SYDNEY may be ahead of Australia’s major cities in the eyes of the world, but it has a long way to go before it can be considered a truly influential global metropolis.

In a brutal new report by a leading global cities expert, the harbour city’s major shortcomings — which are keeping it out of an elite seven-city tier of global major influencers — have been exposed.

These major weaknesses mean our most influential hub is lagging behind the world’s big seven cities — London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Paris and Tokyo.

And while it beat competition from Brisbane and Melbourne, the new report places Sydney on level pegging with a list of second-best cities such as Washington DC, Shanghai and Toronto.

Sydney has received the dubious honour of establishing itself in a high-performing “second division” of 10 “contender cities” in the report, which will be released by independent think tank the Committee for Sydney this week.

The document shows Sydney is missing out on being a major global player because of poor ratings in a number of areas.

Sydney was in the bottom two of the 33 cities in the report for public transport coverage and ­efficiency, the cost of living for expats and students, the variety of cultural attractions, technology and digital readiness for the future, and perceptions of its night-life offerings.

“The knock-on impacts of the city growing at such a fast pace are strains upon our overall

quality of life as well as public infrastructure,” Committee for Sydney executive chairman Michael Rose said.

“While the city’s infrastructure is improving and receiving significant new investment, it is still a drag on its absolute and comparative performance.

“In addition, Sydney’s affordability challenge puts our burgeoning and booming innovation economy under significant pressure.”

QUALITY OF LIFE REMAINS HIGH, BUT UNDER PRESSURE

Sydney may still a leading global city in terms of quality of life, but that this may be under threat because of a high cost of living.

In order to reach the same level of influence as the big seven cities, the report states that Sydney needs to look carefully at its liveability.

The elephant in the room is housing affordability, but other major drawbacks highlighted in the report include reduced access to amenities such as restaurants and retail shops and relatively low levels of walkability.

The city’s employee life satisfaction has also slipped, while social freedom, fairness and equity

has also declined. The city’s physical health is ranked as 36th out of 150 cities, and

happiness is 17th out of 100.

SECOND-RATE ROADS, PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND BROADBAND

Everybody who uses public transport in Sydney often enough will have a horror story to tell, and this negative perception has been echoed in the report, despite major investment in the city’s network.

However, the report argues that this investment should result in steady improvements over the next two to three years relative to other world cities.

Despite this, road congestion is an increasing concern, with the report flagging that Sydney has recently become more congested more quickly than most of its peer cities.

The quality of smart and digital infrastructure in Sydney could also be improved. Over the

past year, Sydney’s technology ranking has slipped 17 places from seventh to 24th globally, due to other cities having made more substantial progress in adding Wi-Fi hot spots and strengthening access to high-speed broadband.

BEAUTIFUL SYDNEY’S BRAND STAYS STRONG

Sydney was praised in the report for its higher education offerings, lack of air pollution, the transparency of the real estate investment market, its scenic assets, safety and visitor brand and identity.

“Sydney remains one of the most well regarded and admired cities in the public eye,” the report states.

Only Copenhagen beat the harbour city in terms of natural beauty, its wide range of experiences and overseas appeal to prospective residents.

However, Sydney has also faltered slightly in some of the more all-round measures of brand, image and influence.

In terms of the city’s online promotional efforts and visibility, political influence, reputational power, and global reach, Sydney landed in the middle of the pack.

FINANCIAL POWER

Sydney isn’t just a superficial city concerned with its looks. The new report shows it has cemented its reputation as the leading global financial centre in the southern hemisphere.

“Sydney is also poised to overtake Hong Kong and Singapore and become Asia-Pacific’s leading fintech hub, building off the back of the large finance and insurance sector presence in the CBD,” the report’s authors wrote.

“Sydney ranks as a top destination for investment capital from global corporates and in the

top three cities for investment stability and trustworthiness.”

Despite have having the financial clout to secure this reputation, the reports shows the city is struggling to skilled global talent compared to other major global cities.

WHAT SYDNEY NEEDS TO DO

The report shows there are four key areas Sydney needs to improve on if it is to become one of the world’s most powerful cities.

These are innovation, liveability, transport and infrastructure, and image, brand and influence.

Darren Steinberg, chief executive officer of real estate investment trust Dexus, highlighted several key improvements that send Sydney on its way to the top.

“For Sydney to remain a top 10 global investment destination it needs 24-hour access to its

international airport and should consider extending the operational hours of Sydney Airport,” said.

“Sydney also needs to ensure it has a vibrant CBD precinct with support at all levels for

restaurants, entertainment and the arts in order to maintain liveability and competitiveness.”