Sydney can learn a lot from the global cities we have looked at in these case studies to improve cohesion especially amongst those new to, or suffering in silence within Sydney. As a city, Sydney needs to embrace our high cultural and community diversity to improve social cohesion and economic opportunities for everyone.
From each of the case studies, a common theme of private intervention in social needs, coupled with Government support on initiatives set to deliver for the vulnerable, marginalized and new residents of cities were the key messages important for Sydney.
Produced: John Waight
Sydney Should Consider:
Government bodies to employ communities members to activate and empower those around them. This would serve to increase equality – with new migrants gaining access to services they need for better outcomes.
Community engagement in urban regeneration to ensure the respect and retention of local customs and to support the identity of established communities through periods of physical change.
Future-proof the provision of essential services, think ahead to the changing needs of residents now, as they age and future residents.
The need for increased contribution by the market rate property developers to provide for the need of affordable and social housing. As our cities become more dense, considering a new financial model to provide for these needs could lead to more connected communities with diverse ethnic and income levels represented.
Identity is connected to your home, levels of trust within communities are a great gauge of real cohesion.
Recognise the economic benefits of diverse migrant groups, and empower them in making connections in Australia so we can benefit from their international products and services. Encourage migrants to form start-up business.
Remember the benefits of planning first before executing strategies, consider wider and longer term impacts of todays decisions in planning for the future of society.
their business strengths? If migrants are starting businesses, supporting themselves this in turn has a positive economic impact as well as lower reliance on welfare.
If private sector is not involved the overall economic viability of regeneration of our urban landscape becomes more difficult for Government to justify or maximize. Without this, consider what under-use of key urban land could look like? Does an increased urban sprawl, where migrant and marginalized groups are forced away due to affordability – lead to the best economic, social or cohesion outcomes?
Risk Assessment
What if nothing changed for Sydney? We consider what we have learned from our case studies and apply this as a risk assessment for Sydney.
Dilapidation of public housing assets which in turn affects quality of life and does not provide for cohesion for the residents. Under-utilised land, with a concentration of low-income and marginalized communities encourages repeats of events, which highlight disconnection, and a lack of cohesion amongst communities such as the Redfern Riots.
Increased lifestyle health risks due to lack of inclusion of disadvantaged groups to quality information.
Social in-cohesion and lack of contact with disadvantaged groups means governing body has no way of conveying consistent and factually correct messages to disengaged communities.
More isolation for groups within society and a lack of identity with your home could be seen to lead to isolated extremist behavior such as acts of terrorism.
Consider economic impacts. Is Sydney losing potential market development through ineffective work with new migrants to support their business strengths? If migrants are starting businesses, supporting themselves this in turn has a positive economic impact as well as lower reliance on welfare.
If private sector is not involved the overall economic viability of regeneration of our urban landscape becomes more difficult for Government to justify or maximize. Without this, consider what under-use of key urban land could look like? Does an increased urban sprawl, where migrant and marginalized groups are forced away due to affordability – lead to the best economic, social or cohesion outcomes?
Source: The Behavioural Insight Team
Indicators for Success
Sydney 2030-40-50 will be a very different place with impacts of global migration through climate change and international unrest forcing us to be proactive about our piece of this puzzle. How we embrace our high cultural and social diversity to improve social cohesion and economic opportunities for everyone will become more important into the future. Building resilience for a future and sustainable Sydney will be crucial due to population growth.
Looking at a base instinctual human level, our levels of trust and fear, as established by Robert Putnam, is a key indicator of a city’s health.
“We have to believe that people who do not look like us will treat us fairly, honour commitments and contracts and consider our wellbeing as well as theirs and most importantly will make sacrifices for general good.”(Montgomery 2016, p. 55)
With our current ranking in the top 5 in the World Values Survey on Trust, how will Sydney rank in the future when our diversity increases? A considered target for Sydney could be maintaining this position, but if we take the best initiatives from around the world, which have worked to improve cohesion, Sydney can be positioned to be a global leader in trust in an inevitably changing world.