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2 The Urban Taskforce represents the developers financiers and associated disciplines that deliver the new built environment. We are at the front line of change but only deliver what the market wants. Over the last decade there has been a big swing in Sydney to more urban living generally in apartments. This trend is changing the very form and structure of Sydney as a city. The previous model for living in Sydney had been the detached house in a suburban setting but current development approvals are running at 70 for apartments and the balance of the city is changing. If the current trends continue Sydney will be half suburban dwellers in detached houses and half urban dwellers in apartments in a few decades. It is important that we understand just why this change is happening. It is partly that the size of the city is now at a point where horizontal spread is becoming less sustainable it is partly an affordability issue as land and house prices escalate but we believe there is also a cultural shift at play. Many younger people want to live in a bustling cosmopolitan environment and many older people are finding that on retirement the suburbs are just too quiet. In the context of the shift towards urban living the Urban Taskforce wanted to understand more about which parts of Sydney had become most urban and what were the ingredients that make a suburb rate highly as an urban living environment. We commissioned Mark McCrindle an expert in researching demographic data to develop an Urban Living Index to tell our members just where the best urban neighbourhoods were. Mark took the study further and surveyed 1000 Sydneysiders to find out their attitudes to increased density. Many younger people want to live in a bustling cosmopolitan environment many older people are finding that on retirement the suburbs are just too quiet. While the data in this report will help the suppliers of urban density in the form of apartments we see it having a much broader use. The soon to begin Greater Sydney Commission can use the index through the 6 planning districts they will administer and drill down to 228 suburbs. Councils will also find this data very useful. To fully explore the index we have developed a website at www.urbanlivingindex.com Sydney is shifting from being suburban to urban The Urban Taskforce is keen to have responses to the proposals illustrated in this issue of URBAN IDEAS and we welcome comments to adminurbantaskforce.com.au Chris Johnson AM Chief Executive Officer Urban Taskforce Australia Mark McCrindle Principal McCrindle Research SYDNEY A GLOBAL CITY As Sydney closes in on its next population milestone of 5 million it remains Australias leading city not only in size but in other measures as well. Yet more importantly it is a global city with a very strong international brand that stands in the top listings of many measures from liveability to business performance from diversity to climate and amenity. Sydney is also an innovative city continually adapting to the trends and shown through its rich cultural diversity strength in attracting investment and responsiveness to the ever-changing generations. The challenge for Sydneys future is to ensure that it responds to population growth yet maintains its world-beating lifestyle and that its liveability rises to match its increasing density. This is the purpose of this Urban Living Index. We have designed it to track the five key categories that produce a measure of liveability in a city that is moving from suburban spread to urban growth. While a city can always improve these results show that the city planning and unit development are creating thriving urban communities as evidenced by the results that show superior liveability in high density Sydney suburbs. There remain some infrastructure shortfalls and affordability challenges however this inaugural Urban Living Index shows that the vertical communities of the 21st century are meeting the lifestyle needs of Sydneysiders just as those achieved by the horizontal suburbs of the 20th century.