Over 70 stakeholders gathered to fine tune the Western Sydney Urban Heat Strategy during November.

Participants gathered from across all industries and sectors to contribute to a document which will guide the future liveability and resilience of Western Sydney.

WSROC President Cr Stephen Bali said “Urban heat isn’t just about being uncomfortable, it causes major problems for human health, infrastructure, emergency services, and the natural environment.

“The universal challenge of extreme heat is clear from the range of organisations which have put up their hands to get involved.

“We have all levels of government, health professionals, designers, developers, industry, utility providers, environmental organisations, academics and community groups all singing from the same song sheet,” said Cr Bali.

“They all agree urgent, coordinated action must be taken to prevent, mitigate and prepare for extreme heat events in our city; and that doing so is essential for the resilience of our community, our environment, our infrastructure, and our economy.

“The final Western Sydney Urban Heat Strategy is due to be released early in the New Year, and I thank all participants for taking the time to ensure this document truly reflects the complexity and breadth of the challenge ahead.

“The Strategy will provide a guide for coordinated action into the future, but participants are already getting on with the job of building a cooler city,” said Cr Bali.

Sydney Water and the University of New South Wales have just released a joint report, Cooling Western Sydney, examining the role of water in mitigating urban heat in the region.

“Water sensitive urban design will be a critical part of cooling our city, and one which I hope will receive greater attention in future,” he said.

For more information on urban heat and WSROC’s Turn Down the Heat initiative, visit: https://www.wsroc.com.au/projects/project-turn-down-the-heat

Organisations involved in the strategy’s development include:

Councils:

Blacktown City Council

Blue Mountains City Council

Camden City Council

Campbelltown City Council

City of Canterbury-Banks town

Cumberland Council

Fairfield City Council

Hawkesbury City Council

Hills Shire Council

Liverpool City Council

City of Parramatta

Penrith City Council

Wollondilly Shire Council

State Government departments and agencies:

NSW Department of Health

NSW Department of Planning and Environment

NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet

NSW Office of Environment and Heritage

NSW Office of Emergency Management

Urban Growth NSW

NSW Government Architect’s Office

Greater Sydney Commission

Sydney Water

Endeavour Energy

Resilient Sydney

CSIRO

Western Sydney Diabetes

Universities

Western Sydney University

Sydney University

UNSW

Wollongong University

Private industry

Bluescope Steel

Stockland

AECOM

Arup

GHDWoodhead

Optus

Elton Consulting

Muller Enterprise

General Mills

The Bravery

Non-for-profit

ParraCAN

202020Vision

Unfolding Futures

The Walking Volunteers

Conservation Volunteers

Bridge Housing

Health and Arts Research Centre (HARC)