The Global Institute on Innovation Districts counts among its 20 members Toronto in Canada and Pittsburgh in the USA – cities known for their cutting edge technology and creative industries.
Now it has a 21st member, Liverpool, which recently accepted an invitation to join this select global group.
Liverpool’s credentials are centred around its innovation precinct, which was established in partnership between council and local health, education and research institutions such as the Ingham Institute.
Other innovative council initiatives include a project to track the movements of people in the Liverpool CBD to better inform planning decisions.
Add to that the Fifteenth Avenue Smart Transit (FAST) Corridor vision for a rapid transit corridor which could be future proofed for new technologies such as driverless electric buses and trackless trams.
The most recent example of innovation and collaboration is council’s backing for the Maxar Spatial Challenge, alongside partners such as Amazon Web Services and the Australian Space Agency.
The national challenge, which launches this month, encourages participants to make use of satellite data to address key challenges such as mapping population density or an area’s tree canopy, which could help reduce the urban heat island effect.
On top of that, the NSW Government has announced that up to 450 of CSIRO’s Sydney based staff will relocate to a state of the art facility at the Western Sydney Aerotropolis by 2026, when Western Sydney International becomes operational.
CSIRO will be joining global companies such as Northrop Grumman, Hitachi and Amazon at the Aerotropolis, located a short drive west of Liverpool.
“By accepting an invitation to join this global network, Liverpool is now among fantastic company,’’ says Liverpool Mayor Wendy Waller.
“What we’re seeing through continued collaboration and investment from other levels of government and the tertiary education and private sectors is global recognition of Liverpool and the nearby Aerotropolis as cities of the future.
“There’s a bright future ahead for Sydney’s third CBD, with all this investment in commercial operations, transport, freight and education infrastructure bringing new job opportunities for our growing city,” Cr Waller said.
