OUR MANIFESTO
In an ever-evolving world, it is imperative that we clearly define and communicate the aspirations that drive our organisation.
This manifesto serves as a beacon, articulating our collective vision for the future. By sharing our manifesto, we aim to foster transparency, unity and a shared purpose amongst all stakeholders. It is a call to action, inviting collaboration, inspiring innovation, and ensuring our efforts align with our core mission. Through this manifesto we commit to accountability and pledge to uphold the ideals that shape our path forward.
Australian Cities are facing triple crises in housing affordability, climate and a growing crisis of trust in democracy have increased public scepticism about top-down decision-making.
We are not making the cities people genuinely want, and certainly not ones they or the planet can afford. Orthodox planning processes, market-driven and regulation-based, have made our cities inequitable, unsustainable and unliveable.
In Sydney, workers now live hours from their workplaces, young families and creatives are leaving en masse and our most disadvantaged live uncomfortable and often unhealthy lives in dark-roofed hot-boxes on the metropolitan margins without transport, services, schools or trees. “A city without grandchildren,” predicted Australian Productivity Commissioner Peter Acherstraat recently. Award-winning French architects Vassal & Lacaton were much more succinct, warning Sydney risks becoming a “ghetto of rich people.” In the end, this disadvantages us all.
The solutions are within our grasp. “Thirty more Surry Hills” is more than just a catchy headline. Sydney’s inner-city neighbourhoods, from the ten-storey 1920s apartment buildings of Kings Cross to the 2-4 storey terraces and warehouses of Surry Hills, contain the DNA of successful urbanism.
Predicated on liveable density, medium-rise, mixed-use, tree-lined and walkable, these neighbourhoods encourage localism, enhance community and environmental health and conserve resources. We will build on this embedded knowledge, refining its principles and processes to help create better neighbourhoods for all.
OUR PRIORITY AREAS:
CITIZEN EMPOWERMENT AND PARTICIPATION
We believe that better cities are citizen-led, where people actively shape the future of their neighbourhoods through their own decision-making. However, typically, citizens are unaware of how gto engage with the planning process, the paths are circuitous and layered, leaving decision-making in the hands of top-down authorities. We seek to change this dynamic by providing clear pathways for citizens to influence decisions, empowering them to take ownership of their urban environments.
POLICY AND ADVOCACY
In a healthy democracy, truth, beauty, and justice are woven into the physical and cultural fabric of daily life. We believe that a city of truth means radical openness and transparency in governance; a city of beauty is in creating places that inspire people to live locally and engage with their surroundings in a way that infuses life with meaning and joy; and a city of justice is one that ensures no community is left behind, with equitable access to services, clean air, shade, transport, housing and high-quality streets and public spaces and a broad commitment to ensure we bequeath future generations a world as clean and healthy as the one we inherited.
REGENERATIVE DEVELOPMENT
We believe that better cities are green, with shaded, tree-lined streets, vibrant parks, and urban spaces that support biodiversity while actively cooling the environment to enhance liveability and wellbeing. As cities grapple with climate change, urban sprawl, and environmental demise, all our solutions must be resilient, equitable, carbon-positive and environmentally nurturing, with special regard to cooling and biodiversity. We envision cities where sustainability is embedded into the urban fabric, from green roofs to smart public transport; supporting population growth without compromising environmental integrity.
EDUCATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING
Better cities are connected neighborhoods that encourage walking, cycling, and public transport. They devote themselves to making walking a delight, cycling a safe and shaded option, and public transport a quick, clean, and dignified way to get around. In these cities, getting from point A to point B is not just a means of transportation but an opportunity to engage with the vibrant pulse of urban life.
RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
Cutting-edge, evidence-based insights are central to revolutionising urban planning practices, transforming policy and enhancing community-led decision-making. Through pioneering research and innovative tools, we foster intellectual growth, critical thinking, and political awareness among citizens, developers, and policymakers. These resources equip individuals with the knowledge and capabilities needed to shape resilient and inclusive urban environments.
OUR VALUES
Our values are the foundation of everything we do. They guide our decision-making, build our culture, and help us achieve our mission. Our values are not just ideals, they are actional commitments that shape our vision for better cities.
IGNITING CIVIC PASSION AND CREATIVITY
Believing not only that people have a right to engagement but that the future needs all the creativity and intelligence it can get, The Better Cities Initiative inspires and energises citizens to take an active role in shaping their own cities and communities. Think how much fun it would be to retrofit your own neighbourhood so you could walk to the movies, the shops, the local wine bar and the kids’ school, walk even to work under mature canopy trees, knowing all the while that the rubbish and energy systems were circular and zero-carbon.
DEEP LISTENING AND INCLUSIVITY
On pub trivia nights, as everyone knows, the winning team won’t be you and your best mates, but a diverse range of people with vastly different backgrounds, experiences, knowledge and skillsets. The same applies to civic decision-making. The best cities will arise from the broadest possible range of knowledge, cultures, ages (even children!) and life experiences. The Citizen Jury and other Better Cities projects will therefore prototype innovative methods of listening in a way that is both deep and wide.
EMPOWERING INFORMED CIVIC LEADERSHIP
City-planning has come to a stalemate, with the emphasis on ‘stale.’ We are making a world that pleases no-one, is increasingly unfair and exacerbates climate change. Yet communities contain vast, largely untapped reservoirs of talent, energy and good-heartedness that can help solve complex urban issues and sidestep the political standoff. The Better Cities Initiative fosters a sense of agency by equipping citizens with the knowledge and tools to participate actively in designing and shaping their own neighbourhoods and cities
ACCESSING OUR BETTER SELVES
Philosopher John Rawls argues that all citizens should make decisions without knowing where their own self-interest lies. This he calls the “Veil of ignorance.” Via random selection and other means, The Better Cities Initiative will radically transform the perfunctory and often insulting habits of orthodox “consultation.” Inviting citizens to view the city neighbourhood as a whole, rather than from the viewpoint of self-interest, we foster greater altruism and care for others.
PROMOTING INTERGENERATIONAL JUSTICE
Our cities are increasingly unequal in their distribution of and access to public resources. Between 1950 and 1960, 96% of Australia’s economic growth went to the bottom 90% of Australians. Between 2009 and 2019, however, it plummeted to a mere 7%. This dramatic inequality reflects in every aspect of our city – heat, health, air quality and access. It also applies through time, already disadvantaging future generations. The Better Cities Initiative works to rebalance equity, sustainability and resource distribution for both current and future generations.