Contested Cities

David Harvey asks, “why is it that we tend to think of the built environment of cities as somehow or other not being the environment? Where did that separation come from?” This is an excellent question. In a similar vein, I want to ask why we think of homeless people or ‘anti-social behavior’ is seen as somehow not belonging to the city. Ten years ago I was living in Elizabeth Bay, the densest suburb in Sydney, historically populated by single working women who occupied studio apartments in buildings now highly prized for their Art Deco features. Elizabeth Bay borders Sydney’s red light district, Kings Cross. Shortly after I moved there, the City embarked on a major upgrade project in the area. Brick sidewalks were replaced with high-grade granite and peppered with brass plaques commemorating Kings Cross’s colorful history. Well before I decided to study planning, the newly-installed exclusionary seating (with the third armrest) made me deeply uneasy. The area was famous for its ‘seediness’ and street life, yet the new development was excluding the very people that gave the area its identity at the same time it celebrated the area’s notoriety. Whilst the area has gentrified rapidly since, the homeless population has not entirely dissipated - instead, a smaller population has concentrated along the granite street. I’m pleased that King’s Cross has not completely lost its grit, even despite the decade-old high grade polishing which shows that exclusionary measures aren’t always successful, I think to the area’s benefit.