For the third consecutive year, Adelaide has been voted Australia’s most liveable city according to a Property Council of Australia survey of residents’ views.

The results from My City: The People’s Verdict has Adelaide as the winner, followed by Canberra.

At the other end of the scale, Darwin ranks last, just above Australia’s most populous city, Sydney.

Perth, however, saw the biggest decline from fourth to third last and Newcastle and Hobart watched their liveability scores rise.

The survey, by Auspoll for the Property Council, included the opinions of 5843 residents of all capital cities as well as Newcastle, Wollongong and Geelong.

“Australians know what makes a city great and they continue to rate our cities poorly in housing affordability, environmental sustainability, congestion and public transport,” Property Council chief executive Peter Verwer said.

“These results should be a wake up call for governments to lift the performance of our cities.”

Liveable cities rate highly in outdoor recreation spaces, natural environments, school and educational facilities and a vibrant cultural scene and good climate.

In terms of sustainability and climate change, though, Australians were less than impressed with their cities.

They also ranked their cities poorly in public transport, quality, affordable housing and roads and traffic congestion.

Mr Verwer said political parties needed to look at the results of the survey, to ensure their policies aligned with the growing problems in the country’s major cities.