Second, Sydney is relatively small and very sparsely populated compared with cities that merit the.'global' tag. “You can’t name a successful global city that doesn't have a good public transport system.” This analysis exposes the fundamental weaknesses in Sydney’s public transport system and the need for massive investments to improve it. “ transport system diminishes the chances of creative interaction between people and makes it difficult for businesses to open up new sites to open up new capacity,” Clark said. The lack of an effective, city-wide public transport system threatens to stunt Sydney’s knowledge-intensive industries which are increasingly the life-blood of the city’s economy. “There’s limited room for growth because of those infrastructure deficits.” Sydney has a very high level of car dependency by world city standards and a low level of mass transit coverage. “Sydney is already hosting more in terms of business, economic and commercial activity than its infrastructure can really sustain,” Clark told a seminar held by the Committee for Sydney policy and advocacy group on Friday.

Greg Clark, a renowned British urbanist who has advised more than 30 cities on five continents, has identified at least three.įirst, Sydney has “second-tier” city infrastructure that clashes with its global city economic profile. Kearney’s 2012 Global Cities Index, Knight Frank’s Global Cities Survey, and the Global Financial Centres Index.Įven so, Sydney has some glaring weaknesses for a city of global status.

Sydney was the only Australian city in the top 20 in three of the world’s premier city rankings – A.T. Sydney is a magnet for tourists, it attracts tens of thousands of international students every year and has a strong global brand. Sixty per cent of all Asia-Pacific regional headquarters are located in Sydney and more than 90 per cent of the international banks operating in Australia are based here.

That Sydney makes it onto that list underscores how globally integrated the city’s economy has become.

Alpha-global city