City News
Design Excellence 2013 - Create, explore, connect - a new library & plaza for Sydney
4 March 2013
The City of Sydney’s design competition for a new library and plaza at Green Square attracted over 160 submissions from 29 countries. Architects and designers were inspired by the chance to shape a new town centre in Sydney using the idea that libraries are increasingly becoming our ‘urban living rooms’ – places for exploration, creativity and connection.
At this Design Excellence Forum, we see the five shortlisted schemes, meet the winning architects, and hear from the jury on what inspired their choice. There's also a discussion about how the design competition process continues to extract the very best results from architects.
Graham Jahn AM, Director City Planning, Development and Transport, City of Sydney
Lord Mayor Clover Moore
Stephen Varady, Senior Design Architect, Kann Finch Group
Felicity Stewart & Matthias Hollenstein, Stewart & Hollenstein Architects
Design Excellence Forum Panel
Graham Jahn AM, Director City Planning, Development and Transport, City of Sydney
The big decision: How to fix Sydney's transport
13 November 2012
Sydney's transport was listed in the bottom four in a recent survey of 27 global cities - only Los Angeles, Sao Paulo and Johannesburg are worse.
Why are we so far behind and what can be done to get our city back on track?
The City of Sydney has a plan for transport in our city which supports much of the NSW Government's Draft Long Term Transport Master Plan. The NSW Government is also considering proposals put forward by Infrastructure NSW, which include a tunnel for buses beneath George Street with just two stops and exhaust stacks.
The City's plan would turn George Street into a pedestrian and public transport boulevard to replace buses with light rail, ease congestion and support business.
So what's the right plan for our city?
In this podcast, you'll hear from two experts, Professor Peter Newman and Gail Connolly, plus a panel of industry leaders, retailers and landowners discuss the right direction for our city.
Want to have a say about the plans for George Street? Visit our Sydney Your Say website
Darren Goodsir, News Director, The Sydney Morning Herald
Professor Peter Newman, Distinguished Professor of Sustainability, John Curtin University
Gail Connolly, Executive Manager, Transforming Sydney, City of Sydney
Panel Discussion
Hear the views of Lord Mayor Clover Moore; Professor Peter Newman; Trent Zimmerman, Deputy CEO and Director, Transport Policy, TTF; Margy Osmond, CEO, Australian National Retailer's Association; Tim Williams, CEO, Committee for Sydney; Justin Hemmes, CEO, Merivale; and Amanda Tattersall, Director, Sydney Alliance discuss what can be done to get Sydney back on track.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore
Call to action from Lord Mayor Clover Moore
Design Excellence Forum
25 October 2012
Reinventing Paris: What can Sydney learn from their planning revolution?
The last Design Excellence Forum for 2012 welcomes guest speaker, Pierre Mansat, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Paris, who is in charge of Paris Metropole and relations with communities of the Paris Region.
Cities are dealing with the growing and changing needs of communities, businesses and our environment. What can Sydney learn from Monsieur Mansat's efforts to streamline governance in Paris? And how could partnerships between the City of Sydney and other governments make our bold vision for Sydney a reality?
Master of Ceremonies:
Graham Jahn, AM, Director City Planning, Development and Transport, City of Sydney
Graham Jahn AM, Director City Planning, Development and Transport, City of Sydney
Graham introduces Reinventing Paris: What can Sydney learn from their planning revolution? and explains how global cities must continually revitalise and transform to meet the growing and changing needs of a metropolis.
Monica Barone, Chief Executive Officer, City of Sydney
In this presentation, Monica Barone, Chief Executive Officer, City of Sydney, welcomes our guest speaker, Pierre Mansat, Deputy Lord Mayor of Paris.
Pierre Mansat, Deputy Lord Mayor of Paris, in charge of Paris Metropole and relations with communities of the Paris Region
Pierre Mansat will speak about his work over the past decade to unite government officials from Paris and its suburbs, and his efforts to streamline governance in Paris.
History Week
08 September 2012
Listen into these podcasts recorded at Customs House on Saturday 8 September 2012 as part of History Week 2012, and wrap yourself up in some of Sydney's historical threads. Join the historians from the City of Sydney's History Unit and the Civic Collection Curator as they discuss the art of window dressing, fashionable functions at Sydney Town Hall, Sydney's fashion scene from the 50s and the history of Akubra hats.
Laila Ellmoos
Laila is a historian with the City's History Program. She is the author of three books; current President of the Professional Historians Association of NSW; and a regular presenter on Fbi Radio's Scratching Sydney's Surface, a segment that explores the history of Sydney.
Dr Margo Beasley
Margo is an oral historian in the City of Sydney's History Program. Prior to that she was a consultant historian who conducted oral history projects and wrote commissioned histories.
Margaret Betteridge
Margaret is the Curator of the City of Sydney's Civic Collection. Her research has unearthed some fascinating stories about fun, fashion and events associated with civic life, particularly associated with Sydney Town Hall.
Dr Lisa Murray
Lisa is the City Historian and Chair of the Dictionary of Sydney, but has been a historian with the City of Sydney's History Program since 2001. Her research interests include Sydney's urban, cultural and social history; and cultural landscapes, memory and heritage.
Growing the Family Tree: Connecting Generations in Multicultural Families
03 May 2012
The City, in partnership with Relationships Australia NSW and the Ethnic Communities' Council NSW, delivered a forum on experiences of conflict between generations in multicultural families. The forum was hosted by the Hon. Victor Michael Dominello at NSW Parliament House and explored intergenerational conflict in families, focusing on multicultural families living in Australia. The forum aimed to provide a voice for families on these issues and highlight the services that offer support.
The event featured a panel of speakers including Co-ordinator of Relationships Australia NSW Humanitarian Entrants Program Rahat Chowdhury; former refugee from Iraq Sam Almaliki; Founding Advisor of African Women Australia Inc. Juliana Nkrumah; Executive Officer of Auburn Diversity Services Tia Loko; Argentinean born diversity and leadership trainer, migration professional and social activist Bea Leoncini; and writer Benjamin Law.
Growing the Family Tree: Connecting Generations in Multicultural Families
Planning Sydney
16-20 April 2012
Bird's Eye View of Sydney, 1888 (City of Sydney Archives, Historical Atlas of Sydney)
The City of Sydney Library, History Unit & City Plan Development presents Planning Sydney, a five-part talk series at Customs House Library celebrating the 2012 National Trust Heritage Festival.
Amazing Stories: Innovation & Invention - Sydney has grown from a convict outpost in the late 18th century to become a world-class city in the 21st century. This series is part of the Heritage Festival 2012 and shows how our built environment has been shaped and planned over time.
Part One:
The Planning of Georgian Sydney: Phillip, Bligh & Macquarie, Presented by Ian Jack - Senior Fellow at St Andrew's College, University of Sydney
Part Two:
Designing the Landscape of Colonial Sydney, Presented by Colleen Morris - Landscape Heritage Consultant
Part Three:
Planning Hotspot? Circular Quay in the 20th Century, Presented by Paul Ashton - Professor of Public History at the University of Technology, Sydney
Part Four:
Unbuilt Sydney - Visions from the early 20th Century, Presented by Robert Freestone - Professor of Planning in the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University of New South Wales
This podcast is not available for download
Part Five:
Sustainable Sydney 2030 Presented by Glenn Wallace - Special Projects Program Manager, City of Sydney
The People Power Revolution: Clean Energy that doesn't cost the earth
28 February 2012
With power prices surging across Australia and a carbon tax imminent, do Australians really have to choose between clean and affordable energy? The easy answer is no, but don't take our word for it. At the People Power Revolution forum, Australian and overseas experts shared their knowledge on what's causing power price increases and what we can do to bring power bills and carbon footprints under control.
Smarter energy options like local power generation, demand management and energy efficiency measures can help us cut power bills and help to mitigate climate change in the process. This free forum was brought to you by the Australian Alliance to Save Energy and sponsored by the City of Sydney. MC for the evening was leading columnist and award-winning author, Elizabeth Farrelly.
Chris Dunstan, Institute for Sustainable Futures UTS and CEO of A2SE
Phillip Sellwood, Chief Executive, Energy Savings Trust (UK)
Laura Van Wie McGrory, Vice President of International Programs, Alliance to Save Energy (US)
Allan Jones MBE, CDO Energy & Climate Change, City of Sydney
Panel presentation
Last updated: Wednesday, 22 May 2013