Abstract
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This chapter explores the vernacular cultural assets ofWollongong,
a largely suburban industrial city located just to the south of
Sydney. Our interest here stems from our research for the wider
Cultural Asset Mapping in Regional Australia (CAMRA) project,
which asked the following key questions: outside of official
planning discourses, what kinds of cultural assets exist in a rapidly
changing and historically industrial region? What constitutes
creativity in such a context? And, as researchers, what kinds of
research practice are necessary to engage with marginalised social
groups and working-class communities as part of a cultural asset
mapping approach? In this chapter, we reflect on our research
experiences, and discuss the particularities of cultural and creative
practice in a working-class steel city that is undergoing transitions.
The story includes surfboards, punk music and custom-designed
cars, but also diverse suburban 'cool places' invisible to the creative
cities script.