Wollongong is the worst ranked of all Australian cities when it comes to coping with emerging environmental pressures such as climate change, a national report has revealed.
The Australian Conservation Foundation's Sustainable Cities Index, which measured the eco-credentials of the nation's 20 largest cities across 15 indicators, found Wollongong was Australia's least "resilient" city - the most likely to falter under major environmental stress.
The unflattering result was due to a low education rate, comparably poor public health, a scarcity of volunteers and a lack of local food production, the index showed.
Just 35 per cent of people aged over 20 have completed Year 12 or equivalent, and almost 7 per cent of the city's population suffers Type 2 diabetes.
High levels of household loan repayments also contributed to the result.
In terms of overall sustainability, Darwin was ranked No 1.
Wollongong placed 17th, ahead of Newcastle, Geelong and Perth.
Australian Conservation Foundation spokeswoman Monica Richter said a sense of community would help cities stay resilient in the face of threats such as global warming or a peak oil crisis.
"A city with a strong sense of community, volunteering and more places for local food production is better placed to deal with future challenges, by giving people a sense of strong, cohesive community around them," she said.
"Wollongong has some way to go - it is doing very well in some areas and poorly in others."
The city also ranked worst in air quality, measuring 2.5 times more particulate matter per cubic metre of air than the best performing city, the Sunshine Coast.
But Wollongong scored well in water usage, low rates of private car ownership and climate change policies put in place by local government.
Cunningham MP Sharon Bird questioned the pessimistic snapshot.
"I very much dispute the argument that somehow there is a major problem in our region that makes it a negative overall - it's sad to rank in a way that insinuates the bottom cities are not going well," Ms Bird said.
Conceding youth unemployment and school retention rates were problematic, the Wollongong community boasted a "very deep sense of the need to look after each other", she said.
Cunningham Greens candidate George Takacs said while Wollongong may have low rates of private car ownership, public transport did not make up the shortfall. He was also concerned about the Illawarra's hunger for new housing areas, claiming it was eating up valuable agricultural land.
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