City Life: The New Urban Australia

Remember when our cities and inner-cities weren't dominatedby high-rise apartments? This book documents the changes that have come withthe globalisation of the Australian city since the 1970s. It tells the story ofthe major economic, social, cultural and demographic changes that have comewith opening up of Australia in those years, with a particular focus on the twobiggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, which have been transformed. Butthroughout it also looks at how these changes have played out in the smallercapitals and regional centres. 

How does one of the most urbanised, multiculturalcountries in the world see itself? This book challenges received ideas aboutAustralia and how it presents itself to the world, and how in turn manyAustralians perceive and understand themselves. Rather than rehashing oldstereotypes about mateship, the Bush or Anzac, this book places the globalisedcity and its residents at the heart of new understandings of twenty-firstcentury Australia.

'Our cities are changing fast. Seamus' O'Hanlon tells us how and why, with a keen historian's eye for both the big picture and the local scene. An indispensable guide to the contemporary Australian city.' - Professor Graeme Davison