For nearly 200 years Australia’s urban public parks and gardens have been used for the public display of memory. This is manifested most frequently in three iconographic customs: special landscaping, naming, and the placement of commemorative and historical artefacts. From the statue of New South Wales’ Governor Richard Bourke (1842, Sydney Domain) to the Anzac...

Barangaroo Reserve, part of the redevelopment of the former container wharves at East Darling Harbour, Sydney, NSW, is a major project in an iconic location. Originally proposed to be a hard-edged landscape which retained evidence of the site’s industrial past, dramatic changes in the NSW government’s approach have resulted in the attempted reconstruction of the...

This paper explores the question of how urban parks function as urban icons. It examines Bicentennial Park in Homebush Bay, 12 km west of the Sydney Central Business District (CBD) as a case study. Bicentennial Park was planned and designed between 1983 and 1988, a time when Australia, and its cities in particular, grappled with...

Billions of dollars worth of spending has been promised during this election campaign on transport infrastructure around the country. Now a Grattan Institute analysis of the promises has found many of the projects have no business case whatsoever. The research also highlights that viable projects have been overlooked and it likens the process to Australians...

Key Commitments Australia’s cities are home to the majority of our population and responsible for more than 80 per cent of national economic output. Liveable, accessible cities with clean environments are now essential economic assets. In the knowledge economy, people are our greatest resource, and smart cities put people first. The Coalition will innovate with...