Townsville shines as liveable and smart city
Date published: 24 March 2023
Twice in just two months, Townsville has been recognised as a city that is kicking goals.
After being named in February as one of the top 21 Smart communities in the world, Townsville was also recently ranked amongst Australia’s top 10 cities.
The latest recognition is from an organisation called Avenue Perth, which used a number of criteria such as liveability, population and diversity as well as services, internet speed, cost of living and safety to rank 30 Australian cities.
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said a place in the top 10 cities shows that the work going into growing Townsville as a liveable and smart city is being recognised.
“With the Stadium now a prominent feature on the Townsville skyline as well as the projects to link our entertainment, arts and events precincts, we’re being recognised as a city that is people-centred,” Cr Hill said.
“Major projects such as the Lansdown Eco-Precinct will not only bring jobs to Townsville, it will also make the city a hub for sustainable green industries that the world wants.
“We also have so much to be proud of in sports and culture, with the Townsville Fire taking out a fourth WNBL title and the city looking forward another Supercars event in July.
“We’ve recently had the Queensland Ballet perform at the Townsville Civic Theatre, and we can’t wait to host the travelling Melbourne Comedy Festival again.
“In 2022, the North Australian Festival of Arts (NAFA) was the runner-up for Best Major Event at the Townsville Enterprise Tourism and Events Awards; a People’s Choice award based on community members’ votes.
“This August, our city will again host the hugely popular Ephemera exhibition that shows off our beautiful Strand with seaside sculptures.
”Our own Perc Tucker Regional Gallery continues to host world-class exhibitions such as the Art in Conflict exhibition from the Australian War Memorial touring exhibition.”
Mayor Jenny Hill said that the positive growth of Townsville is due to government and industry working together.
“Due to record employment levels and opportunities across a wide range of industries, Townsville is an increasingly attractive destination,” Cr Hill said.
“We are attracting Federal and State funding because governments know that Townsville is a city that embraces growth.
“The Port of Townsville’s channel upgrade project, allowing larger ships to access Townsville, is yet another example of governments understanding the role our city plays in the broader economy.”
Townsville’s reputation as events capital of the north has continued to grow with major sporting and cultural events coming to the city.
“We aren’t being complacent when it comes to events and that’s why we want to create an experience for residents and visitors where sports, arts and entertainment precincts are connected,” Cr Hill said.
“Development of a Northern Australia Arts Precinct will consolidate Townsville as an events capital, attract world class events and deliver significant economic benefit.
The latest accolade for Townsville follows the naming of the city as one of the SMART21 communities of 2021 by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). The award assessed categories such as digital equality, provision of air space, air quality, sustainability programs and broadband connectivity.
Read more in the Townsville City Council Corporate Plan, Townsville 2021-2026.
