That's the question Orange City Council put to residents earlier this year in order to create its Community Strategic Plan, or CSP.

Like every council in NSW, Orange City Council needs to have a CSP and it needs to be updated every four years. It's essentially a blueprint to guide the newly elected council through its term.

When the council last consulted with the Orange community for the CSP in 2017, more sport and recreation facilities topped residents wish lists.

It guided the council toward projects like the cricket centre of excellence, progression of the sports precinct and building more playgrounds.

The latest conversation with the community to update the CSP began late last year and included online surveys, face-to-face opportunities and engagement forums.

The results of this consultation were compiled into an updated CSP, which was released in April.

So what do the people of Orange want their city to look like in the next decade?

Here are their top five priorities in order:

Keeping children and young people engaged and entertained is key to creating a better future for Orange, according to residents.

When asked if there just one thing that could be achieved in the next ten years in Orange, more than 14 percent of those surveyed nominated having more for young people to do.

More playgrounds, a skatepark with BMX and pump tracks, indoor centres like trampoline parks and laser tag, a water/splash park and more youth activities and programs are among the ideas put forward.

Potholes always rate highly on resident's list of gripes with council, so its no surprise that better roads ranks highly in what the community wants for the future.

They also want secure water supply, good waste management, a focus on presentation, cleanliness and maintenance, better footpaths, cleaner public toilets and improved parking through town.

It was the top priority or residents last time council asked, and better sport and recreation facilities remains in the top five this time time around.

An upgrade to the pool or another pool, better dog parks and mountain bike trails all got a mention.

Concern about the local environment and taking action to combat climate change is one of the biggest focuses to have emerged since council last consulted with the community in 2017.

The community's vision for the future includes greater care and enjoyment of Mount Canobolas and Lake Canobolas, better environmental stewardship and a shift to climate adaptation and carbon neutrality. There's also a desire for a shift to renewable energy solutions and more electric vehicle charging stations.

The last two years have seen extreme pressure on housing supply and affordability in Orange. Residents want diverse housing stock at affordable prices, an end to homelessness, better quality housing and better planned new communities.

Green open spaces, a vibrant and dynamic community with more festivals and night life, economic growth, more employment, education and training opportunities, and better land use and planning rounded out the top ten wants of residents.

All of this feedback has been compiled into a new draft CSP, that has since been put out for public comment.

It will need to be adopted by council by the end of June, and put into action.