Sorry, but I seem to be completely missing the point of this post. I’d assume it was a joke, except it isn’t funny.

Isn’t it a great thing that kids can use maps and photographs to explore bits of the world they haven’t been to yet, and might never be able to afford to visit. They can see the White House (which you linked from “Large businesses”?!) and the UN Building (which you linked from “places of government?!). They can visit Paris, Rome, Sydney and Tokyo.

Sometimes there will be pictures of individuals in the photographs - although I don’t know how you classify a man holding up his arm as having a mental disability - that’s a bit presumptive?! You can’t identify those individuals, so most people just move on, thanks.

They can’t actually use Street View to post a picture of their backsides to everyone in the world - so I really don’t get your point here.

Wow. Good to see another soul out there who actually seems to have a clue. I wish you worked in government.

You’ve essentially hit on some of my own observations. In fact hit on them so well I don’t need to even write about them now. It is effectively the inner Sydney asian community that keeps the city alive these days. When the Rocks has long gone to sleep Sydney South is still going and I agree that it’s not alcohol fueled which is also good to see.

Although I’m a big drinker myself I never really saw what the appeal was for someone who wanted to do something other than stand around and get drunk.

Cities like London, New York and Tokyo (I’m assuming with Tokyo, haven’t yet been) do have one important thing over Sydney and that is a good mix of high density residential and business. Things are changing but not as quickly as they should.

Shopping is something I could address in another article. The historical legislation in regards to opening hours in Australia seems to be what is holding us back. When I was a child and no I’m not that old. All of the shops were closed on Sunday and only opened half days on Saturdays. This changed slowly to 9-5 7 days a week and it hasn’t moved since.

Most people who I know who have moved here are astonished by 9-5 shopping. It just doesn’t make sense. Flexible opening hours would do a lot to keep Sydney alive after dark and would fuel growth in entertainment.

In regards to greening the city. I’m all for making it more pedestrian friendly but yes, if it is to the detriment of space for more business, entertainment and residences then we should say no. The CBD is meant to be a concrete jungle. We have enough parks.

I often hear of plans to ‘green’ Sydney by Clover Moore, adding parks etc, but while this would make Sydney more visually stunning, in my opinion, these public spaces will just add more dead space to an already entertainment starved city. People are increasingly looking for more urban ‘fun’, not parks (there are many places where we can find parks already.) This is evidenced by Daring Harbour, once a tourist wasteland, it’s now a hub of entertainment with a plentiful addition of cafes, bars and restaurants.

Another key thing about Darling Harbour, most things are open LATER. Cities that truly never sleep (New York, Tokyo) while being approximately 5 times the size of Sydney city (With 10 times the population) never sleep because everything is still open after people finish work. This I have never understood about Sydney retail? Why keep the bulk of your open hours during the time your clientele are in their offices, and close when they finally leave? Surely the idea that most office workers are rushing home to have dinner with the family is antiquated. In Japan most shopping isn’t open until 11 (who is looking for a handbag at 9am?) and close well into the night (8pm - 10pm) and every night you see shoppers spilling into the streets. Sydney’s late night Thursday shopping is usually busy, why can’t this be extended to every day? People leave the city because everything is closes at 5:30.

Also, Sydney’s clientele are changing, especially late at night. If you do go to the very small hubs of late night activity in and around the CBD you will usually see a much more multicultural group than you would 20 years ago. Few Sydney born residents actually live in the heart of the city (who can afford it.) Most residences in the city are owned as investment, often with 5 international students sharing a 1 bedroom apartment. These funnily enough, are your late night entertainment ‘mavens’, bringing with them their late night cultures from Hong Kong, South Korea (where in Seoul you can literally go shopping 24 hours), China and Japan. Unlike Australians who like to spend their times in standing pubs and bars, these late night veterans are looking for cool eateries (izakaya styled) and cool/interesting late night cafes. One look at the inner eateries in the Capitol Theatre at any given weeknight makes this quite obvious, it is filled with young Asian customers with literally, nowhere else to go, and a closer look will tell you that many of these people are actually Asian Australian, inheriting their late night habits from their overseas friends. If a set of late night businesses can cater to these new ‘city’zens then we are bit closer to creating true night life in the city. Sydney is screaming out for a good 24 hour cafe. Why is it that at 3 in the morning, almost every morning, Pancakes (one of the few 24 hour cafes in Sydney) is packed (when the food is at best… slightly edible)? Because there is nowhere else to go.

There needs to be inner city hubs designed to cater for a late night audience, and these hubs don’t necessarily have to be fueled by alcohol consumption, just fueled by supporting business. Many a ‘late night’ cafe has died because all business around it is closed, but those that survive are usually surrounded by other late night businesses. A true late night hub means many or all business are open late, meaning more choice for the consumer and thus more reason to stay out late.