The Redfern Waterloo community has endured many waves of government intervention – from ‘slum clearance’ projects in the 1950s to ‘neighbourhood improvement’ schemes of the 1990s and is now the subject of major redevelopment proposals. Accommodating a significant proportion of Sydney’s public housing stock, and having particular significance for its traditional Gadigal owners as well as the wider urban Aboriginal community, the future of Redfern Waterloo is deeply contested. Festival of Urbanism participants have an opportunity to visit the Redfern Waterloo community and learn about its past and contested futures with members of the community based ‘REDWatch’ advocacy group.
Numbers are strictly limited, so book early to avoid disappointment.
Meeting instructions provided on registration
Tour Lead
Geoff Turnbull, REDWatch spokesperson
Geoff Turnbull has been a spokesperson for REDWatch since it was set up in 2004 to monitor government plans to reform human services and leverage the redevelopment of the Redfern, Eveleigh, Darlington and Waterloo (REDW) area. During the RWA times Geoff was a community member on the Redfern Waterloo Built Environment Ministerial Advisory Committee and its Heritage Taskforce. He currently is a Co-Chair of the Waterloo Human services Collaborative’s Service Integration and Systems Coordination Group tasked with progressing a part of the Waterloo Action Plan to provide better supports for public housing tenants. He is also a member of the NGO umbrella organisation Redfern Waterloo Groundswell, the Waterloo Redevelopment Group and sits as a community member on the Executive Steering Group of the SLHD / UNSW Health Equity Research and Development Unit (HERDU).