TASK 4
The Government expresses a desire to be sustainable. Is this a realistic goal given the extent of the key issues facing Sydney? What do you think we should do?
The government expresses a desire to be sustainable, but is this a realistic goal? I believe so, however, a lot of changes have to be made to achieve this ambition of sustainability. Before it can be fully decided whether this statement is realistic and whether anything can be done about it there has to be an analysis of the problems.
Sydney’s natural environment makes it a beautiful and outgoing place to live. However, it won’t stay like this forever. Cars are still a major contributor to poor metropolitan air quality. The city is facing many challenges in sustainably managing its natural and cultural resources to ensure they meet the needs of current and future residents of the region.
It is getting harder and harder for Sydney to fund infrastructure which must be taken into consideration. The population is increasing due to higher birth rates and net migration, this increasing population means households are becoming smaller. Sydney also needs to provide quality jobs as it is a global city that attracts international investments and careers.
We need to manage our use of natural resources more wisely. As a big city we consume large amounts of resources and dispose of large amounts of waste to landfill. The costs of building and maintaining infrastructure to supply water and energy to meet increasing consumption and population growth are extremely high. Apart from these major sustainability problems of natural resources, employment, transport, housing, urban growth, infrastructure and natural environment, there are other issues relating to lack of public space, ethnicity, crime, affordability, demographics and much, much more.
As a team working community, Sydney may be able to change the forecasts and find sustainable ways with which to manage its issues. It needs to value the land that surrounds it so that trade-offs are clear. It could create balance between roads and public transport provision and use. It could build more facilities for walking and cycling. It needs to make the most of public transport, energy, water and waste facilities, school and hospitals before new infrastructure is built.
Well located land for industry, supported by transport and communications infrastructure, is also needed. A special challenge is to increase the number of quality jobs in western Sydney. New land development on Sydney’s fringe will need to more elf-sustaining by providing services locally including a good range of jobs, as well as access to transport, parks and community services, including schools and hospitals. If we link with the regions close by and try these sustainability problems there is a good chance that Sydney could become sustainable in the future. If we look after our environment, support a competitive economy and create better places to live and work Sydney can reach sustainability. It is about improving the quality of life without leaving a burden on future generations.
