The invisible success of urban indigenous-driven community development: a sociological place-based case study of Aboriginal success in the Australian city of Newcastle

Urban areas are where important contemporary achievements of indigenous peoples converge – the building of urban Indigenous communities of association, the creation of urban indigenous social infrastructure, revitalization of indigenous culture and language, greater levels of indigenous employment, education and social mobility and successful examples of urban indigenous-driven community development, social entrepreneurship and innovation. David Newhouse, a leading Indigenous scholar on urban Aboriginal affairs in Canada, calls this ‘the invisible infrastructure’ (Newhouse 2003). Newhouse is referring to the limited knowledge about urban indigenous organisation-building and development in policy and research contexts and the fact that urban indigenous institution-building and development and the outcomes are poorly understood in policy and research contexts in Canada. The same applies in Australia. 

Many of these indigenous-driven initiatives came out of urban Indigenous social movements in Australia, Canada, the United States of America and New Zealand. Indigenous peoples, who were motivated by aspirations for autonomy and empowerment, have gone on to create the foundations of indigenous social infrastructure in urban areas across these nations. Indigenous social infrastructure has facilitated indigenous social and cultural development in urban areas and improved economic and social outcomes for Indigenous peoples living in urban areas. The creation of urban indigenous social infrastructure has improved quality of life, created jobs, improved educational outcomes, improved health and wellbeing, encouraged social inclusion, created sustainable communities of association, improved indigenous peoples access to facilities, services and programs, and increased indigenous social mobility (Newhouse 2003).

A sociological lens is used to make visible urban indigenous social mobilization, organisation-building and community development as an important social phenomenon in which urban Aboriginal people, through urban Aboriginal organisations and institutions, have and continue to engage in building critical Aboriginal social infrastructure, improving the lives of urban Aboriginal people in Newcastle. In using a sociological lens, Howard-Wagner identifies three distinct phases of indigenous-driven community development in Newcastle, relating these to critical moments in Australian indigenous and social policy.