Businesses are being challenged to take ownership of revitalising Sydney’s CBD, with Cities Minister Rob Stokes declaring private investment in public spaces and events will transform the city’s future.
The minister said “pots of dough” were being spent on revitalising Sydney, but better governance was needed to achieve the best outcomes.
A business improvement district is a defined area within a certain area and businesses contribute a levy to fund agreed projects within the district’s boundaries. They have historically funded services and activities that are perceived as being inadequately performed by government. The model emerged in North America in the 1950s, and there are about 3000 individual districts in the world, largely concentrated in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
A two-day pop-up activation at Wynyard Station in Sydney last week sought to emulate that, bringing together five food trucks, seating spaces, lawn games, table tennis and archery to enliven the space and draw workers outdoors. Nearby businesses including EY and Brookfield Properties helped organise the event, named Wynside Out.
Stokes last month told a conference that he had asked the government and director Ed Steane from the Greater Cities Commission to develop a white paper on the legislation required for implementation.
natassiazc The media & gov worked so hard to dismantle every single arts or music venue in the CBD, you connected artists with violence, we left en masse. Sydney now has no arts ecology & zero international soft power, you got what you wanted & Its not coming back for decades.
natassiazc Personally speaking I would love to work from home. If they’ve to quickly revive CBD, all employees have to return to work at least 4 days a week. Need to return to pre-covid times.
natassiazc How about the Government works on making so people can actually get into the city! Hard enough to get to work let alone coming in to do stuff.