Globalization and Transformations of the City of Sydney

Abstract

This paper aims to explain the transformations of the city of Sydney, highlighting economic, spatial and cultural changes. It explains the new social polarization, gentrification, and reshaping of urban space and cultural consumption, and transformation of leisure space. The paper is based on research conducted in the context of Sydney in recent decades. It reveals that the emergence of Sydney as a global city is linked to migration, tourism and business, enhanced by globalization. The employment structure has been reorganized due to new technology and the rise of the service economy, which has produced huge inequality and social polarization. Gentrification and migration of new communities have reshaped social and cultural space. The pattern of cultural consumption has been significantly changed and the leisure space has been transformed. Therefore, this paper argues that the new social formations of Sydney are the product of global migration, tourism and privatization of urban space and culture.