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In an interview with Announces This week, Moore said Barangaroo should offer more “for ordinary people who don’t have a bank card, and people who want to play sports who work and live in the city.”
But the last time I checked, regular people had bank cards and, in my experience, like to use them. They may not be able to dine out at Woodcut every week, but maybe on a special occasion. I don’t envy them that experience.
And while it’s great that CBD residents have more seating, I’m not sure it should be priority number one. They chose to live in the Central Business District, after all. They will find a way to exercise.
By contrast, the city of Sydney likes to point to Green Square and its surroundings as a model of urban renewal. It’s a vast area, set to house 60,000 people by 2030, and there’s still a lot of work to do. So far, so good.
But let’s not go crazy. It’s still a little clinical, a bit dormitory-like. It’s not a dining destination – Green Square’s biggest drawing card is Taco Bell. The planned density will probably be reduced, if any – you can double it without too much trouble. Manhattan is not.
“Manhattan is not.” The city of Sydney likes to point to Green Square and its surroundings as a model of urban renewal.attributed to him:Kate Geraghty
What Green Square and the surrounding areas do so well is provide a decent place to live (for Sydney) at affordable prices. Barangaroo does not do this, and never will. For the most part, it’s meant to be a destination – and if you don’t like the concept, you won’t love Barangaroo.
Which explains why there are so many architects and others Announces I spoke to them on this series and found it impossible to separate their hostility toward the project and its history from the outcome. Some admitted it openly: they simply could not get over their distaste for the casino.
But I think that kind of elite opinion – and elitism – is probably overt in the minority. Most of us are just happy to get away from the old seashore, glad to have a nice place to take Bill and Rhonda for lunch when they visit from the US, and proud to have a park overlooking the most beautiful harbor in the world.
Diners at Rekodo Restaurant in Barangaroo. “There is a strange, almost puritanical assertion that because cafes, restaurants, and retail stores are private operations, they do not provide a ‘public good’.”attributed to him:James Brickwood
Moreover, we must not fall back into the stereotype by complaining about everything that is thrown or demolished in this city. Same goes for the nightlife (it’s getting better), public transportation (it’s pretty good most of the time) and even the weather (it can’t go on forever, can it?)
Many people think that Barangaroo is a cautionary tale that explains why we can’t have nice things. I’m more inclined to see it in reverse: even when we get nice things, we’re reluctant to appreciate it.
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Originally published at Melbourne News Vine
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