The aim of this paper is to investigate how and to what extent the provision of major open spaces has been integrated (or not) into the metropolitan planning process in Sydney over the last 60 years.

In relation to the development of private residential estates (often termed ‘gated communities’) in metropolitan regions across Australia, community is seen to be a marketing device and anything but real. However this paper discusses a new version of urban community that pervades private residential estates.

International research suggests that the health impacts for individuals and communities living near contaminated sites are significant and complex and extend beyond the risk of immediate physical harm to impact on the psychological health of both individuals and communities.

This paper analyses the recent provision of local open space in urban consolidation developments in Sydney, using data from a survey of local councils.

This paper offers a theoretical inquiry into the institutional arrangements to enable an innovative land restitution model for Sydney within a new Republic, by vesting the superior interest in land (and buildings thereon) in the stewardship of the customary indigenous guardians (rather than the State or Crown).