The survey found that the vast majority, 83%, feel that they have an 'acceptable' or better ability to get to where they need to go and almost 73% think on-time reliability of transit is 'acceptable' or even better. And yet, more than six in 10 respondents say that using transit is becoming more stressful (with only 18% disagreeing), so capacity increases to keep up with a growing population appear to be greatly desired.

Almost four in 10 Sydney respondents (37%) feel city government does not usually make the right decisions about which large-scale infrastructure projects to fund. This compares to 29% who feel the decisions are correct. Despite sounding negative, this was actually quite a typical response among residents of all cities surveyed. In fact, only Mumbai, Singapore and Riyadh scored well ahead of the other cities on this question, with Sydney responses being similar to Hong Kong and Chicago. However, it is clear that respondents in Sydney are frustrated with long construction schedules and delays, since three times as many people disagreed as agreed that large projects are usually completed on schedule. Therefore, efforts to streamline the construction process are likely to be welcomed.

Respondents indicated that they want to be engaged earlier in the infrastructure project planning process. Some 53% of survey respondents said they agreed that requests for feedback on infrastructure projects come too late in the planning stage for it to have influence or be meaningful. There were mixed messages from respondents about their level of satisfaction with the communication about providing feedback submissions. Around 28% of respondents said they agreed that governments explained the feedback submissions processes clearly, while (26%) disagreed.

Just under one-quarter (23%) of respondents said that, in the past 12 months, they had one or two opportunities to provide feedback on public transport and 11% reported they had three or more opportunities.

Focusing on better coordinated, whole-of-government communication about infrastructure programs and projects, may be an effective way to better engage with construction- and consultation-fatigued key stakeholders and communities. It appears there are real opportunities to explore different communication and engagement approaches to specifically address the Sydney context.

Regarding privacy and the use of personal data, which may affect how innovative services can be rolled out, over two-thirds of Sydney respondents are happy with (40%) or indifferent to (28%) sharing personal data with relevant city agencies to help improve infrastructure and infrastructure services. Sydney respondents are not far outside the mainstream opinion on this question, with only majorities in Mumbai and Riyadh happy to share their personal data. It is notable that opposition in Sydney, at 32%, was the second highest after Chicago (36%).

As outlined in our Sydney Manifesto, one high-value innovation could be introducing next-generation, east–west corridors that prioritise the movement of people, water and essential services, not just transportation. Such corridors would be value-generating assets that could attract employment and provide great places to live, work and play.

The Resilient Sydney Strategy found that Sydney is most vulnerable to extreme weather compared to other shocks, such as cyberattacks and terrorism, and the city is particularly vulnerable to heatwaves and storms and their impacts, including bushfires and flooding.

Western Sydney is 6–10°C hotter during extreme heat events compared to coastal parts of Sydney. And one consequence of this is that heatwaves can cause power infrastructure to overload and fail. AECOM’s Sydney Manifesto report discussed ways to make Sydney more resilient to heat stress, including creating a large lake or chain of lakes and increasing urban canopies to help cool Western Sydney, in particular.

Concerning green space, which reduces the heat-island effect that boosts temperatures in the city, respondents’ perceptions were again split into three similarly sized groups, with 31% saying the amount of open green space (e.g. parks and gardens) has expanded in the last two years, 37% saying it has not and 31% being neutral on the question. London was the only city with a worse perception of the expansion of green space, so Sydney is squarely in second-last place on the question of awareness of new greenspace.