Faced with increasingly severe climate-related events (extreme heat, floods, bushfires) and structural challenges (housing, social isolation), Greater Sydney has , since 2015, chosen to coordinate its 33 local governments around a common resilience strategy, now in its second generation (2025–2030). Rather than creating an additional administrative level, the metropolitan area has built a network-based governance framework featuring an office dedicated to strategic implementation, a steering committee, and resilience ambassadors, thereby transforming institutional fragmentation into a collective strength.
This resilience strategy relies on a shared data platform that enables each local government to showcase its climate performance to investors and partners, as well as on the integration of First Nations knowledge (“ Caring for Country”), which makescultural identity botha lever for territorial differentiation and a tool for adaptation. Finally, Sydney’s membership in the Resilient Cities Network enhances its international visibility and its ability to position itself as a leader in collaborative governance.
Keywords: Resilience Ambassadors, Resilient Sydney Office, Caring for Country, Climate Change, Chief Resilience Officer, Acute Shocks, Social Cohesion, Steering Committee, Environmental Data, Network Governance, Metropolitan Governance, Greater Sydney, IP&R (Integrated Planning and Reporting), Citizen Participation, Data Platform, Resilient, Resilient Cities Network, Territorial Resilience, Climate Risks, Chronic Stress, Territory
Image source:Resilient Sydney Strategy 2025–2030
Photo: Resilient Sydney ambassadors and steering committee launch the strategy development process / Jacquie Manning
Illustration: NSW Topographic Maps / DCS Spatial Services
Cover art: Luke Darcy and ReCo Digital
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