Abstract
The introductory chapter introduces the key issues covered in the book. What is argued is that the displacement of the close to 600 public housing tenants in Millers Point and the Sirius apartment building and the sell-off of the housing, was a tragic episode in Sydney’s history and for many tenants has been a traumatic experience. Besides the impacts on individuals, I contend that the removal was an act of communicide, which I define as the destruction of a place-based community as a result of government policy. In addition, the chapter discusses the setting, gives a profile of Millers Point and Sirius at the time of the displacement announcement and then again in December 2017.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Australia has a federal system. There are six states and two territories. Sydney is in NSW.
- 2.
Unless stated otherwise, all the names of interviewees are pseudonyms. For ease of reading I have generally used only a first name. Where the actual name is used, interviewees have given permission or requested that their actual name be used.
- 3.
All dollar amounts refer to the Australian dollar. At the end of 2017, one Australian dollar was worth around 80 US cents.
- 4.
The longevity of residence in Millers Point is probably an under-estimation as it would appear that the data is for how long public housing tenants had lived in their present property in Millers Point, rather than for how long they had lived in Millers Point. There was a fair amount of movement within the area. Similar data was not available for Sirius.
- 5.
In April 2017, one ex-landlady, Sally Parslow, won an injunction preventing her eviction. The injunction has given “her lawyers time to mount a case before the court that she has a claim to equitable life tenancy over the home” (Visentin 2017). The case returned to court in April 2018. At the time of writing, the Judge had yet to make a decision.
References
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). (2016). 2016 census QuickStats, Millers Point. Canberra: ABS.
ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics). (2011). 2011 census QuickStats, Millers Point. Canberra: ABS.
Atkinson, M., Wulff, M., Reynolds, M., & Spinney, A. (2011). Gentrification and displacement: The household impacts of neighbourhood change (Final Report No. 160). Melbourne: AHURI.
Barnett, J. (2013). What’s new about the new urbanism? In E. Talen (Ed.), Charter of the new urbanism (pp. 1–7). New York: McGraw Hill.
Brower, S. (2011). Neighbors & neighborhoods: Elements of successful community design. Chicago: American Planning Association.
Dillard, J. F., & Ruchala, L. (2005). The rules are no game: From instrumental rationality to administrative evil. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 18(5), 608–630.
Duke, J. (2017). The aftermath of the boom: How five years of soaring prices have changed Sydney. Domain, 25 June. https://www.domain.com.au/news/the-aftermath-of-the-boom-how-five-years-of-soaring-prices-has-changed-sydney-20170622-gwm06d/.
Farahani, L. M. (2016). The value of the sense of community and neighbouring. Housing, Theory and Society, 33(3), 357–376.
Freeman, L., & Braconi, F. (2004). Gentrification and displacement: New York City in the 1990s. Journal of the American Planning Association, Winter, 70(1), 39–52.
Goward, P. (2014). High cost harbourside assets to be sold for a fairer social housing system. Sydney: Family and Community Services, NSW Government.
Heimans, F. (2007) Millers Point oral history project. Sydney: NSW Department of Housing. http://millerspointcommunity.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/MP-SUMMARY-REPORT-2nd-Draft-Part-1.pdf.
Hummon, D. M. (1992). Community attachment. New York: Springer.
Jacobs, J. (1992) The death and life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage Books.
Lees, L., Slater, T., & Wyly, E. (2013). Gentrification. New York: Routledge.
Martin, C. (2013) Millers Point. Clearing house, The tenants’ union of NSW’s social and affordable housing portfolio redevelopment and renewal blog. Sydney: Tenants’ Union of NSW. http://clearinghousetunsw.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/millers-point.html.
McMillan, D. W., & Chavis, D. M. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 6–23.
Mesch, G. S., & Manor, O. (1998). Social ties, environmental perception, and local attachment. Environment and Behavior, 30(4), 504–519.
Newman, K., & Wyly, E. K. (2006). The right to stay put, revisited: gentrification and resistance to displacement in New York City. Urban Studies, 43(1), 23–57.
NSW Government. (2017). Millers Point sales program delivers over $500 million for social housing. Sydney: NSW Government, Finance, Services & Innovation. https://www.finance.nsw.gov.au/about-us/media-releases/millers-point-sales-program-delivers-over-500-million-social-housing.
NSW Government. (2015). Millers Point program. Sydney: Department of Family & Community Services.
NSW Government. (2014). Millers Point, Media pack. Sydney: Family & Community Services, New South Wales Government.
NSW Government. (2001). Millers Point conservation area. Sydney: Office of Environment & Heritage. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5001049.
Porteous, J. D., & Smith, S. E. (2001). Domicide: The global destruction of home. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.
Realestate.com. (2017). Sold properties in Millers Point, NSW 2000. Sydney: Realestate.com https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/in-millers+point%2C+nsw+2000/list-1.
Reilly, S. (2013). Social impact assessment of the potential social impacts on the existing Millers Point community, and the broader housing system, that may result from the sale of any further social housing in Millers Point. Sydney: Cred Community Planning. https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/file/0005/295592/Millers_Point_SIA.PDF. Accessed 1 August 2016.
Scannell, L., & Gifford, R. (2010). Defining place attachment: A tripartite organizing framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(1), 1–10.
Scheidt, R. J., & Norris-Baker, C. (2003). Many meanings of community. Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 17(1), 55–66.
Schumaker, S. A., & Taylor, R. B. (1983) Toward a clarification of people place relationships: A model of attachment to place. In N. R. Feimer & E. S Geller (Eds.), Environmental psychology: Directions and perspectives. New York: Praeger.
Slater, T. (2009). Missing Marcuse: On gentrification and displacement. City, 13(2–3), 292–311.
Visentin, L. (2017). Elderly resident Sally Parslow’s last-ditch fight to stay in Millers Point. Sydney Morning Herald, 14 April. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/elderly-resident-sally-parslows-lastditch-fight-to-stay-in-millers-point-20170414-gvkwfs.html.
Wiles, J. L., Allen, R., Palmer, A. J., Hayman, K. J., Keeling, S., & Ngaire, K. (2009). Older people and their social spaces: A study of well-being and attachment to place in Aotearoa New Zealand. Social Science and Medicine, 68(4), 664–671.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Morris, A. (2019). Introduction and Setting. In: Gentrification and Displacement: The Forced Relocation of Public Housing Tenants in Inner-Sydney. SpringerBriefs in Sociology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1087-4_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1087-4_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-1086-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-1087-4
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)