Sydney’s Chinatown/Chinese cities

Interpreting the inscription of ‘Chineseness’ in cities beyond China is a challenging process. This article reflects upon some recent architectural and urban design issues in what is known as Sydney’s ‘Chinatown’. Drawing on some of the insights provided in Li Shiqao’s recent book, Understanding the Chinese City (2014), it provides a commentary on some of the challenges facing architects and urban designers in their attempts to rearticulate Sydney’s Chinatown. This comes at a time when development processes in central Sydney are seen as being driven by apparently contradictory forces of supertall apartment building design and fine-grain, low-rise ‘heritage’ streetscapes.