The Squander and Salvage of Global Urban Waterfronts

Kate Shaw is a critical urban geographer in the School of Geography at the University of Melbourne, with a background in urban planning. Her research looks at cultures of cities – at how and where people live, work and play. Questions of access and affordability are crucial to these choices. Kate's background is in alternative cultures, and she regularly advises governments and campaigns on local planning and policies to maintain them. She is presently deputy chair of the City of Melbourne’s Creative Spaces working group, a member of the Victorian state government’s live music roundtable, advisor to the City of Sydney’s live music taskforce, and part of the International Network for Urban Research and Action (INURA). Prior to becoming research-only, Kate taught planning law, statutory planning, urban design, and ran classes on political economy, gentrification and the cultures of cities.   

1. Shimmer shimmer: Neoliberal urbanisation crystallised.- 2. In conversation: Australia, Canada and Germany.- 3. City snapshots: Quick local contexts for waterfront politics, economics and resistances.- 4. Office: Concrete dystopias and utopias.- 5. Residential: The luxury apartment and the co-op.- 6. Retail: The global franchise and street-life.- 7. Icons: The stadium, the opera house and the bathing ship.- 8. Limits and possibilities.- 9. The power of public engagement and resistance.- Epilogue: The modest waterfronts.