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Stranded Sydney

Series

Stranded Sydney

While parts of Sydney have taken thousands of new homes, the roads, transport, schools, hospitals and leisure space people need are sorely missing.

6 stories
Raj Raman and his wife Rathiga Thiagarjan and adult son Rajmallan Thiagarajan outside their Riverstone house.

The Rajs bought into the Australian dream. It came with a nightmare

Sydney’s fringe suburbs are at breaking point, with traffic and roads the first tests of residents’ patience each day.

  • Anthony Segaert
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Raj and Aman Mangat with their youngest daughter Iskara and dog Simba in Box Hill.

From 119 students to 1445 in five years: The Sydney suburb that exploded before schools arrived

The Mangat family bought into a suburb promised four public schools. That didn’t happen.

  • Ellie Busby
Manwell had a bike accident and was in hospital for 14 hours at Campbeltown Hospital.

‘The health system will kill me before the cancer does’

Manwell Cini’s excruciating wait in a Sydney emergency department underscores what happens when new hospitals and hospital beds lag population growth.

  • Mostafa Rachwani
In Austral, promised parks and playgrounds have not been delivered, despite locals calling for more green space.

The Sydney suburb with 15,841 residents where children play on the roads

In Sydney’s growth suburbs, councils struggle to provide parks, libraries and pools – and there’s a good reason why.

  • Ellie Busby and Mostafa Rachwani
Thornton, a large greenfield development in Penrith, is positioned next to the train station and has a mix of high, medium and low-density housing.

Sydney is full of poorly designed new suburbs. This is how two got it right

Urban sprawl isn’t new to Sydney – but planning new suburbs properly is rare.

  • Anthony Segaert, Ellie Busby and Mostafa Rachwani
Raj Raman drives from his home in Riverstone to Tallawong Metro station.
  • Editorial

New postcodes, old problems: The repeated failure of Sydney’s growth

This week, the Herald is examining our city’s infrastructure deserts in a series entitled Stranded Sydney – and what can be done about the problem.

  • The Herald's View

Other series

The Sydney Central Business District, Sydney Harbour and Eastern Suburbs and surrounds are seen on 18 February 2025, in Sydney, Australia from a commercial airliner. Picture - Sam Mooy / The Sydney Morning Herald

Life in the burbs

We’re celebrating Sydney’s suburbs and local writers have been penning pieces about the neighbourhoods they know best. Read all their stories here.

  • 8 stories
Australia's declining fertility rate.

Australia’s baby bust

The fertility rate in Australia is at a record low. We explore why we’re having fewer babies – and what that means for the country’s future.

  • 15 stories