Paving over Pyrmont?

Paving over Pyrmont?

Concrete City, a documentary film about Pyrmont, the small urban Sydney community which is to host the world's largest gambling casino as part of a huge urban consolidation, will be launched at the Mandolin Cinema on June 22.

Speakers at the launch will be Tom Uren, a former minister in the Whitlam and Hawke governments, and Virginia Spate, lecturer in fine arts at Sydney University and a Pyrmont resident.

Pyrmont, an old wharfside suburb, is already changing as developers and architects of the planned "urban village" get to work. The new Glebe Island Bridge towers over the suburb, and high-rise apartment buildings are going up.

"They are destroying a community with a 'sheep paddock planning' mentality", says Tom Uren.

Film makers Mandy King and Fabio Cavadini say that Concrete City demonstrates the urgency of re-examining the whole question of urban planning in Australia. The film has been selected to screen in the Melbourne International Film Festival's environmental program.

The Mandolin Cinema is at 150 Elizabeth St, City. The launch on June 22, at 7.30pm, will be the only showing. For further information, contact distributor Gil Scrine on (02) 716 6354.

From GLW issue 147