The Central Business District developed in the area between Darling Harbour to the west and the open areas of the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Domain, and Hyde Park in the east. Today, it has an average width of 700m and measures 2.5km north-south, from Circular Quay to Railway Square at the Central Station.
Industry and manufacturing was originally located in inner Sydney. This was partly because the excellent port access of the area, and partly because of the lack of an early, comprehensive urban plan, the result of the fact that Sydney was an original colony. However, Sydney was the first metropolis to have a metropolitan development plan. In 1951 the Cumberland Plan produced in 1948 by the Cumberland County Council was approved by the New South Wales Parliament.(3) The decentralization of industry was one of its major goals. This was integrated with a plan to develop the outer suburbs into well endowed, spread out district centres. These centres would provide for the material and entertainment needs of the local people. The creation of district centres reduced the need to commute into inner Sydney, and allowed Sydney to sprawl without losing populations to other cities. The shopping mall was the key to this plan, making Sydney one of the earliest cities to plan and develop suburbs around well spaced shopping and commercial centres. Sydney was successful in its plan to develop the outer suburbs through its adherence to existing connections with rail lines.
Industry expanded and moved out of the central, inner Sydney areas into specific spaces on the outskirts of the city. Office buildings grew in height and number. (See Map) Currently, the north remains essentially free of damaging industry and is primarily residential. Heavy industry is located in the south and west and heavy transport occurs in these areas. Housing can generally be found not far from noise and air polluting industrial complexes. The social geography, such as income patterns and ethnic/immigrant location patterns primarily follow this same division.
