Chinatown re-oriented : a critical analysis of recent redevelopment schemes in a Melbourne and Sydney enclave

This paper develops a critical analysis of Chinatown redevelopment schemes undertaken by State government in Victoria and New South Wales since the early 1970s. This period marks a transition in Australian management strategy toward minority groups from one of assimilation/discrimination to cultural pluralism. At the local level, this shift has been marked by efforts on the part of planners and politicians to promote Chinatown for its perceived contribution to ‘Multicultural’ Australia. The paper argues that the Melbourne and Sydney schemes share with similar projects in other Western countries, long-standing assumptions about ‘a Chinese race’. This has implications both for the conceptualization of ‘Chinatown’ and for public policy relating to ethnic relations.