A CITY RENEWED

Founded in 1788 as a British penal colony, matured as a rather stuffy Anglophile urban lump, Sydney transformed itself in a few decades into an engaging, livable city and model of cultural diversity. The Opera House with its sail-like shells came first. For the 2000 Olympics Sydney undertook massive building and renewal projects, and along 150 miles of shoreline, neglected or pocked by warehouses and crumbling industries, new urban spaces and buildings arose. The city has become a magnet for international business and looks both toward the West and Asia for commerce and culture. Sydneysiders tend to live in quiet city neighborhoods or nearby suburbs.