Western Sydney’s urban transformation: examining the governance arrangements driving forward the growth vision

Abstract

ABSTRACT After decades of political wrangling, Sydney’s second airport at Badgerys Creek has now been backed by federal government commitment through the creation of the Western Sydney City Deal. One of the first actions has been to establish the Western Sydney Planning Partnership, which brings together the different local councils across western Sydney, the NSW Government, state-owned statutory agencies, and the Greater Sydney Commission, in consultation with the Australian Government. Its sole purpose is to accelerate Western Sydney’s broader urban transformation. Drawing on collaborative governance theory, the purpose of this paper is to critically examine the workings of the partnership arrangement and consider the lessons it offers for Australian metropolitan governance. Leadership, institutional design, power and resource imbalances, prior history of governance conflict, trust building, and shared understanding, all influence the ability to translate vision into reality and determine whether the urban transformation is deliverable.