It was going to be when I wrote the post title about six hours ago. I've been caught up with work. Sheesh, you'd think they pay me or something. Oh, hang on...
So, this Special Procrastination Post was supposed to be a long observation about how large cities end up moulding themselves into villages, pockets where the feel and look differ from another pocket. New York has it, London and Paris has it. And so does Sydney, albeit on a smaller scale. The 'burbs not so much, but closer in to the heart of town it really does.
But, no. I got caught up in meetings, chemical orders, researching whole genome amplification...
So the meta post will just have to go by the wayside to be replaced by a question instead that is open for discussion: do you think the pockets of Sydney exist? How so? Leave a comment!
1 comment:
I don't know about pockets, but there are plenty of places around Sydney that are different, in different ways, for different reasons. There are times when I wouldn't know that DeeWhy was in Sydney - it's so old Lake Macquarie sometimes. Ashfield on a Saturday night IS little China, perhaps without ALL the smells. Parramatta has a marketing scheme centred around its look, trying to draw in new workers (and we're building a second CBD there, so why not?). Your typical worker's Newtown houses are older than those in Rockdale, for example - and their configuration is going to draw people of different asthetics, and life styles. A community is sure to follow.
And I know there are kids at my school who have never been into the city. That scares me.
I believe about 50 years ago, when migrants moved into Aust in a big way, that communities of common backgrounds set up to help each other out. No doubt they were also working in similar industries. Much of that lingers - Petersham is little Portugal. Marrickville hasn't yet broken through all its cement front gardens.
I know Ashfield is quite often busy enough you can scream, and it's hard to walk down a street without touching people, but I really love it. The houses are big, people are mostly gardeners, there's happy dogs (and lonely bored barky dogs, but meh). Food is plentyful, the shops are easy. Its major failing point is the lack of euro cafes, but I can work around that for cheap dumplings and good veges. And I feel safe when I walk the streets at night.
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