Paul Stoller shortlisted in Sydney Summit Big Ideas
Atelier Ten Australia Managing Director Paul Stoller has been shortlisted as a Big Idea Generator for the Committee for Sydney’s 2026 Sydney Summit, proposing a long-term pathway to continuous public access along Sydney’s harbour and riverside foreshores.
Connecting Sydney’s waterfronts
Sydney is defined by water, with hundreds of kilometres of harbour and riverside foreshore. Yet public access is often fragmented. Waterfront parks and reserves frequently stop at private landholdings, breaking walking and cycling routes and limiting everyday access to the water.
There is an opportunity to change this and provide continuous foreshore access, enabling more effective recreation and commuting corridors, and more delightful places for the community to relax and unwind.
“Continuous waterfront access should not be an exclusive offering but a public right. We are proposing that any time private waterfront property is sold, or a development application approved, an easement on a waterfront strip is granted for public access. It is a simple idea with significant wellbeing benefits, and we know it can work.”
– Paul Stoller, Managing Director, Atelier Ten.
Incremental land acquisition over the long term
Under the proposal, whenever a private waterfront property is sold, or a development application granted, a nominated state government agency would secure a foreshore easement for public access as part of the transaction or approvals process. Over time, this would reconnect fragmented paths and parks into a continuous public shoreline.
Over generations, the approach would progressively stitch disconnected segments of foreshore and create more coherent navigation routes and gentle waterside spaces. The idea draws on long running precedents around San Francisco Bay, where policy has expanded public waterfront access over decades.
Delivering the vision would require state endorsement and consistent program management. An existing agency would oversee the securing of easements, community engagement and responses to privacy and safety considerations. Transitional compensation could address land value impacts, with incentives that encourage early participation.
Continuous waterfront paths provide healthy, equitable public space, improve active travel options, and unlock everyday proximity to nature. In addition to recreation value, a continuous network offers safer and more accessible commuting corridors that avoid busy roads.
Atelier Ten’s work often sits at the intersection of design outcomes and the policy settings that make them deliverable. This is one practical example of how that thinking can translate to city scale.
Greater Sydney Committee, Annual Sydney Summit
The Sydney Summit returns on Friday 6 February 2026 at ICC Sydney, with this year’s theme The Bold City, focused on turning ambitious ideas into practical action. More information:
Sydney Morning Herald media coverage (paywalled)