FOREWORD

How should urban professionals confront the unresolved legacies of colonisation, rising socio-spatial inequality, public health emergencies, or the climate crisis? Across the Urbanism discipline in the Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, students and academics have engaged with these questions and more over the past, tumultuous twelve months. Despite the trials of distance and remote learning, our students and School have applied the theory, techniques, and practices of urban planning, design and heritage conservation to solve new and emerging challenges affecting cities and regions across the world.

The collection of think pieces, design synopses, project snapshots and research overviews presented here offers a small window into what is a rich collective achievement. It reflects the range of disciplines and knowledge systems that underpin our student and teaching community, with transformative leadership from Aboriginal Planning Lecturer Elle Davidson (Balanggarra), and academic expertise across urban planning, architecture, geography, history, environmental management, data science, economics, and law. Drawing heavily on metropolitan Sydney (which straddles the Eora, Darug, Dharawal and Gandangara nations) as an extraordinary context for teaching, learning, and research, our work also engages with regional and international cases and collaborators from across the so-called global north and south.

Overall, the voices and perspectives shared here offer much cause for hope that amidst the urgent challenges of the 21st century, a new generation of urban professionals will lead us towards more restorative, inclusive, and sustainable urban and regional futures.