Urban renewal and public participation in Sydney: unpacking social media strategies and use for contesting consensus

This paper explores how the politics of contestation and resistance attempted to influence a government initiated urban renewal project. The declaration of the site as state significant and the subsequent formal consultation activities are positioned as post-political efforts by planning and development agencies to limit antagonistic politics and secure consensus. However, conflict appeared through a community group who opposed the planning process and its intended outcomes. Central to this resistance was the use of a symposium, main-stream and social media, Twitter in particular. This paper provides a post-political analysis to provide insights into resistance strategies mobilised bycommunity groups.