IN-PERSON: Livable Cities – New York

Abstract

‘Now, as I walk the streets of Green Square, I look for signs of old Country breaking through the centuries of colonial development. I dream of this place as it was, sand dunes and wetlands, galumban gurad (sacred Country) and I marvel at the fragile seedlings who, against all odds, break through the oppressive concrete and pavers to stand tall, once again, with Country.’ Shannon Foster, D’harawal eora Knowledge Keeper (The Green Square Atlas of Civic Ecologies 2022) As cities continue to expand, the effects of climate change become increasingly present. While the need for more global action is evident, including increased regulation of how growth and renewal occur, there are also sound arguments for the amplification of local bottom-up initiatives (Sant 2022; Fassi and Manzini 2021; Fields and Renne 2021) and more careful place-based design research. To advocate for small-scale, localized and critical forms of sustainability in our own city of Sydney, Australia, we take up the concept of civic ecology. While climate change is global, our case study shows how small actions connected through civic ecologies can attune people to its effects and improve neighbourhoods. We explore the potential of civic ecology as a concept to connect everyday acts of environmentalism (Schlosberg and Craven 2019) in Green Square, Australia’s largest urban renewal project, located on unceded Aboriginal land. Employing a place-based methodology, we ask how civic ecology, an idea developed in America, travels and is materialised in Australia.