Reimagining Sydney Harbour
UIA 2017 Seoul World Architects Congress O-0268 Reimagining Sydney HarBour Lochhead, Helen* Professor and Dean, Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW Sydney, Australia Abstract Sydney Harbour is arguably the city’s only great public space; and perhaps its most contested. This paper will elucidate how social activism, aligned with vision, public patronage and brave design interventions have shaped Sydney over 200 years into the memorable harbour city it is today. Since the 1980s however, large-scale private development facilitated by government has progressively posed major challenges. The paper highlights the need to remain vigilant if the harbour is to retain its valued status. Keywords: urban regeneration, sustainable development, landscape, waterfronts, public space 1. Introduction Sydney, Australia’s largest metropolis at 4million people, is one of the world’s most extraordinary harbour cities. A 320-kilometre shoreline is ringed with the city’s most valued landscapes and places, cultural icons, infrastructure and development. The harbour is arguably the city’s only great public space; and perhaps also its most contested. Yet, despite this tension, it has retained an enduring resilience, beauty and value. The power of social activism, conscious design and continued investment in the public domain have all been instrumental in sustaining these values. But now, the accelerated pace to become a global city has been compounded by an unprecedented scale and quantum of new development that has raised the stakes. The future of the harbour is at a critical point if the city is to balance the imperatives of economic growth and identity with the intrinsic qualities that make it appealing as a livable, global city.
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