Book Reviews

This book is our invitation to the types of conversation many of us wish we were party to more often. Talking about Sydney; Population, Community and Culture in Contemporary Sydney (UNSW Press) features contributions by some of Australia’s noted urban commentators, and fresh voices from industry and local government. It is the outcome of a series of public symposia focusing on quality of life in Sydney, held jointly between 2002 and 2005 by the Museum of Sydney and the University of NSW’s Faculty of the Built Environment. Talking about Sydney is a useful introduction to Sydney’s contemporary community and cultural concerns. It would make an ideal reference for an urban studies course at undergraduate or graduate level. The excellent introduction explains the book’s three overarching themes: population change, social sustainability and the cultural economy, setting a clear framework for the papers themselves, which form a coherent set. The book seeks to encourage further debate and dialogue, so papers are short and not overworked. Many are embryonic—exploring ideas that may need further discussion and refinement. The index is detailed and thorough, which is particularly welcome in an edited collection of this nature. The first section of the book, “City People: Change and Diversity in Sydney’s Population”, addresses the social and spatial dimensions of population growth and mobility. Graeme Hugo presents the latest comparative data about Sydney’s transforming population, focusing on five ‘mega trends’: ageing, generational shifts in household composition, immigration, internal migration and shifts in fertility. Bernard Salt gives a colourful account of population change and diversity in Sydney, linking patterns of migration to and from Sydney to Australia’s ‘man drought’. While Sydney attracts talented young people from other Australian cities and regions, in global terms, we learn, Sydney is “nothing but a wheat belt town tithing its men to more dominant cities” (p. 35). Does Sydney have ghettos? No, says Ian Burnley, whose review of settlement patterns and concentration by ethnicity reveals a high level of overall ethnic diversity even within areas of the city that are associated with particular groups, such as Cabramatta (associated with South East Asian immigrants) or Leichhardt’s Italian quarter. Socio-spatial segmentation and disadvantage exists, however, as emphasised in Sharon Fingland’s useful and applied analysis of Western Sydney’s ageing suburbs. The final piece in this section of the book focuses on the challenges facing Sydney’s outer metropolitan areas such as the Central Coast. Michael Leavey’s discussion of the key issues—managing an ageing population and matching employment generation with housing growth—raises plenty of material for a good student research project or debate.