From Brownfield to blue sky: Sydney Harbour’s renaissance

Abstract

This paper describes the Sydney Harbor, which is one of the most magnificent harbors in the world. It has some 230 kilometers of foreshores, is around 21 kilometers in length, one to two kilometers wide and up to 44 meters deep. It is the centre of Sydney, a metropolis of around four and half million people. The harbor was the reason for Sydney’s settlement as a penal colony in 1788 and was the conduit for immigration and trade that developed over the ensuing 218 years. This paper examines the circle of sustainability describing in four phases: the South Pacific utopia of Aboriginal occupation; the convict settlement—the city’s foundation; the industrial–urbanization period from the mid 1800s to the early 1980s; and the current post industrial eco resort period. Approaches to sustainability are discussed for each period using Cockatoo Island, the harbor’s largest island as an example. The Aborigines lived a sustainable lifestyle. The subsequent convict settlement and urbanization period had no concept of the consequences of social, economic and environmental impacts nor any awareness of the limits of growth. The current post-industrial eco resort period shows the harbor healing with a new awareness of sustainability and the use of the harbor as a playground rather than a sewer and shipping canal. Lessons are offered from recent experiences in sustainable design and management principles in the harbor, many reflecting how the Aborigines experienced the harbor prior to European settlement. Use of such international natural feature icons as flagships for a global approach to sustainability is suggested.