During my six and a half years as a City of Sydney Councillor, and my three years as Deputy Lord Mayor, I had the privilege of taking action on some of the key issues facing our community, and opportunities to make Sydney the most inclusive, sustainable and creative city it can be. A number of my contributions are [outlined in this Lord Mayoral Minute of April 3, 2023](https://meetings.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/documents/s71960/Resignation%20of%20Councillor%20Jess%20Scully.pdf).

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```

Some of my proudest achievements, and most successful community campaigns, included:

**Establishing Abbie House transitional housing with [Women’s Community Shelters](https://www.womenscommunityshelters.org.au/) (WCS) in 2021: securing 20 studio apartments, available at low rent for a year, provided by SCAPE student housing, to be managed by City West Community Housing Provider with case management and support from WCS. I have received very moving feedback which demonstrates just how critical this safe, affordable housing has been to support women escaping violence and experiencing some of the most difficult times in their lives.**

```cv
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```

**Championing new models to combat housing unaffordability with the Alternative Housing Ideas Challenge: we don’t just need more housing in Sydney, we need more housing models to choose from to overcome the structural barriers to building and accessing affordable housing. This competition drew ideas in from innovators around the world, and supported the development of a model which could be applied in Sydney to deliver prototypes which could include Community Land Trusts, co-housing and cross-subsidy models to unlock new ways of solving a chronic problem.**

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```

**Securing free access to early childhood care and education for families seeking asylum from July 2022. In May 2022, I tabled a [Notice of Motion](https://meetings.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/documents/s62047/Access%20to%20Early%20Childcare%20for%20People%20Seeking%20Asylum.pdf) asking Council to provide access to free early childhood care and education for families seeking asylum. It was unanimously supported, as of 1 July 2022, the City began providing free childcare services to families seeking asylum.** This is an area very close to my heart, and I’m grateful that we’ve been able to provide this meaningful and practical gesture of support to people who’ve come into our community in need of care and healing.

While their cases are being assessed, people seeking asylum are unable to access early childhood subsidies.  The average cost of childcare in Australia is $118 per day but it’s much higher in the inner city - between $150-200 a day (*as at June 2022*). For Australian citizens and permanent residents, the cost can be reduced by up to 85 per cent through government subsidies. This subsidy is not available to people on bridging visas, pricing many out of the market, and in turn, English classes or employment. These families are among the most vulnerable in Australia.

**Advocating for the “map of fun” approach to streamlining and extending our Late Night Trading DCP in 2018, including the establishment of the North Alexandria Entertainment Precinct, and generating a huge level of community participation (including 10,000 submissions) in support of Sydney’s nightlife and entertainment future.**

**Asking the City to reframe our economic development and social justice work around a Community Wealth Building model with local and purpose-led procurement, which so far has resulted in the City’s Community Wealth Building discussion paper and a new mindset in our Economic Strategy.**

**Challenging Sydney to become a fossil fuel ad free zone:**

 1. **Demanding state-wide standards for pedestrian and child safety around childcare centres, including slowing speeds across the City of Sydney LGA to 40kmph to save lives on our streets.**

 2. **Advocating for the nightlife, entertainment and creative sector post lockouts and lockdowns as the co-chair of the City’s Nightlife and Creative Advisory Panel, giving evidence to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the music and arts economy in New South Wales, and speaking to crowds at Keep Sydney Open and Don’t Kill Live Music rallies.**

 3. **Asking the City to establish an AIDS Memorial in Green Park, supporting a community campaign which generated over 1200 signatures in support of a lasting memorial to a tragic period in Sydney’s history.**

 4. **Advocating for a “Cities for Play” framework to be incorporated into our long term strategic work, to make the City more welcoming to families with kids, to create more opportunities for play and to build dwellings which accommodate family life.**

 5. **Championing the Laneway Commons and community-led greening of our city, asking the City to develop a dedicated laneway gardens guideline to enable more citizen-led greening initiatives, turning grey laneways into green oases.**

 6. **Working with the Australian Parents for Climate Action (AP4CA) network on their Solar Our Schools campaign, to identify the barriers faced by schools in implementing renewables**

 7. **Successfully advocating for musicians and roadies to be able to use loading zones when bumping in or out of gigs - no matter what car they’re driving.**

 8. **Encouraging the City of Sydney to use participatory democracy models to draw in a more diverse range of voices as we shaped the future vision for Sydney, leading to the establishment of the Citizen’s Jury process ahead of Sustainable Sydney 2050**

 9. **Advocating for age appropriate housing and priority social housing for older people in support of the Housing for the Aged Action Group.**

10. **Enabling sustainable and energy efficient infrastructure in Heritage Conservation Areas through a motion which asked the City to remove planning control restrictions on solar panels, water tanks and other house-level modifications for sustainability.**

11. **Calling on the state government to fund Aerial Bundled Cabling for councils across NSW, reducing the over-pruning of trees around powerlines, making our streets cooler and our electricity infrastructure more resilient against fires and storms.**

Councillor, City of Sydney

As Deputy Lord Mayor I worked to prototype new models to address the housing crisis, and instigated change to make it easier to use our streets and public spaces for social life, entertainment and commerce. I worked with the community to encourage the City to turn grey back lane ways into green and shared Laneway Commons. I initiated the City’s investigation of a Community Wealth Building policy for more inclusive economic development and helped establish new pathways for affordable transitional housing, like the “meanwhile use” of student housing for women rebuilding after violence. \
\
I used my time as Deputy Lord Mayor to:\
\- focus on new ways to revitalise high streets and grow our night-time ecology\
\- to instigate new models to address the housing crisis\
\- to encourage the City to green and humanise the 38.3ha of grey back lane ways to create thriving social Laneway Commons\
\- to make it easier for everyone to use our streets and public spaces for social life, entertainment and commerce \
\- to advocate for creative businesses and sole traders, the for-purpose sector and the care economy.\
\
I initiated the City’s investigations of a Community Wealth Building policy for more inclusive economic development and I’m proud to have helped establish new pathways for affordable transitional housing, like the “meanwhile use” of student housing for women rebuilding after family violence. I am now focusing on barriers and opportunities in developing a circular and zero waste economy.

Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney

### About YIMBY Sydney

In 2021 I established YIMBY Sydney as a platform to inform, organise and support people who want to be proactive, positive voices in favour of change in the places they live: which might take the form of more housing, active transport connections like cycleways, walkability improvements like expanding footpaths and pedestrianising streets, and advocating for the social infrastructure we need to make our cities serve more of us. 

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```

### About the YIMBY Movement

The YIMBY movement is about advocating for cities that are **affordable, sustainable and inclusive**: that means allowing **density (done well)** in the well-served inner suburbs, and investment and incentives for permanently **affordable housing**. It's not just about supply of more housing, which we desperately need in a housing crisis, but also about demanding more public and affordable housing of many different kinds to serve many different households (also known as **housing mix or diversity**). It's about providing the supporting infrastructure of **schools, child care, aged care, separated cycleways, trees, green spaces and playgrounds**, and investment in **major transport** that means we can live well, even as we live closer together.

It's as much about the **older inner city suburbs** - where we tend to have amenities and transport, but many opponents to higher density - as it is about the **suburbs and urbanising satellite cities**, where we're seeing density arriving without access to the public services and urban infrastructure that makes living in smaller spaces possible. 

The YIMBY movement isn't just about opposition to those who say, "not in my backyard": it's a **positive, proactive movement** that shows up to be the voices that aren't usually in the room, residents of the future and those who are usually too busy to show up to council meetings. It's also about highlighting the structural barriers that are making our cities less fair, affordable and sustainable than they could be.

### Get Involved

At the moment, I'm sending about one email a month with campaigns and opportunities to have your voice heard. [Sign up here.](https://www.yimbysydney.com/)

I'm also looking for people who have time, skills, ideas or connections to contribute. We're building a more extensive community network who can help shape the future of this movement, and help us achieve the impacts we need. [If you want to contribute, sign up here.](https://forms.gle/wtdK3H1vRDawVjBQ9)

### YIMBY in the News

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```

I spoke with the Sydney Morning Herald's Michael Koziol about YIMBY: [read it here.](https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/yes-in-my-backyard-inside-sydney-s-fledgling-yimby-movement-20230110-p5cbk4.html)

The new NSW Housing Minister, Rose Jackson has promised to take on NIMBYs told them to ["get out of the way"](https://shoutout.wix.com/so/47OTvRTRN/c?w=dsDRwQNsD0feh_MOtEuaNNiRk_rWWMfg6PfI5xq57t8.eyJ1IjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAtdGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4tY29tLmNkbi5hbXBwcm9qZWN0Lm9yZy9jL3MvYW1wLnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS9hdXN0cmFsaWEtbmV3cy8yMDIzL2Fwci8xMy9yb3NlLWphY2tzb24tc29jaWFsLWhvdXNpbmctd2FybmluZy1zeWRuZXktc3VidXJicyIsInIiOiJmNzcwYmZhZi00ZGVkLTQ0ZGUtMzViNy1lOWJmMmU5N2RhMzMiLCJtIjoibHAifQ): she wants new medium- and high-density social housing developments built in Sydney’s north shore and eastern suburbs. [ABC Radio National asked Jess Scully what this means for Sydney's growing YIMBY movement: listen in](https://shoutout.wix.com/so/47OTvRTRN/c?w=FMvM1VZGdDsk4td3opw1sa3C8H1OgUgiWJF-oCpqyfg.eyJ1IjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9yYWRpb25hdGlvbmFsL3Byb2dyYW1zL2RyaXZlLy1nZXQtb3V0LW9mLXRoZS13YXktbmltYnktY29tbXVuaXRpZXMtcHV0LW9uLW5vdGljZS1ieS1uZXctbnN3LWgvMTAyMjIwMjgyIiwiciI6ImY3NzBiZmFmLTRkZWQtNDRkZS0zNWI3LWU5YmYyZTk3ZGEzMyIsIm0iOiJscCJ9).

Did you know building infrastructure such as roads, electrical grids and communications in fringe suburbs (aka greenfield development) is up to **four times more expensive** than adapting infrastructure in established suburbs? [Great Guardian Aus piece on the housing crisis](https://shoutout.wix.com/so/47OTvRTRN/c?w=ifnZg2d_LgIfIWrsiSdMVTbRIlEEJmFiZhI6Jgsbsl0.eyJ1IjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlZ3VhcmRpYW4uY29tL2F1c3RyYWxpYS1uZXdzLzIwMjMvYXByLzE2L2xpdmluZy13aXRoLWRlbnNpdHktd2lsbC1hdXN0cmFsaWFzLWhvdXNpbmctY3Jpc2lzLWZpbmFsbHktY2hhbmdlLXRoZS13YXktaXRzLWNpdGllcy13b3JrIiwiciI6ImY3NzBiZmFmLTRkZWQtNDRkZS0zNWI3LWU5YmYyZTk3ZGEzMyIsIm0iOiJscCJ9) and barriers nationally.

Iconic environmentalist Bill McKibben has penned a [thoughtful essay about his journey from NIMBY to YIMBY](https://shoutout.wix.com/so/47OTvRTRN/c?w=oGtT3qjeeXLjUQFFg5BsRoM7k_zDiDbyln-D1E7tL8E.eyJ1IjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubW90aGVyam9uZXMuY29tL2Vudmlyb25tZW50LzIwMjMvMDQveWltYnktbmltYnktcHJvZ3Jlc3NpdmVzLWNsZWFuLWVuZXJneS1pbmZyYXN0cnVjdHVyZS1ob3VzaW5nLWRldmVsb3BtZW50LXdpbmQtc29sYXItYmlsbC1tY2tpYmJlbi8iLCJyIjoiZjc3MGJmYWYtNGRlZC00NGRlLTM1YjctZTliZjJlOTdkYTMzIiwibSI6ImxwIn0) on wind turbines, higher density affordable housing, and more. Bill says: "...we don’t just live in a community; we also live on a planet where carbon crosses jurisdictional boundaries shortly after we spew it into the air. And so **protecting one’s backyard from any change has to be balanced against the cost it will impose on the larger whole."**

YIMBY Sydney

Consultant and author

Why there'll be no morning-after regrets when Sydney eases lockout laws

What will Sydney be like the morning after the lockouts are lifted?  The Premier’s announcement on Thursday that lockout restrictions will be repealed everywhere but Kings Cross from January 14 was welcome and long overdue. Nearly six years of lockouts cost our economy $16 billion a year in lost revenue and tarnished our reputation as a fun, global city.

Sydney won’t magically regain all its nightlife mojo at midnight on January 14. It will take a long time for our night-time economy to recover. But the end of the lockouts is a rare opportunity to shape what our city offers after dark to work for everyone.

There are new ways to do democracy that give me hope. More voices could change everything

Sydney’s deputy mayor Jess Scully writes of real-world alternatives to the political status quo, in which informed, empowered citizens get a seat at the table.

$75,000 cut-off? COVID grants exclude great mass of small businesses

While these are small businesses, this is not a small group. In Greater Sydney there are more than 165,000 businesses with a turnover of $50,000 per annum or less. When decision-makers make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year it might be hard for them to put themselves in the shoes of small business operators or sole traders who support themselves and their families on less than $75,000 a year.

Australia welcomed my mum so I'm mystified by what's happening during COVID

Future generations will look back on the way that Australia has treated refugees and people seeking asylum, particularly through this moment of crisis, and they will judge the compassion of our response. It’s not too late for the government to turn this around and show that people in need of safety are welcome here, and that we as individuals, communities, neighbourhoods, schools, workplaces and more will be here to support them, every step of the way.

Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World

Glimpses of Utopia is an exploration of innovative global policy and social movements translated into accessible and motivating stories for a broad audience. The projects in Glimpses empower people and communities to build a future we can be excited about: from participatory democracy to power bottom-up decision making, to for-purpose finance drawn from ancient traditions, structures for fairness in land use and collaborative city-making, and much more. 

Glimpses of Utopia was shortlisted in the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2021, one of the nation’s most prestigious literary prizes. I was invited to discuss the ideas in Glimpses at major Australian events including: Antidote at the Sydney Opera House, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney writers' festivals, and in a TEDxSydney talk. I was also delighted to see my Adelaide Writers' Festival talk podcasted on a stand-alone episode of ABC Radio National's Big Ideas program.

Glimpses has been re-released in a new edition in May 2023, with a new foreword and updated content.

Winner, British Council Realise Your Dream

100 Most Influential Sydneysiders, Sydney Magazine

Shortlist, Australian Book Industry Awards

Winner, FBi SMAC Awards Person of the Year

Since becoming the deputy lord mayor of Sydney, Jess Scully has continued her fight for social equality. As she pushes for affordable housing and investment in the ‘caring economy’, she remains hopeful of instituting long-lasting change. “I think there’s an opportunity for us right now to make sure that participatory democracy and the care economy and affordable housing are some of the things that become practical, real projects.”

Sydney deputy lord mayor Jess Scully

If deputy lord mayor of Sydney Jess Scully could create her perfect version of our city, it would contain Copenhagen's cycling culture and Bangkok's street food. There would be a touch of Singapore's multicultural mix and good public transport like in New York. Above all it would have Berlin's nightlife with "no shortage of places to go dance"; important for a girl who was raised in a South American disco.

Jess Scully: is this the face of Sydney's next Lord Mayor?

Podcast: At A Distance, Jess Scully on Establishing a Framework for a Fairer World

Podcast: Achieving Change Needs Hope on Radio National Big Ideas

Podcast: Like I'm A Six Year Old with Tom Ballard

Podcast: Dumbo Feather, #76 Jess Scully: councillor, curator, future shaper

Podcast: Cities of Purpose with Tim Williams

Podcast: Futuresteading, Councillor Jess Scully on politics, inclusivity and Utopia

Podcast: Hear Me Raw with Lisa Messenger

Podcast: Be the Drop, Global Solutions And Positive Change With Jess Scully

Jess Scully is used to people saying “no”. As a City of Sydney councillor, she fields complaints about development proposals all the time – whether they’re apartment blocks, bike lanes, trading hours or something else.

These are the people often disparaged as NIMBYs, the people who say: not in my backyard. But what about citizens who support change and development? Scully decided they need a voice, too. So she created a mailing list called YIMBY Squad designed to reach this “silent majority”.

“A YIMBY is someone who says, ‘Yes, in my backyard’. It’s someone who welcomes positive change in their community, and isn’t afraid to do something about it,” the site says. “We want to hear from Sydneysiders who make up the majority of our community, but often don’t make their voices heard. This includes people who rent, those born overseas, people under the age of 60 and students.”

Yes, in my backyard: inside Sydney’s fledgling YIMBY movement

Jess Scully is the embodiment of hope. Every time we connect, the conversation expands immediately into a bold, audacious vision of what more we could all be doing. Over wines and whiskey sours, our conversations have punctuated various jobs over various years and the joyful urgency she brings deepens every time. Jess is infectious. As we chat over our Covid-inflicted Zoom call, she sits in the courtyard of her home in Sydney, and her partner Pat pops into the screen to say hi with Jess’ daughter Elinor for a quick cuddle.

Jess Scully is a leader with a vision

Time Out is profiling the incredible people who are shaping the future of Sydney in this Future Shaper series.

Time Out's Civics Future Shaper: Jess Scully

With a burst of optimism and positivity, the Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney and Ideas Curator, Jess Scully shares what she calls the "transformative potential of people-powered politics". Drawing on examples from around the world, Scully demonstrates why politics as usual is no longer viable and that it is time for a more nuanced and participatory approach to democracy. She argues that "the system that got us into this mess, can't be relied upon to get us out of it".

Can citizen participation save our toxic politics?

Changing the world begins in your own household, with the tree in your street and the bike path in your neighbourhood.

Jess Scully has travelled the world, exploring the many ways of reshaping our world into a fairer and more sustainable place.

She talks about how you can help. And that’s not only through public protests, but also through actively participating in council community consultations.

Broadcast on Radio National Big Ideas, recorded at Adelaide Writers Week, Adelaide Festival. March 1, 2021

Achieving change needs hope

I am researching global-best practice in sustainable urban transformation, and developing policy, investment and incentive recommendations to help the fourth most populous country in the world to develop more environmentally resilient, economically productive and socially inclusive cities. Working with the World Bank Group team in Jakarta, global consultants and local talent, I'm working on a range of programs to help Indonesia meet its human development, economic and NDC goals.

I directed Australia's leading grants program for young artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians and creatives, connecting creatives with cash, flights and mentorships with outstanding industry figures.

In 2013 and 2014 I established so(hot)right(now) (2SER radio) a weekly, two-hour arts radio show uncovering the best from Sydney’s creative community. I hosted Evenings (ABC Sydney radio), a three-hour nightly radio show every weeknight, broadcast live across NSW, as relief/summer host.

Host

I began my career as an Editor of print magazines including Yen, SummerWinter, Empty, Hotpress and STU focusing on nurturing emerging talent and audiences in music, fashion, design, visual art and social change. I also worked as an online content editor and producer on two key Australian arts and creative sector sites, NOISE (Mixed Industry) and The Program (Australia Council for the Arts).

Magazine Editor and Online Producer

The Arts Minister has oversight of the state’s cultural institutions, public libraries, Arts NSW and Screen NSW. I developed the Pop Up Rocks short-term creative residency program, and advised the Minister in industry engagement, cultural infrastructure and policy in the arts and creative sector.

TEDxSydney aims to establish a platform for the propagation of great ideas, storytelling and actionable innovation. As part of the curatorial team I uncovered talented artists, entrepreneurs and researchers and helped them develop their stories for presentation on the TEDx stage.

During my six and a half years as a City of Sydney Councillor, and my three years as Deputy Lord Mayor, I had the privilege of taking action on some of the key issues facing our community, and opportunities to make Sydney the most inclusive, sustainable and creative city it can be.

I encouraged the City to extend trading hours and establish new nightlife precincts through the Late Night Trading Development Control Plan, achieving structural planning changes while also securing day-to-day wins for performers, like access to loading zones for roadies.

I developed a community of contributors across the region, wrote, researched and commissioned content for a platform to share knowledge about innovative projects, common challenges and emerging opportunities to build more creative, sustainable and inclusive cities in East Asia.

I used the platform of being Deputy Lord Mayor during the second wave of the pandemic to advocate for sole traders and micro-businesses, who had been left out of NSW government business support grants. I launched a parliamentary petition, gathering 12,000 signatures, calling on the government to lower the threshold for the Small Business Covid-19 Support Grant: which was achieved in the form of the Micro-Business Support Grant in 2021. 

I championed new models to combat housing unaffordability with the Alternative Housing Ideas Challenge: and achieved a tangible outcome with the establishment of Abbie House transitional housing with Women’s Community Shelters (WCS) in 2021: 20 studio apartments, available at low rent for a year, provided by SCAPE student housing, to be managed by City West CHP with case management and support from WCS. I have received very moving feedback which demonstrates just how critical this safe, affordable housing has been to support women escaping violence and experiencing some of the most difficult times in their lives.

I secured access to free early childhood education for asylum seekers on temporary visas, and I challenged Sydney to become a fossil fuel ad free zone.  I encouraged the City of Sydney to use participatory democracy models to draw in a more diverse range of voices as we shaped the future vision for Sydney, leading to the establishment of the Citizen’s Jury process ahead of Sustainable Sydney 2050

As one of the founding creatives, I worked for nine years to develop Australia’s largest creative industries and entertainment festival. I developed the program structure, key themes, selected talent and collaborated with producers, sponsors, government and others to deliver this major annual event.

I have developed mission plans, social impact and engagement strategies for some of Australia’s fastest-growing tech, creative and human services companies, including Canva (2022) and Hireup (2019). I developed the cultural infrastructure program for the winning bid for Barangaroo Central (2015-2017). I worked with the University of NSW Dean of Art and Design (2017) to establish the Sydney Culture Network, to coordinate and promote Sydney’s cultural offer. As a Public Art Curator I have worked on precinct and public arts strategies for significant urban projects across Sydney.