Dive into the latest episode of the Urban Exchange Podcast, where hosts Paul Wilson and Lina Liakou are joined by Yvette Andrews, strategy and engagement manager for Resilient Sydney, and a key architect of the newly released Resilient Sydney Strategy 2025-2030. Together, they explore what it takes to build a truly resilient city in the face of climate change, natural disasters, and social challenges.
Discover how Sydney’s journey toward resilience has evolved over the past decade, moving from a focus on the built environment to a holistic approach that embraces the natural world, digital innovation, and the diverse voices of its five million residents. Learn about the collaborative process that brought together 33 councils, state and federal governments, and communities from all walks of life – including First Nations peoples and young people – to shape a strategy that addresses both immediate shocks and long-term stresses.
The conversation delves into the importance of inclusive engagement, the integration of traditional knowledge, and the role of digitalisation in modern resilience planning. Hear inspiring case studies, from cultural burning projects to youth-led climate initiatives, and discover how Sydney’s approach offers valuable lessons for cities worldwide.
Whether you’re a city leader, urban practitioner, or simply passionate about the future of our cities, this episode offers a masterclass in building consensus, fostering hope, and creating strategies that stand the test of time. Tune in to find out how Sydney is setting the standard for urban resilience – and why their story matters now more than ever.
Thanks to our sponsors, Sand Technologies, for their support on this episode. To find out more, click here.
The Speakers
Yvette Andrews
Manager, City Engagement
City of Sydney
Lina Liakou
Global Director, City Engagement and Practice Resilient Cities Network
Paul Wilson
Advisory Board Chair
SmartCitiesWorld
About Yvette Andrews
Yvette Andrews is an experienced engagement and strategy specialist working in local, state and federal government. As Manager, City Engagement for the City of Sydney, she recently led the development of the Resilient Sydney Strategy (2025- 2030) in collaboration with 33 Greater Sydney councils. Yvette has driven engagement at the City of Sydney for 12 years, establishing the City’s reputation as setting the benchmark for organization-wide engagement practice including winning the IAP2 Project of the Year in 2020. In addition, she is an a member of the New South Wales Australian Football Hall of Fame.
About Lina Liakou
Lina Liakou helps cities building and update their governance structures so that they are able to manage risk and address the current “polycrisis era”. She does this by channelling essential support to cities, to help them implement resilience projects within their own communities, and by elevating cities’ voices to the global stage in a way that they can influence the global discussion, policy making, and financial flows.
As Global Director for Engagement and Practice at the Resilient Cities Network, Lina connects with Chief Resilience Officers to ensure the network’s activities are responsive to needs and priorities. She also creates spaces for peer learning, and helps cities integrate innovative resilience practices within their work.
About Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson is the Chair of the SmartCitiesWorld Advisory Board, and Chief Business Officer for the Connected Places Catapult. Paul has more than 25 years’ international leadership, sales and marketing experience in the B2B Technology Media Telecom sector, including being CMO of global digital transformation association TM Forum and $3bn SunGard Financial Systems.
After running the West of England LEP, Paul set up the multi-award-winning Bristol Is Open smart city project in 2014 and created the widely endorsed City as a Platform Manifesto a couple of years later. He went on to advise the UK Government on the design of its 5G Testbeds & Trials programme, and more recently on how the programme should evolve. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Bristol’s Smart Internet Lab.
