This paper presents an argument for the need to develop a more sophisticated and much needed understanding of the economic role of Sydney within the contemporary Australian eastern seaboard economy as a prerequisite to the development of appropriate urban and regional physical, economic and social development policies.

Despite the widespread acceptance of motorsport in Australian society, this paper argues that it is crucial for research to be undertaken that systematically investigates the environmental and public health impacts of motorsport events held in major urban public spaces.

This paper examines the evolution of risk and its governance in Australian cities - with the focus on Sydney. It considers the construction of risk and security and the roles played by different groups in defining these concepts, in constraining the choice of mitigation strategies and allocating responsibility and power.

Using the concept of “ethnic community capital” and using data provided by 344 ethnic communal organisations, this paper outlines major social, economic, and spatial aspects that have helped establish Sydney as a multicultural capital on the Pacific.

This paper inquires into our understanding of the compact European city that theorists see, compared with the actual form of some European cities as observed by the author.