SUSTAINABLE SYDNEY 2050

CREATING THE COMMONS - FROM WASTE TO SPACE Historically, the commons are lands or resources in public ownership that are managed for individual and collective benefit and governed by informal social practices. Our proposal reimagines the City of Sydney’s laneways as the new community ‘commons’, transforming them from places for waste to spaces for people and trees. These degraded hardscape environments of back fences, garage roller doors, narrow kerbs and wheelie bins have the potential to become generous, soft and green public spaces that are a focus of community interaction and connection. We have defined laneways as those elements of the public domain that are secondary to the primary streets, offering an alternative, subordinate frontage to private lots. There is in the order of 57,000 lineal metres of neighbourhood laneway in the City of Sydney. Our proposal works to develop a solution that is scalable and typologically applicable to the majority of neighbourhood laneways in the City of Sydney Local Government Area. Creating the Commons gives meaningful shape to community desires aligning positively with and responding directly to many of the priorities identified by the community through the extensive City of Sydney engagement process informing Sydney 2050 to date. Specifically, our proposal: - Envisages a city that is green with trees and plants, has quality public spaces and provides different types of housing that is affordable - Is socially supportive, safe and inclusive, promoting walking and cycling over cars, and makes public spaces more accessible and welcoming to people - Responds to climate change and deals with waste management and the use of resources sustainably to reduce our impact on the environment - Supports a vibrant and diverse street life and encourages gathering and shared experiences Embraces digital infrastructure and technology appropriately