Urban Design on Chinatown in Sydney - Case Study Example

The emergence and growth of the town date back to hundreds of years when the Chinese immigrated to Australia as indentured laborers and fortune seekers during the gold rush. Since then, the country has experienced a massive immigration of Chinese and other Asians. Research indicates that the majority of Chinese immigrants are from Canton and Hong Kong while a few others came from mainland China and other places. Precisely, the Chinese migrated in large numbers to Australia when the state introduced the White Australia policy in 1901.

The policy permitted the influx of other races into the country to serve as laborers in several institutions (Jock Collins and Patrick Kunz 2011, 12). Earlier, there were a large number of non-Australians who entered the country following the discovery of gold. The discovery, made in 1851 attracted the attention of many people around the globe who quickly moved in to seek fortune from digging the precious metal. Statistics indicate that there were approximately forty thousand Chinese men and over nine thousand women who moved into the gold mines around 1871.

It was then that the population of Chinese increased with time. The number increased tremendously and in the 1990s and today, there are many Chinese in the country consisting of over a third of the immigrants (C. 2009, 8). Chinatown forms an essential part of Chinese heritage and history (Mobilereference 2007, 7). The great assembling together of the group of people indicates their nostalgic desires and a sense to protect the culture. The experiences of the Diaspora have forced the Indians to create a home away from home while keeping to the regulations of the host country.

Traditionally, Chinatown has consisted of numerous immigrant family households. The trend has changed but the solidarity of the Asians has remained original, much like in the past. Consequently, Chinatown in Sydney as well as in other places like Melbourne and Boston have continued to exhibit close similarities in the cultural practices and especially the architectural design of the town and its buildings.