325, 490247051, 48025187, 490204054, 490309810.

Strategic Planning in Action | Greater Sydney Regional Plan

May 2020

Contents 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background 1.2 Purpose of the report and overeview 2.0 Investigation Methods 2.1 Strategy and Policy Analysis 2.2 Literature Review 2.3 Methodology 2.4 Quality Analysis 3.0 GSRP and Governance 3.1 Governance and Statutory Requirement 3.2 Vision, Directions and Objectives 3.3 Implementation and Monitoring 4.0 Greater Sydney Regional Plan - Integration 4.1 Alignment on State level 4.2 Internal Integration 4.3 Influence on District and local level 4.4 External Integration 5.0 Quality of the Plan 5.1 GSRP framework review 5.2 Approach to choosing directions and principles 5.3 Performance Measure 5.4 Community participation and decision making 5.5 Interface and readability 6.0 Discussion 6.1 Does the plan consider all stakeholders and is it evidence based?

6.2 The 30-minute Turmoil 6.3 Spatial mismatch between homes and infrastructure 7.0 Conclusion 7.1 Learnings and reflections 7.2 Limitations Project Management Statement References Appendices

Strategic Planning in Action | Greater Sydney Regional Plan

1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background With the population of Sydney increasing at an unprecedented rate, it provides an opportunity for Urban Renewal. Rapid expansion with proactively harnessed potential would ensure shaping of a diverse global city housing economic powerhouse. City shaping is a gradual process that takes place over a span of period. Inorganic development led to the Greater Sydney Commission (GSC) to release a strategic plan for Sydney with clearly stated vision, directions and objectives for next 40 years of growth. GSC is a metropolitan planning body intended to bring a coordinated, holistic approach to planning for Sydney. It is responsible for preparing strategic plans, monitoring and reviewing local environmental plans (LEPs) and determining planning proposals. The GSC’s powers and responsibilities is limited to the Greater Sydney Region, which extends to the Hawkesbury local government area to the north, Blue Mountains local government area to the west, and Wollondilly local government area to the south (“Strategic planning and the Greater Sydney Commission come to NSW”, 2020). In the language of the GSC, bush becomes “open space”, suburbs are “metropolitan clusters”, and creeks “green corridors”. Greater Sydney Commission reflects back to its historical land and aims to rebalance the city from its historic orientation around its CBD and into three connected yet independently emerging cities.

The Greater Sydney Regional Plan, A Metropolis of Three Cities (Refer Appendix: Figure. 1) intends to rebalance the distribution of employment opportunities, housing diversity, infrastructure and services, and sustainability in the Greater Sydney Region. To meet the needs of the growing and changing population, the strategic plan subdivides Greater Sydney Region into three districts i.e. the Eastern Harbour City, Central River City and Western Parkland City. The strategic plan seeks to connect these cities cohesively and intends to distribute city systems throughout, equally and equitably. The GSRP supports the concept of a 30 minute city via strategic and metropolitan city centres which will become employment zones with cultural and entertainment centres, infrastructure and services. The voids and the opportunities of the three districts have been evaluated over the spatial elements of the metropolis of three cities. These spatial elements are knitted together to best deliver on the vision A Metropolis of Three Cities and the aspirations of the 4 themes and 10 Directions. The Greater Sydney Strategic Plan is an answer book to futuristic, resilient and a global Sydney safeguarding the aspects of the city which people love.

1.2 Purpose of the report and Overview The report delves deeper into the Greater Sydney Regional Plan: a Metropolis of Three Cities – connecting people (GSRP) to investigate and analyse its role in developing Greater Sydney Region as a polycentric city which responds to population change and growth both equally and equitably.

The report examines the GSRP framework, governance structure, vision, key directions and broader objectives with the rationale supported by the respective strategies. “A city supported by Infrastructure” is chosen as the key direction for the report. The GSRP has been evaluated over a spectrum of parameters such as investigation of the data, governance structure, vision and objectives along with implementation and monitoring. The report critically examines the GSRP on both internal and external integration along with relationship and alignment of GSRP with the other parallel documents namely the ‘Building Momentum State Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2038’ and the ‘Future Sydney 2056 – Greater Sydney Services and Infrastructure Plan’ and South and East Tablelands Regional Plan 2036.

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Over the span of next 40 years Sydney is expected to have a population of over 8 million, the Greater Sydney Regional plan identifies potential areas for future development. The document responds to each of the three centres uniquely yet cohesively. As much as the Greater Sydney Regional Plan responds to the region internally, it also knits itself to the surrounding regional areas for future opportunities. The Greater Sydney Strategic Plan is an answer book to futuristic, resilient and a global Sydney safeguarding the aspects of the city which people love.

The State and the Local Governments have taken the initiative to identify the potential areas within Greater Sydney that are backed up by Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and various other statutory and non-statutory documents to envision three cities with improved productivity, transport, liveability and sustainability for the year 2056. The GSRP and other regional plans presents an overview of the horizontal integration and its impact on the three cities on the chosen direction of the city supported by infrastructure. The direction, its objectives, actions and the potential indicator is an approach made by the GSC to combine land use and infrastructure planning to mitigate the demands of the future growth of the three cities.

The five district plans proposed by the Greater Sydney Commission addresses the direction through four different objectives and a key performance indicator to measure the functioning of the performance of the 30-minute proposed Greater Sydney city. The Local Strategic Planning statements of the three cities have been prepared to inform the vertical integration and align with the vision and objective for the three cities.

2.0 Investigation Methods 2.1 Policy and Strategy Analysis The report involves investigation and analysis of the Greater Sydney Regional Plan: a Metropolis of Three Cities – connecting people (GSRP) in order to develop an in-depth understanding of strategic planning in practice at various scales. Secondary source of information has been used for the investigation. ‘GSRP’, ‘State Infrastructure Strategy’ and ‘Transport for NSW 2056’ are the broadly studied documents. The study across these documents and on varied scales led to the understanding of the planning framework. GSRP could be accessed from the Greater Sydney Commission’s website which has been studied in detail. At first, a broader level study of the directions laid out by the GSC in the document ‘Directions for a Greater Sydney 2017-2056’ for sustainable sydney 2056 was done to understand the rationale behind the development of GSRP. Allied documents of GSRP like the district plans and its strategies are analysed to understand the cohesiveness of the documents.

2.2 Literature Review It is crucial to identify the concepts explained in GSRP, and investigate the evidence relating to the strategies and actions of the document. In parts of the report the strategic, policy and comparative analyses are critically reviewed with supporting literature. It leads to further discussion on accessing the quality of the document underpinned by evidence-based research papers. Information from blogs and journalism website have been used to understand a non-technocratic perspective. It reflects political opinions and questions concepts which are unclear. It is then used to comment on the readability of the document and its ability to conveying the information to a common citizen.

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2.3 Methodology The second part of the report critically examines the horizontal and vertical integration of GSRP. The horizontal integration of GSRP involves the relationship and alignment of GSRP with the other parallel documents namely the ‘Building Momentum State Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2038’ and the ‘Future Sydney 2056 – Greater Sydney Services and Infrastructure Plan’ which together support the aim of achieving the ten directions identified by GSC (Greater Sydney Commission, 2017). It was imperative to conduct the horizontal integration in order to build up the relationship of the outcomes achieved in the documents with respect to GSC. The vertical integration consists of understanding the regional level and local level documents on Directions for a Greater Sydney 2017-2056, North District Plan, South District Plan, Central City District Plan, Western City District Plan, Eastern District Plan, Local Strategic Planning Statement of Sydney, Parramatta and Penrith that are related to the Greater Sydney Regional Plan, supporting new developments through infrastructure that includes four different objectives which measure the performance through an indicator measuring 30-minutes accessibility to metropolitan clusters/centres. It has been done to comprehend the hierarchy of governance across Greater Sydney Regional Plan, District Plans and Local Environment Plans. This includes the in depth study of the relationship of GSRP with the five district plans, its comparison one of the district plans i.e, Central District Plan and the role of local councils in order to achieve the vision of a 30 minutes city.

Sydney is undergoing planning proposals, development and policy level changes impacting the surrounding regions. In order to understand its impact on the surrounding regions, the regional plan of South East and Tablelands has been chosen due to its key infrastructure strategy of connecting Greater Sydney Region for both employment and trade opportunities. Its connection with Greater Sydney and the approach in contrast to GSRP has been analysed. Further, it has been studied in respect to its governance, vision, Infrastructure strategies and actions. The third part of the report analyses the document in terms of quality of plan. The analysis has been done on the basis of set parameters. It revolves around the GSRP framework and its consistency; approach for choosing the 10 directions and principles; appropriate performance measures; consideration of community engagement in the process of decision making; interface and readability of GSRP document.

Discussion toward the end, sums up the key ideas of the report. It also incorporates a discussion on the role of stakeholders involved and the implementation and deliverability of the plan. It touches upon the significant elements of the report providing a clear direction of the approach taken to analyse the Greater Sydney Regional Plan document and comprehend strategic planning at varied scales. The learnings and reflections along with the limitations identified marks the conclusion of the report.

2.4 Quality Analysis The report examines the GSRP document to identify measurement tools and performance indicators. The research involved reading every section of the document including the word quality, and performance, understand the use of it and references linked to it. A challenge in quality analysis of a strategic planning document is it is implausible to compare with another ongoing strategic plan, as both plans are a vision document. For a context-specific strategic plan, it is acknowledged that benchmarking the whole document is absurd. Individual themes, directions and actions can be analysed with literature study and comparative analysis. Various sections of the report partly identify the quality and mention them individually, and for critical reviewing a dedicated section has been allocated (refer Section 5.3 Performance measure). The quality analysis in the report is to check the document’s quality of conveying the available information to a common citizen, and it examines the document from a technocratic perspective.

(Creating village square: Green Square Sydney Library, 2019) Strategic aPlanning in Action | Greater Regional Plan

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3.0 GSRP and governance 3.1 Governance and Statutory Requirement The Greater Sydney Commission, through the Greater Sydney Commission Act 2015, is responsible for leading metropolitan planning for the Greater Sydney Region. It sets the planning framework for the five districts that make up the region namely- Eastern City (Harbour CBD), Central City, Western City, North and South. The legislative framework for strategic planning establishes a clear relationship from regional to local level. It also informs the district and local plans taking into account the assessment of planning proposals. It has a statutory requirement under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (1979) (EP&A Act) to report on the implementation of the Greater Sydney Region Plan. The Plan has been prepared in accordance with section 3.3 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 that identifies categorically clear vision with set objectives and actions on the basis of strategic planning considering social, economic and environmental concerns. The actions outlined are implemented and monitored on regular intervals. The Region Plan has 15 actions to be delivered by the Commission, State agencies, the Australian Government and councils. The Greater Sydney Commission’s governance framework involves an Infrastructure Delivery Committee that is accountable for planning that would aid to align growth with the provision of infrastructure. It guides the NSW government for the sequence of development.

3.2 Vision, Directions and Objectives As a part of the ambitious plan, GSC (2018) envisions Sydney as “A Metropolis of Three Cities” where it is envisaged to be shaped into three distinct yet linked urban centres in order to support the excessive population growth (see Appendix) and attain the directions outlined by GSC in ‘Directions for a Greater Sydney 2017-2056’ . The three centres - Eastern, Central and Western are based on the geographical location and its characteristics (GSC, 2018).The plan to transform Greater Sydney into a metropolis of three cities is derived from the key idea to meet the needs of growing and changing population. Thus, the GSRP , A Metropolis of Three Cities is built on a vision of three cities where most residents live within 30 minutes of their jobs, education and health facilities, services and great places (GSC, 2018). The plan ensures housing, jobs, all basic amenities and public spaces in easy reach. In addition, A Metropolis of Three Cities aims to align infrastructure and growth to restructure economic activity and access across the three cities: Evidence for 30 min City: The research provides the evidence of choosing the criteria for 30 min city which is derived by the idea of average people travelling to access their jobs and services for 60 min each day (Marchetti’s constant). If the time exceeds the mentioned duration, behavioural change in people has been observed where they tend to choose other employment, limit social activities or relocate their place of residence. Adopting the concept of 30 min would aid to manage congestion and enhance liveability and productivity (Future Transport 2056).

The GSRP has formulated the strategies structured around the four themes- Infrastructure and Collaboration, Productivity, Liveability and Sustainability. These themes align themselves with 10 directions that inform planning and development decisions further used as parameters to monitor performance and encourage integrated infrastructure and land use policy. This report is broadly focuses on Infrastructure and Collaboration which outlines two directions: 1. Identify, prioritise and deliver Collaboration Areas. Lead Agency: Commission

(Vacant Block to Transform into Green Square Community Space, 2018) Strategic Planning in Action | Greater Sydney Regional Plan

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2. Coordinate land use and infrastructure for the Western City District. Lead Agency: Commission (“Progress on the actions of the Greater Sydney Region Plan | Greater Sydney Commission”, 2020).

The key direction chosen as the exploration tool to analyse the GSRP is “A City supported by Infrastructure”.

For most of the 20th century, Greater Sydney’s population grew at an annual rate of around 2.5 per cent (Refer Appendix: Figure. 2) . Today, Greater Sydney is one of the top 10 fastest growing regions in the Western world and by 2036 it is projected to be home to another 1.7 million people, or 3.2 million more people by 2056. This led to a change in urban form “from detached low density housing on suburban quarter-acre blocks (about 1,000 square metres) with some medium density and semi-detached housing to an intense development with increased density evident from the City of Sydney to Mascot and in Parramatta, Chatswood, Rhodes, Strathfield, Burwood and Hurstville; some increase in centres along the Western, Bankstown and Illawarra rail lines and in Hornsby and Liverpool” (GSC, 2018). This posed a need for an improved infrastructure with an additional capacity for housing to support the population growth. In order to align growth and infrastructure the GSRP suggests a growth infrastructure compact (Refer Appendix: Figure. 3) to exhibit their correlation, such as public transport, schools and open space, in order to ensure a well-timed integration and a thoughtful expenditure on infrastructure as per the location. The GSRP has laid down the following four objectives to ensure a “A City supported by Infrastructure” which are supported by some strategies for implementation, in collaboration with Infrastructure NSW, State agencies and councils.

“Objective 1: Infrastructure supports the three cities” for city shaping infrastructure and enhanced utilisation of infrastructure Rationale: To achieve the vision i.e to successfully connect the three cities, a well integrated and improved infrastructure is required in order to deliver a 30-minute city (Refer Appendix: Figure. 4) “Strategy 1.1 Prioritise infrastructure investments to support the vision of A Metropolis of Three Cities”, “Strategy 1.2 Sequence growth across the three cities to promote north-south and east-west connections”, “Objective 2: Infrastructure aligns with forecast growth” i.e growth infrastructure compact (Refer Appendix: Figure. 3) Rationale: Process to achieve the Objective 1 by assessing the nature, time and level of infrastructure investment required as per the forecast housing and employment growth to prevent wastage of the finite resources (Refer Appendix: Figure. 4) “Strategy 2.1 Align forecast growth with infrastructure”, “Strategy 2.2 Sequence infrastructure provision across Greater Sydney using a place-based approach”, “Objective 3: Infrastructure adapts to meet future needs” ie. Flexible designs and agreements “Strategy 3.1 Consider the adaptability of infrastructure and its potential shared use when preparing infrastructure strategies and plans”, “Objective 4: Infrastructure use is optimised” i.e evaluating and managing existing infrastructural needs,

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“Strategy 4.1 Maximise the utility of existing infrastructure assets and consider strategies to influence behaviour changes, to reduce the demand for new infrastructure, including supporting the development of adaptive and flexible regulations to allow decentralised utilities” (GSC 2018).

Rationale: (Objective 3 and 4); Effectively manage and implement the Objective 1 by designing adaptive infrastructure and maximising the use of existing infrastructure assets (Refer Appendix: Figure. 4)

3.3 Implementation GSRP is used as a framework for decision making to inform district plans, local strategic planning statements (LSPS) and local environmental plans (LEP) and to provide context for councils’ community strategic plans (Greater Sydney Regional Plan, 2018). Simultaneously, the plan also integrates with “Future Transport 2056” and the “State Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2038” to align major land use, transport and planning. Monitoring and Implementation is executed at varied levels ranging from regional to local level under the Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979. Directions stated in the GSRP play a key role in providing the framework for planning thereby acting as a guide throughout the process of implementation, monitoring and reporting. Responses and refinements are done periodically on the basis of the three criterion namely performance of the Plan, the context of the Plan –Greater Sydney’s growth and change; the agency’s delivery of Actions in the Plan and local governments’ implementation through local strategic planning and local environmental plans (GSRP, 2018). Existing LEPs are reviewed by councils formulating LSPS, guiding amendment of LEPs. Councils are bound to implement the regional and district plans in a time frame of two to three years. The GSC is required to report annually on the implementation of the Plan. This enables easy understanding of concerns and assures consistent, fair and transparent planning across government tiers from Federal to local level.

4.0 Greater Sydney Regional Plan - Integration 4.1 Alignment on State Level The two state strategies State Infrastructure strategy and Future transport strategy 2056 are in accordance and alignment with the Greater Sydney Commission’s Metropolis of Three Cities plan (GSC, 2018). Whilst the State Infrastructure Strategy (INSW, 2018) writes the direct use of the document, Future Transport Strategy 2056 (TNSW, 2018) indirectly indicates working with the Greater Sydney Commission and Infrastructure NSW. The State Infrastructure Strategy (INSW, 2018) has a dedicated geographic direction for Greater Sydney, aligning with the district plans of Metropolis of Three Cities (GSC, 2018) and including Illawarra and Central Coast Regions. The document will support the Metropolis of Three Cities plan in achieving a 30-minute city by overcoming the existing problem and promoting the strengths of the regions. Also, it provides a recommendation to the Growth infrastructure Compact and Growth areas and planned precincts. Recommendations to the Future Transport NSW 2056 (TNSW, 2018) are also made alongside them. With the growing need for digital infrastructure, state-level existing connections are shown and future recommendations with evolving technologies are made. There are infrastructure responses for each district from the Metropolis of Three Cities plan given. Overall, 122 recommendations are made across strategic, geographic, and infrastructure directions, aligning with the Metropolis of Three Cities plan (GSC, 2018) and Future Transport Strategy 2056 (TNSW, 2018).

Future Transport Strategy 2056 (TNSW, 2018), similar to the State Infrastructure Strategy (INSW, 2018) has

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a dedicated section ensuring alignment with the Greater Sydney Region and GSC’s (2018) plans. The transport, its technology, and people-focused plan segregates the Greater Sydney Region’s transport corridors as city-shaping, city-serving, and centre-serving. The city serving and regional serving corridors are identified in the Metropolis of Three Cities plan (GSC, 2018). City-serving extent and centreserving corridors are shown on maps in the strategy. Also, it identifies the importance of collaboration with GSC’s (2018) Plan and Infrastructure NSW’s (2018) strategy. The twelve outcomes for these corridors and regions are aligned with the six state outcomes identified in the document. These outcomes are aligned with the GSC’s (2018) plan, in terms of achieving the ‘30 minute city’ concept.

Alignment

Metropolis of Three Cities

State Infrastructure Strategy

Future Transport Strategy

Level

Greater Sydney Region

New South Wales State

New South Wales State

Year

2018-2056

2018-2038

2018-2056

Governance

Greater Sydney Commission

Infrastructure NSW

Transport NSW

Strategic Planning

5 themes, 10 Directions, and 40 objectives.

6 Strategic Directions, 2 Geographic Directions, and 8 Infrastructure Directions.

6 Strategic Outcomes – Overall and Separate for Regional NSW and Greater Sydney.

Table 1 Alignment on State Level (Author, 2020)

The two state strategies identify each other’s existence and its alignment with the Metropolis of Three Cities Plan (GSC, 2018), ensuring state-level collaboration to deliver the best outcome for the Greater Sydney Region.

4.2 Internal Integration The GSRP delivers the spatial fundamentals for further bonafide planning of the infrastructure for the three cities and its utilisation. The vision for the Metropolis of three-cities shows a shift from monocentric Eastern Harbour City to a new polycentric three interconnected cities within Greater Sydney (Marvin Kraus, n.d.). It will promote further expansion in terms of productivity, liveability, sustainability and connectivity through industrial development, housing diversity, access to open green spaces and amenities and make a 30-minute city across Greater Sydney.

The requirement of three cities in terms of infrastructure will vary based on the prevailing education and health infrastructure, culture and amenities, industry and housing potential, committed investment and development time frame. To achieve a 30-minute city, the three cities need to improve the existing infrastructure and substantiate new infrastructure. GSRP aims to correspond the population growth to infrastructure investment. The two strategies of prioritizing infrastructure investment and sequencing infrastructure for the five districts forming Greater Sydney will strengthen the east-west and north-south connections. The planning decisions are focused more on place-based service approach rather than network-based services approach. The Greater Parramatta and the Olympic Peninsula (GPOP) is also the driving force behind this approach.

The infrastructure development in the North District aims to improve connectivity of the Eastern Economic Corridor through Sydney Metro Northwest, Sydney Metro City and Southwest and the NorthConnex will improve regional travel time. The Northern Beaches Hospital has the enormous

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potential for health infrastructure and employment opportunities, impacting productivity, liveability, connectivity and sustainability. In the South District, the infrastructure to shape the city includes the WestConnex addressing regional travelling time concerns, and in Sydney, the Sydney Metro City & Southwest will give opportunities for the people to work in close proximity to their residences.

The Central City (Refer Appendix: Figure. 5) consists of radial transport connectivity to and from Greater Parramatta, surrounding the Parramatta CBD, North Parramatta and the Westmead Innovation District focusing on health and education. Connecting the north, south, east and west –will benefit the mixed income workers who stay within the centres in the Parramatta LGA. The identified precincts in Central City need to be connected to employment opportunities, social and economic infrastructure and services.

In the Western City the infrastructure development in the first stage will connect the north to the south through North South Rail Link and potentially expand from Rouse Hill in the north and Macarthur in the south). It will also include rail connection from east to west connecting the Western Parkland City to the Central River City). Finally, Eastern City plans to connect the North and South districts through Eastern Economic Corridor. And it also aims to connect to the Central and the Western city districts.

4.3 Influence on District and Local Level The Greater Sydney Regional Plan Direction 1, the three cities supported by infrastructure presents a broad strategic plan on developing infrastructure correlating to the growth within 30-minutes reach accessible to people in the three cities within Greater Sydney region. The Central City District Plan follows the vision and the objective 1 of GSRP to form concise strategies for the priority areas within the Central River City. Both the plans have aligned infrastructure with the phases of development and the nature of development required in the priority areas. For e.g the Central City District Plan and the GSRP have considered the fact that, at present, the travel time to Central City from other strategic clusters/ centres surpasses 30 minutes during peak hours (Alizadeh, 2018).

The Greater Sydney Regional Plan aims to bring parity in terms of economy and social opportunities in terms of infrastructure in all the districts with a vision for the residents to live, work and avail amenities and services within the reach of 30 minutes. The five District Plans then will address the infrastructure requirements for priority areas based on the objectives mentioned in GSRP and objectives and actions in the district level strategic plans. The Local Strategic Planning Statements for different councils within Greater Sydney will formulate strategies based on the places that require infrastructure within the reach of 30 minutes. As GSRP focuses on the three cities, Penrith, Parramatta and Sydney Local Government Areas are the key strategic centres that will significantly impact within the LGAs and its neighbouring areas which is why it is important to have an understanding about the role of these councils in providing infrastructure within the reach of 30-minutes. The following LGAs will further explain the working of the district level objective 1 in relation to the GSPR Direction 1: The Penrith City Council- Local Strategic Planning Statement For the city of Penrith, the infrastructure at the local level is aimed at addressing the issue of congestion and benefit the communities by providing dwellings, social infrastructure, amenities and jobs that are within the reach of 30-minutes. More than 60% of the Penrith residents commute to other areas for work, thus making the local and state road and rail network connections significant to get people to move within Greater Sydney and in the regions. With the growth of the city, there will be additional demands for local road links. As the city faces congestion, the Local Strategic Planning Statement for Penrith is considering alternative active commuting modes, like walking and cycling.

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The North South Rail Link will enable Penrith to form new mixed-use centres that provide employment opportunities and housing around station locations which in turn will assist the council to achieve the Greater Sydney Commission’s vision of a ‘30-minute’ city. The Council will work in collaboration with the state and federal governments to ensure that the infrastructure meets the requirements of the communities.

The Parramatta City Council At the moment, the majority of the Parramatta Local Government Area population resides within 30 minutes from the Parramatta CBD, Westmead, Olympic Park and Macquarie Park and they have access to work covering these strategic centres. According to the Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement and the Draft Local Housing Strategy, the housing, jobs and social infrastructure in Parramatta has also been planned based on 30-minutes from the employment locations in Parramatta CBD, Sydney Olympic Park and Westmead health and education precinct. In terms of connectivity at the local level, the Parramatta city cycling and walking infrastructure will have a 30-minute city as the base, to plan for cycling and walking corridors and also address the 40 year vision and the objective of infrastructure within 30-minutes of the Central City District Plan and Greater Sydney Regional Plan. At the local level, the Parramatta Council’s Community Strategic Plan 2018-2038 is being made use of to understand the community needs of the infrastructure within the reach of 30-minutes (“Community Strategic Plan 2018-2038 City of Parramatta”, n.d.).

The City of Sydney Council The City of Sydney Council has identified the priority areas for the development of business, social infrastructure, transport and other activities that will benefit the community people. The council is planning to integrate mass transit system and land use to address the objective of developing infrastructure within the access of 30-minutes for the Harbour city and Greater Sydney as a whole.

Other than Central Sydney, the social infrastructure, jobs and entertainment areas around the new stations Green Square and Pyrmont will be within the reach of 400 metres.

4.4 External Integration Sydney is Australia’s biggest and populated city, in order to retain its global standard it is undergoing many planning proposals, development and policy making process. Sydney has a total population over 4.8 million (ABS, 2016). The Sydney region contributes to one-fifth of the total Australian Population. The expansion of the Sydney region is having both productivity and liveability impacts in and around the surrounding regions namely, Hunter, Central Coast, Illawarra, Shoalhaven, South and East Tablelands and Central West and Orana region. In order to respond to Greater Sydney regional plan, these regions have planned their respective 2036 regional strategic plan. The South East and Tablelands offers rural living with scenic landscapes and easy connection to Sydney and Canberra. The region is accepting an addition of 45,450 people by 2036 in the towns which are in proximity to strategic centres including Canberra and Sydney. (SOUTH EAST AND TABLELANDS REGIONAL PLAN 2036, 2017) Governance: The South East and Tablelands Regional Plan 2036 tables all levels of government with private sectors and community participation to ensure its delivery. The NSW government has established a South East and Tablelands Delivery, Coordination and Monitoring Committee, which ensures aligning with government at all levels and partnering with local government and community, ensuring the implementation of plan alongside supporting local planning controls. The committee also monitors the activities and trends with annual reports and information with revised goals and directions. The plan follows the conventional state planning hierarchy where the plan and the priorities are set by the government, which is followed by district plans prepared by the

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government local councils. The local council is then held responsible for producing local plans in accordance to regional plans and district plan (“SOUTH EAST AND TABLELANDS REGIONAL PLAN 2036”, 2017).

Unlike GSRP, the South East and Tablelands regional plan doesn’t have an oriented direction. The strategic goals lead in various directions rather being aligned with thematic directions. Through the lens of a city supported by infrastructure, the South East and Tablelands regional plan prioritise the connection of the region with Canberra airport acting as a catalyst, which will promote both global trade opportunities and tourism. The plan also proposes strong inter-regional connections to boost the economy and trade sector. The South East and Tablelands regional plan is negotiating with the NSW transport department to have a hassle free movement of ACT public transport in the NSW region. The regional plan will also cater to the infrastructure needed to support new housing and development whilst ensuring coordination amongst the various jurisdictions, which includes trading of water. The South East and Tablelands regional plan connects to growth GSRP by offering various connections and incentives, it is promoting the region as an affordable place for Sydney-based industries to relocate and expand. Despite the two regions are strikingly different the regional plans are responding well to each other by supporting cities with infrastructure (“SOUTH EAST AND TABLELANDS REGIONAL PLAN 2036”, 2017).

5.0 Quality of the Plan 5.1 GSRP Framework Review A Metropolis of Three Cities’s bold vision for Greater Sydney is based on four spatial elements – Housing, Jobs, Connectivity and Landscape along with 10 directions to realise the vision which form the structure plan for Greater Sydney. This plan brings forth the interconnection and integration of these spatial elements in order to achieve the vision and the 10 directions between the three tiers of government and across State agencies (GSC, 2018). The formation of the plan involves a deep understanding of the characteristics of growth and change which has been brought about by listing key social, economic and environmental data under the themes of Productivity, Liveability, Infrastructure and Sustainability. This involves laying out the directions under the above mentioned themes along with the respective objectives followed by the strategies and actions to achieve the objectives. Also, a brief on the monitoring and implementation of the plan has also been incorporated in the plan. All the information is based on the data collected from legitimate sources including “Australian Bureau of Statistics Census and the NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s population, household and dwelling demand data used across the NSW Government” (GSC, 2018, p.186)

GSRP

Economic, Social and Environment Basis

Vision

Objectives

Strategies and Actions

Image 1. GSRP Simplified Framework (Author, 2020)

5.2 Approach to choosing Directions and Principles The GRSP is envisioned to meet the needs of a growing and changing population. The vision seeks

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to connect three cities with supporting strategic centres bringing people closer to their workplace with better infrastructure, services, entertainment and cultural facilities. The intention conveyed through the GSRP is to balance the Greater Sydney region, which as a whole will provide both economic and social opportunities and deliver the benefits more equitably. The three cities have been evaluated over evidence of the pressure of jobs and urban congestion in the Harbour city and radial transport network, the spatial extent of Greater Sydney, growth patterns, reshuffling the demographics in order to create more active districts and climate condition. These cities are also evaluated over their spatial elements in order to ensure the cohesiveness of these three cities, these spatial elements are landscape, jobs, housing and connectivity. The strategic plan is supported by evidence such as population data, people commuting through and fro the city and various other such factors. The supporting evidence and the spatial elements are blended in order to create the structural plan for the Greater Sydney Region in respect to four themes i.e. infrastructure, productivity, liveability and productivity. These themes are broadly classified into ten directions which ensure the execution of the vision of the three cities. The ten directions ensure development of people, places, environment and cities, and make Greater Sydney region as region of expression, creativity and innovative economy. The chosen direction for the report i.e. A city supported by infrastructure, intends to bind the three cities via creating strategic centres in between the metropolitan centres which will support both a thirty minute city and population growth. The direction demonstrates the relation between growth and infrastructure, such as public transport, schools and open space, to allow for timely integration and more effective expenditure on infrastructure (GSC 2018).

5.3 Performance Measure The overall performance measurement of the GSRP (GSC, 2018) circles back to the indicator of the 30-minute city in different parts of the document. It is mentioned that achieving a 30-minute city will ensure a rebalance in economic activity and jobs. For the Direction of “City supported by infrastructure”, the same 30-minute city indicator is mentioned as a potential indicator ensuring alignment of infrastructure growth and jobs in the right areas. There is no solid framework or benchmark to measure the success of the plan as a whole (GSC, 2018). Though there is a mention of calculating the percentage of dwelling within the 30-minute catchment of walking and/or public transport to strategic/metropolitan centres as a measurement method, the target percentage to be achieved is not considered/ discussed. A Network Capability tool is said to be in development, but there are graphs indicating measurements using the tool. It shows if strategic centres are considered using the dwelling percentage calculation method, all districts achieve over 83%, with Eastern City District achieving 100% (Greater Sydney Commission, 2020, “Performance Indicator: 30-minute city”).

Does that mean the Eastern City District is a 30-minute GSRP utopian model?

5.4 Community participation and decision making The Greater Sydney Region consists of the five districts and 33 Local Government Areas and it has been established to lead coordinated planning across government ensuring to deliver a more productive, liveable and sustainable city for all. The Commission acknowledges a varied group of individuals and communities with shared qualities, ideas, characteristics and interests that might belong to diverse range of cultures, religions, languages, beliefs, professions etc (GSC, 2020). The Greater Sydney Commission established in January 2016 involved feedback from the community and stakeholders and the submissions to the draft Greater Sydney Region Plan exhibited from 22 October 2017 to 15 December 2017 and five revised draft District Plans exhibited from 26 October 2017 to 15 December 2017 are accessible from the website of the Greater Sydney Commission. Further, a Citizen Panel was formulated to shape the way of how the implementation of A Metropolis of three Cities is implemented.

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The commission uses a wide array of communication tools to ensure awareness of the decisions related to the Greater Sydney Regional Plan and District plans involving easy access to Website, Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin including Live online QnA, Newspaper, TV and radio stories, meetings and briefings, presentations and community exhibitions (See Appendix Figure.6).

The Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 outlines the types of planning functions (referred to as ‘instruments’ in the Act), that statutory exhibition timeframes relate to. The exhibition of Draft Community Participation Plan is held for a time frame of 28 days and Draft regional or district strategic plans are held for 45 days where community’s feedback is received and taken into consideration.

Engagement Values Adopted Differing views of the stakeholders involved are respected.

Collaborative approach with individuals, local community groups, peak representative bodies, all levels of government and the private sector.

Open and transparent nature helps inform the decision making.

Timely inputs are taken to consider the feedback in decision making of governance.

Pre-set key performance indicators are established to assess the engagement practice.

Engagement is tailored to community’s need by providing opportunities to raise their voice

Table 2 Engagement Values (Author, 2020)

5.5 Interface and Readability A Metropolis of Three Cities, the first regional plan developed by the GSC, not only focuses on managing Greater Sydney’s population growth but also on developing its status as one of the most liveable cities in the world. Its readability and interface has been well thought of. A well laid out and detailed table of contents page in the beginning makes it very easy even for a layman to comprehend the plan. Apart from the detailed vision, an extensive analysis of Sydney’s demography in the very beginning brings forth the logics behind the objectives and strategies explained in the document. Although it is an elaborate document with 194 pages, use of visually appealing colours along with the interesting infographics and relevant eye catching maps keep the reader involved in the plan. Moreover, for those who do not want to go through the intensive document, can go through the Greater Sydney Commission’s website that has a user-friendly interface with clearly laid out Contents making it easier to read. The website is easy to follow, although it has an advantage that it is dealing with one major planning document as the rest of the five district plans have their own clearly-delineated websites. It requires only modest scrolling to navigate for the desired topic of interest. One can click on any of the links in the contents to read it in detail. The use of infographics further enhances the interest of the reader along with the provision of an interactive version of the Structure Plan for ‘A Metropolis of Three Cities’ to provide information regarding the proposed housing,connectivity and jobs in the Greater Sydney Region on one click on the relevant region on the map. Thus, a user-friendly interface and good readability of the document facilitates easy understanding of the plan.

Image 2 Ten Directions Graphics (GSC, 2020)

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6.0 Discussion 6.1 Does the plan consider all stakeholders and is it evidence based?

The population of Greater Sydney is projected to grow to 8 million approximately over the next 40 years, with almost half the population residing west of Parramatta, creating a rebalance in economic and social opportunities. Under the ambitious plan for “A Metropolis of Three Cities”, Sydney is to be reshaped into three separate but linked urban centres: an Eastern Harbour City focused on the existing central business district (CBD), a Central River City at its geographical centre to the west and, further west still, the Western Parkland City (GSC, 2018). Thus, GSC’s proposal aims to rebalance the city from its historic orientation around its original CBD and into three connected but independently flourishing cities. It would leverage the growth and benefits equitably across Greater Sydney. Ideally, most residents would live within 30 minutes of their jobs, schools, healthcare and essential services.

Affordable housing and improved mass transit would stimulate investment and jobs in new economic corridors. Turning this vision into reality would require unprecedented collaboration across the tiers of government along with involvement of stakeholders for investments. A holistic governance which is transparent in nature is the key for execution of the large-scale vision. A cohesive collaboration between the government, stakeholders and the community throughout the process would lead to an outstanding solution on ground that meets the needs of the future community. The Greater Sydney Regional Plan works in alignment with the Building Momentum State Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2038 and the Future Sydney 2056 – Greater Sydney Services and Infrastructure Plan. Such level of administrative reform has already been put in place that guides Greater Sydney towards a wellconnected future.

The key direction i.e “A city supported by Infrastructure” has been chosen in this report to analyse the plan. According to the GSRP, infrastructure would be sequenced to support growth and development along the identified regions. The concept of connecting three centres with supporting metropolitan and strategic centres in a catchment of 30 min radius would bring in workers close to knowledge intensive jobs, services, recreational facilities enhancing the liveability, productivity and Sustainability in long run. The legislative framework for strategic planning played an instrumental role in implementation of the plans. The framework provides a clear line of sight of planning and delivery from regional level to local level where local strategic planning statement forms a key component. LSPS informs the council’s community strategic plan prepared under the Local Government Act 1993. Consistency across the varied scale leads to a holistic development. To attain this, the plan incorporates “a place based service approach instead of network based services” (GSC, 2018).

This entire proposal has been developed on the basis of demographic survey, descriptive data and surveys as an evidence to support the vision and the objectives outlined in the GSC.The final GSRP draft was formed post community engagement programs where a number of workshops and exhibitions were conducted to gain feedback from the community. It involved inputs from about 9300 individuals and their submissions are readily available on the official website of the Greater Sydney Commission.

Involvement of stakeholders and regular funding mechanism programs that align to growth aids to accelerate the planning process. An evidence based approach including population forecast, dwelling forecast and also the mapping of change in Greater Sydney’s urban form (GSC, 2018) in order to justify the need for infrastructural growth was used (refer to 3.2 Vision, Directions and Objectives). For this GSC has used legitimate sources like Australian Bureau of Statistics Census, NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s population, household and dwelling demand data used across the NSW Government (GSC, 2018). The use of analytical evidence not only strengthens GSRP’s objectives and strategies but also makes it a legitimate source to consider for future strategic plans to meet the needs of growing Sydney.

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6.2 The 30-minute turmoil The challenging part of making a strategic plan is conveying the plan to fellow stakeholders, making it easy for a common man to read, and encouraging public participation. Though the intention of having basic infrastructure and services within the 30-minute catchment (walking and public transport), the term city leads to confusion. The explanation refers to the distance between and within the Strategic Centres, Metropolitan Centres and Metropolitan Clusters (GSC, 2020). If so, why is it not called 30-minute Centres/Clusters? There are varied opinions on the concept of a 30-minute city by itself. The Antiplanner blog (2017) calls it an insane idea, pointing out that the polycentric cities have been in existence since the 1970s. Though the article may seem poignant in understanding the 30-minute concept of GSC (2018), it explains the consequence of improper definition of the concept with a missing context and misplaced words. During the concept’s early stages Alan Davies (2016) comments on the politicians not giving specific details of the concept. The author has a basic understanding of it and compares it to the “20-minute concept” of Melbourne’ strategic plan. Also, the author talks about the notions like usage of cars, daily-travel budget and interest of people to choose the best job irrespective of the location leading to the complexity in the measurement of success.

The Penrith City Council Community Plan 2017 will provide infrastructure to ensure enough jobs and services are supplied within the given timeframe to cater to the needs of the growing population, equity in terms of accessibility to infrastructure and services (“Community Plan 2017 Penrith City Council”, n.d.). The mentioned plan does not specify the 30-minutes city with infrastructure which might perplex the different stakeholders as it is inconsistent with the LSPS, CCDP and the GSRP .

The City of Sydney’s community strategic plan (“Sustainable Sydney 2030 Community Strategic Plan 2017–2021 City of Sydney”, n.d.) has identified the infrastructure requirements like housing and jobs in the identified priority areas. But it does not specify the accessibility time to utilize the amenities in Sydney.

Image 3 30-minute distance comparison in different modes

6.3 Spatial mismatch between homes and infrastructure A research conducted by Professor David Levinson, Senior Lecturer Somwrita Sarkar and a PhD student show that Sydney out of the three cities paradoxically shows a strong monocentric pattern of growth which is not in alignment with the vision of the Metropolis of Three Cities (“How close is Sydney to the vision of creating three 30-minute cities?”, 2019). The employment accounts for 15% in the Sydney CBD and the rest 85% jobs are dispersed around metropolitan clusters and elsewhere which promotes spatial injustice as the other two cities and Liverpool are still heavily considered as residential regions. The research is based on trip, density and accessibility metrics that help to comprehend that the centricity of Greater Sydney will help decide the future of the three cities and the proposed concept of a 30-minute city (“How close is Sydney to the vision of creating three 30-minute cities?”, 2019).

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7.0 Conclusion 7.1 Learnings and Reflection The State and the Local Governments have taken the initiative to identify the potential areas within Greater Sydney that are backed up by Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and various other statutory and non-statutory documents to envision three cities with improved productivity, transport, liveability and sustainability for the year 2056. The GSRP and other regional plans presents an overview of the horizontal integration and its impact on the three cities on the chosen direction of the city supported by infrastructure. The direction, its objectives, actions and the potential indicator is an approach made by the GSC to combine land use and infrastructure planning to mitigate the demands of the future growth of the three cities.

Through the in depth study of GSRP, it has been identified that the GSRP is a well integrated document when analysed parallely across varied documents. District plans have been laid in the similiar structual format as GSRP which makes it easy to comprehend. Thus, these comprehensive district plans acts as a bridge between the regional and local level plans and strengthen the strategies formulated. Also, its integration with the ‘Future Transport 2056’ and ‘Building Momentum State Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2038’ makes it easy to develop the strategies efficiently. Moreover, the study of the external integration exhibits the extent of GSRP’s strategies as they also consider the surrounding regions. Furthermore, the cohesive structure of the GSRP incorporating vision expressed in terms of objectives which are further supported by the strategies with evidence based targets enhance not only the readability of the plan but also makes it a very logical and suitable approach which can be implemented further in other future plans. A well planned framework including the community, government agencies, business groups and other interest groups explains the thoughtful process behind the development of GSRP. Although the plan is good in terms of its consistency, structure, interface and other aspects but absence of strict guidelines in the local plans makes it a bit difficult to implement the plan at micro level.

7.2 Limitations The ten directions proposed by GSRP tends to achieve the 40 year vision in terms of liveability, sustainability, transport connectivity and sustainability. But the report has focussed on Infrastructure and Collaboration as one of the ten directions and has attempted to analyze the horizontal and vertical integration through statutory and non-statutory planning documents. The report is based on the secondary source of data (desktop research) and it does not cover any literature to support the existing pandemic situation and its impact on the horizontal and vertical integration of Greater Sydney. Also, being in the initial implmentation phase only, it is difficult to comment on the implementation of the plan.

The concept of 30-minute city has been discussed in brief in the non-statutory planning documents and there exists a lack of evidence to support this thus leaving a gap on how the given indicator will measure the performance of this particular direction to achieve the vision for Greater Sydney through the three cities strategic plan. For example, the document mentions about walking distances in general and does not address the people with disability. Thus, it was not possible to measure the concepts in such aspects.

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Project Management Statement The report has been carried out by adoption of an efficient plan which involved regular meetings twice a week. A google document has been made where each member of the group could put in their assigned work. Each individual could keep a check on the work collaborated via this online medium. This enabled a thorough understanding of the documents across levels for each member of the group. Feedback amongst the group was given to reach a concrete level of analysis and it proved to be a major step towards the successful completion of the report.

Task has been assigned amongst the members repeatedly in short intervals. Zoom meeting was the medium of communication for the group to discuss the ideas. In the first week, a group charter was formed where the skills of each member were brought to picture and accordingly their skills were utilised. Timeframe was set in the group charter which involved weekly contributions. Each member of the group was enthusiastic throughout the process to carry out the assessment in an effective manner. This group assessment has been carried with in depth understanding of the GSRP. Each member had to go through the GSRP to gain an understanding of the document followed by a group discussion on zoom to share the key ideas. Based on the strengths of each individual, the task was further divided amongst the members. It was made sure that no individual is being overburdened and it was ensured that the work was divided equally. Whatsapp groups help facilitate general discussion and set up meetings frequently. It further helped in delivering a quality outcome with equal efforts from all. Everyone in the group showed tremendous efforts in order to carry out the report with contributions made at regular set timeframe.

Conflicting and varied opinions on one hand were difficult to tackle initially but eventually, it proved to bring on table excellent inputs. Also, the time allocation for the group meetings was a bit difficult because of different subjects opted by each group member. Although, most of the group meetings had all the members available, to avoid any gaps we decided to meet in groups of 3 and 4 as well sometimes and the other members were informed of the discussions in detail through the whatsapp group. Members in the group were from different work backgrounds which brought personal reflections that made the report concrete. In addition, these unprecedented conditions limited the personal interactions which could bring in better ideas with greater levels of communication. This limitation has been tried to overcome through the chosen virtual mediums.

Comprehensive understanding of the GSRP and its alignment with Building Momentum State Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2038 and the Future Sydney 2056 – Greater Sydney Services and Infrastructure Plan led to the final outcome. Varied views made the report and the process enriching.

Had it been an individual assessment, it would not have been possible to critically analyse the GSRP document in detail.

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Reference List (2020). Retrieved 14 May 2020, from https://www.greater.sydney/cpp/draft-community-partihttps://www. greater.sydney/cpp/draft-community-participation-plancipation-plan (2020). Retrieved 16 May 2020, from https://future.transport.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/media/documents/2018/Greater_Sydney_Services_and_Infrastructure_Plan_0.pdf 2016 Census QuickStats: Greater Sydney. (2017). Retrieved 16 May 2020, from https://quickstats.censusdata. abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/1GSYD?opendocument Alan Davies. 2016. Is Turnbull’s “30-minute City” all spin (or a really useful idea)?. Retrieved from Crickey the Independent Inquiry Journalism website: https://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2016/03/16/is-turnbulls30-minute-city-all-spin-or-a-useful-idea/ Alizadeh, T. (2018). Reimagining Sydney with 3 CBDs: how far off is a Parramatta CBD?. Retrieved from https:// theconversation.com/reimagining-sydney-with-3-cbds-how-far-off-is-a-parramatta-cbd-102197 Alizadeh, T. (2018). Reimagining Sydney: this is what needs to be done to make a Central City CBD work.

Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/reimagining-sydney-this-is-what-needs-to-be-done-to-make-acentral-city-cbd-work-102198 Cities Alliance. (n.d.). Strategic City Planning | Cities Alliance. Retrieved May 18, 2020, from Citiesalliance.org website: https://www.citiesalliance.org/how-we-work/our-themes/strategic-city-planning City of Parramatta, Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement. (2019). Retrieved from https://oursay-files.s3-apsoutheast-2.amazonaws.com/production/fm/osp-ug-73/lsps_lhs/draft-lsps_-_exhibition_copy.pdf City of Parramatta. Community Strategic Plan 2018-2038. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cityofparramatta. nsw.gov.au/sites/council/files/inline-files/community-strategic-plan.pdf City of Parramatta. Draft Local Housing Strategy. (2019). Retrieved from https://oursay-files.s3-ap-southeast-2. amazonaws.com/production/fm/osp-ug-73/lsps_lhs/draft_lhs_-_exhibition_copy.pdf City of Penrith, LOCAL STRATEGIC PLANNING STATEMENT PLANNING FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE. (2020). Retrieved from https://shared-drupal-s3fs.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/master-test/fapub_pdf/ Local+Strategic+Planning+Statements/LSPS+2020/Penrith+Local+Strategic+Planning+Statment+2020.pdf City of Sydney. City Plan 2036 Draft Local Strategic Planning Statement. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www. cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/316703/CoS_DraftLSPS_200819-Intro-accessible.pdf City of Sydney. City Plan 2036 Infrastructure. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/__ data/assets/pdf_file/0009/316719/CoS_DraftLSPS_200819-Ch1-accessible.pdf Greater Sydney Commission. (2017). Directions for a Greater Sydney 2017-2056. In Planning Institute Australia. Retrieved from https://www.planning.org.au/documents/item/8562

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Greater Sydney Commission. (2018). GREATER SYDNEY REGIONAL PLAN A Metropolis of Three Cities – Connecting People. Retrieved from https://gsc-public-1.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/greater-sydneyregion-plan-0618.pdf Greater Sydney Commission. Central City District Plan. (2018). Retrieved from https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/shared-drupal-s3fs/master-test/fapub_pdf/central-district-plan-0318.pdf Greater Sydney Commission. Eastern City District Plan. (2018). Retrieved from https://gsc-public-1.s3-apsoutheast-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/eastern-district-plan-0318.pdf Greater Sydney Commission. North District Plan. (2018). Retrieved from https://gsc-public-1.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/north-district-plan-0318_0.pdf Greater Sydney Commission. South District Plan. (2018). Retrieved from https://gsc-public-1.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/south-district-plan-0318.pdf Greater Sydney Commission. Western City District Plan. (2018). Retrieved from https://gsc-public-1.s3-apsoutheast-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/western-district-plan-0618_0.pdf Infrastructure New South Wales. (2018). Building Momentum State Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2036. Retrieved from https://insw-sis.visualise.today/documents/INSW_2018SIS_BuildingMomentum.pdf Infrastructure New South Wales. (2018). Building Momentum State Infrastructure Strategy 2018-2036. Retrieved from https://insw-sis.visualise.today/documents/INSW_2018SIS_BuildingMomentum.pdf Institute Australia. (n.d.,). Retrieved from https://www.planning.org.au/documents/item/8562 Marvin Kraus, MONOCENTRIC CITIES. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://fmwww.bc.edu/ec-p/wp559.pdf Penrith City Council. Community Plan 2017. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.penrithcity.nsw.gov.au/images/documents/council/our-organisation/Community_Plan.pdf Peter Newman ‘The 30-minute city’: how do we put the political rhetoric into practice?. (2016). Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-30-minute-city-how-do-we-put-the-political-rhetoric-into-practice-56136 Progress on the actions of the Greater Sydney Region Plan | Greater Sydney Commission. (2020). Retrieved 22 May 2020, from https://www.greater.sydney/pulse/progress-greater-sydney-region-plan-actions Somwrita Sarkar, Hao Wu, David M Levinson How close is Sydney to the vision of creating three 30-minute cities?. (2019). Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/how-close-is-sydney-to-the-vision-of-creatingthree-30-minute-cities-115847 Somwrita Sarkar, Hao Wu, David M Levinson. Measuring polycentricity via network flows, spatial interaction and percolation, (n.d.). Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0042098019832517 South East and Tablelands Regional Plan 2036. (2017). Retrieved 10 May 2020, from https://www.planning. nsw.gov.au/-/media/Files/DPE/Plans-and-policies/south-east-and-tableland-regional-plan-2017-07.pdf Strategic planning and the Greater Sydney Commission come to NSW. (2020). Retrieved 22 May 2020, from: https://www.allens.com.au/insights-news/insights/2015/12/strategic-planning-and-the-greater-sydney-commission-come-to/#composition

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The Antiplanner. (2017). The next Insane Idea: The 30-minute city. Retrieved May 17, 2020 from https://ti.org/ antiplanner/?p=13856 Transport for NSW. (2018). Future Transport Strategy 2056. Retrieved from https://future.transport.nsw.gov.au/ sites/default/files/media/documents/2018/Future_Transport_2056_Strategy.pdf

Appendix

(Figure. 1 Metropolis of Three Cities Plan, GSC 2018)

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Appendix

(Figure. 2 Population Growth, GSC 2018)

(Figure. 4 Strategies to align infrastructure with the growing city, GSC 2018)

(Figure. 7 Planning Hierarchy, GSC 2018)

Strategic Planning in Action | Greater Sydney Regional Plan

(Figure. 3 Growth Infrastructure Compact, GSC 2018)

(Figure. 5 Central City District Plan, GSC 2018)

(Figure. 6 Community engagement tools , GSC 2018)

Strategic Planning in Action | Greater Sydney Regional Plan