Advocacy win: Heat Smart City Plan launches for Sydney
Health and Equity at the heart of Greater Sydney's future responses to extreme heat
Published on the 10 December 2024
Sydney’s first Heat Smart City Plan, developed by WSROC and Resilient Sydney provides a five-year strategy to protect against extreme heat – Australia’s deadliest natural hazard.
Dr Patrick Harris represented the UNSW International Centre for Future Health systems as an academic advisor to the taskforce that shaped this plan, working alongside leaders in health, environment, planning, business, government and the community sector to drive its actions.
The plan is exactly what Sydney needs as it grapples with the rising threat of heatwaves. The plan puts health and equity at the centre of 40 recommendations including improving decision-making and planning controls, creating resilient and adaptive infrastructure, governance support for new ways of working, and collaborative research to deliver heat resilient action and policy solutions.
Developing the plan was a world class example of cross-sectoral working for future health systems. Dr Harris and ICFHS are proud to have represented UNSW in this venture. Watch this space for publications about the plan and its development early next year.