Gutting the Greater Cities Commission

With the folding of the Greater Cities Commission, Senior Research Fellow Dr Jennifer Kent, from the School of Architecture, Design and Planning explores the challenges facing Sydney's urban planning. The Minns government's  approach to planning Sydney  is troubling in terms of direction and substance. The  announcement  that it will " fold " the  Greater Cities Commission  back into the Department of Planning raises several red flags for planning in New South Wales. Staff will also be transferred to the department from the  Western Parkland City Authority , which was overseeing the building of a  "third CBD" called Bradfield  near Western Sydney Airport. The Greater Sydney Commission (as it was originally known) was  created  to resolve a series of  tricky planning problems. Sydney was growing and an institution to manage this growth city-wide was deemed desirable. The approach to the city's development had been  top-down and siloed.