Has Sydney reached her tipping point? Following a series of existential threats – from the devasting summer 2020 fires and smog which enveloped the metropolis and surrounds to the urban exodus sparked by two years of global pandemic, from “faulty towers” to ongoing concerns about unbridled development – we must now ask: is it still possible to save the Sydney we love from rampant gentrification, environmental degradation, and climate catastrophe? In this event inspired by Elizabeth Farrelly’s acclaimed book ‘Killing Sydney’ (Picador, 2021), we challenged creative thinkers, activists, and scholars from a range of disciplines to share their top-of-the-list solutions. Convened by prominent columnist, architectural critic and author Dr Farrelly, we invite you to join this frank and fearless conversation about Sydney’s future.

This free, live event is taking place at the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney, although tickets are limited. Attendees are warmly invited to refreshments after the event.

The event will also be live streamed on the Henry Halloran Trust Youtube channel. Please register for remote attendance.

Panel

Michael Rodrigues, Investment NSW

Professor Michelle Leishman, Macquarie University

Kerri Glasscock, Sydney Fringe Festival

Professor Chris Gibson, University of Wollongong

Dr Lyndal Hugo, Urban food entrepreneur

Professor Philip Thalis, Architect

Dr Elizabeth Farrelly, Writer and Journalist

Michael Rodrigues is NSW’s first 24-hour Economy Commissioner. He launched the Time Out brand in Australia under license in 2007, growing the audience across print, digital and social channels to in excess of 1,000,000 Australians monthly. In recent years and prompted by the challenges facing Sydney's night-time economy he launched and chaired the Night Time Industries Association which was instrumental in lifting the lockout laws, and shaping the State of NSW's 24 Hour Economy Strategy.

Chris Gibson is a Sydney-based academic, musician and writer. He is Professor of Geography at the University of Wollongong, Australia. His research explores human, cultural and economic assets in Australian cities and regions. Currently, Chris leads two Australian Research Council-funded projects, one exploring the future of industrial regions amidst decarbonisation and industry transitions; the other, how geographies of urban creativity are shifting during pandemic times. His books include Sound Tracks: Popular Music, Identity and Place (2003), Music Festivals and Regional Development in Australia (2012), Outback Elvis (2017), and The Guitar: Tracing the Grain Back to the Tree (2021).

Kerri Glasscock is a leading advocate for the Sydney arts scene and has contributed to a number of key action plans that have resulted in policy reforms. In 2013 she was appointed as CEO & Festival Director of the Sydney Fringe Festival. She currently co-chairs the City of Sydney’s Cultural Sector Advisory Committee, is a founding Board Member and Deputy Chair of the Night Time Industries Association, sits on Create NSW’s Festivals and Multi-artform Board, is a Board Member of PAC Australia, and industry advisory Board Member for the Australian Institute of Music.

Professor Michelle Leishman is the Director of Smart Green Cities at Macquarie University and leads the Which Plant Where project in collaboration with Western Sydney University, NSW Department of Planning & Environment, and Hort Innovation. Her current research focuses on understanding invasive plants, plant conservation and adaptation under climate change, and urban greening.

Dr Lyndal Hugo is founder of Orlar Vietnam, a company that aims to transform lives and landscapes through sustainably intensive food production using the least possible energy and water. Orlar sell their clean affordable product to every major middle class supermarket in Vietnam and up to 500 hotels and restaurants. Lyndal has a degree in Agricultural Science and a PhD in environmental chemistry from the University of Sydney and a post-doctoral fellowship on pesticide residues in South-East Asian food chains. Lyndal currently resides in Ho Chi Minh City, growing rapidly due to climate change migration and works in one of the world’s top three areas most affected by climate change, the Mekong Delta.

Philip Thalis is a founding principal of Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects. He has more than 30 years local and international experience across a broad spectrum of architecture and urban projects. He actively promotes the culture of architecture and city making, combining directing the practice with teaching, research, conference papers and public lectures and architectural criticism.

Dr Elizabeth Farrelly is one of Sydney’s leading public intellectuals. Writer in Residence at the University of Sydney’s Henry Halloran Trust, she was for thirty years the Sydney Morning Herald’s weekly principal essayist on urban planning and city-making. Trained in architecture and philosophy with a PhD in urbanism from the University of Sydney, she is a Director of the National Trust NSW, a former City of Sydney Councillor and a former Associate Professor (Practice) at UNSW. Author of several published books, she is a Walkley-shortlisted writer, an internationally awarded architecture critic, a former Assistant Editor of The Architectural Review, London, inaugural chair of The Australian Award for Urban Design, a regular commentator on urban affairs and contributor to Architectural Record NYC. Her most recent book is Killing Sydney; the fight for a city’s soul (Picador 2021).

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The annual Festival of Urbanism is an initiative of the University of Sydney's Henry Halloran Trust and is hosted in partnership with Monash University.