Celebrating the new edition of Public Sydney: Drawing the City

Hear from authors Peter John Cantrill and Philip Thalis, with NSW State Librarian Dr. Caroline Butler-Bowdon and the first NSW Minister for Public Spaces Hon. Rob Stokes, at a special evening celebrating the new edition of Public Sydney: Drawing the City.

What makes a city beautiful, functional and memorable?

Public Sydney reads the city through more than 100 of its key public spaces. Each site is drawn in plan, section and elevation. Together the drawings show how Sydney’s history, its harbour geography and its design choices produced the public space we share today.

The new edition is thoroughly revised, with new maps, images and essays. It is the result of more than two decades of research and recording.

We’re hosting the evening at St James’ Church, one of the places featured in the book. Designed by Francis Greenway and completed in 1824, it has been part of Sydney’s civic heart for 200 years. It’s a place of worship, a concert hall and a refuge from the city, open to anyone who walks in. So is it public space?

Join us to explore what makes a space public, and how Sydney can protect and create more of it.

Thank you to St James' Institute for hosting this event at St. James' Church.