Dr Jun TSUTSUMI (Ehime University, Japan)
Dr Bruno PAROLIN (University of New South Wales, Australia)
Correspondence to : jtsu@ehime-u.ac.jp
Colour version of our paper is available online:
http://www.gis.h.ehime-u.ac.jp/hp/Tsutsumi_Parolin_Sydney_2011.pdf
Built Year
North
Circular Quay
Darling
Harbour
Google Earth
China
Town
Drawn by GIS
Source: Sydney City Office

3/4 of Australian banks have headquarters (HQ)
in Sydney

2/3 of multinational corporations have AsiaPacific Regional HQs in Sydney

60 multinational corporations set up Asia-Pacific
regional HQs in Sydney in the late '90s
◦ More than 4 times the total for any other Australian or
New Zealand cities

Sydney captured the "Lion’s Share" as a result of
a “world-city” growth process

Objectives
◦ To consider the urban structural change in Sydney
especially focusing on both:
 building provision process in the CBD
 building use in the CBD

Data
◦ GIS attribute data provided by the Sydney City
Office
◦ General statistics of Australian Bureau of Statistics
◦ Customised census data of ABS "Table Builder"
◦ Various reports of Sydney City Office available on
line
3.00%
2.00%
Financial & insurance
1.00%
FIRE (persons)
services (persons)
0.00%
-1.00%
-2.00%
-3.00%
1991_1996
1996_2001
2001_2006
Total number of
empoloyments
Total population in the
metropolitan area
Population in whole
Australia
Source: ABS
Data for "FIRE" is created by summing numbers in the census TSP categories
"Financial & Insurance services” and "Rental, hiring & Real Estate services."
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
Sydney LGA
40%
Sydney SD
30%
Australia
20%
10%
0%
1996
2001
2006
Source: ABS



Older age buildings
concentrate in the
area close to Circular
Quay
Expansion in the '70s
and '80s along Pitt
and George streets
Newer buildings are
dominant around
Darling Harbour
Precinct
Source: Sydney City Office

Affordable office
spaces are limited
◦ Sydney's CBD is located
in a narrow strip

Newly emerging
industries (e.g. IT and
media) dispersed into
neighbouring areas
◦ Multi-nuclei
metropolitan structure
emerged

Office spaces are more
likely to be dedicated
for "FIRE"
Source: Sydney City Office


"Condo-boom" is
common in the
Darling Harbour
Precinct
Many high-rise selfcontained
condominiums
adjacent to the CBD
◦ Offering young
professional people
"city living"
Source: Sydney City Office

Restaurants and cafés are
limited in areas

They are dominant only
in commercial precincts
◦
◦
◦
◦


Circular Quay
Pitt street mall
China town
Darling Harbour
The rate is not high in
newer buildings
These buildings were
designed for promoting
mixed-use rather than
single purpose use
Source: Sydney City Office
Office
1971-1980
Parking
N=102
Residential
1981-1990
Restaurant and retail
N=137
Warehouses & transport
Others
1991-2000
N=216
2001-2007
N= 71
0
2000000
4000000
6000000 ㎡
Source: Sydney City Office




“Condo-boom” has attracted many “gentrifiers” in
the world.
They are described as “financiers”, “IT-related
workers”, “rising class”, “young professionals”,
“dinks” and “high income workers,” etc.
What types of people become “new comers” to
Sydney?
We focused on “FIRE” people as the
representative of “gentrifiers”.

High shares are
obvious within 5 km
radius from the CBD
Source: Sydney City Office
Source: Sydney City Office



Preferred areas by "FIRE" are not limited to the
narrow extent of the CBD
What's found in this study seems different from
those of previous studies in London and New
York
Those questions remain unanswered
◦ Who is the new comer?
◦ Where do labeled "gentrifiers" live in Sydney?
◦ What's the difference between Sydney and other "world
cities?"
jtsu@ehime-u.ac.jp
Colour version of our paper is available online:
http://www.gis.h.ehime-u.ac.jp/hp/Tsutsumi_Parolin_Sydney_2011.pdf
My previous papers are available online:
http://www.h.ehime-u.ac.jp/~jtsu/
(in English)