Inner-city resistance to higher-density housing has diverted most of Sydney’s population growth, driven largely by non-white migrants, to the outer suburbs. The result is a racially divided city.
People in search of more affordable housing gravitate to the outer suburbs, but may then find higher transport costs erase the benefit of lower mortgage payments.
The inner suburbs are home to large numbers of workers in jobs vulnerable to the pandemic. If they’re forced to seek cheaper housing in outer suburbs, the urban divide will widen.