Researcher

Summary:

Governments and planners in the Global North are increasingly faced with the challenge of providing services for growing numbers of families in the inner city. This article explores the actual and projected presence of children in inner Sydney and the pressure that gentrification and high density development has placed on school places. The conclusion of the research is that inner urban redevelopment must include sufficient public space and infrastructure not only for schools in the immediate future, but also for adaptive reuse for other, perhaps equally unanticipated, needs in the longer-term

Summary:

The broad aim of the report is to explore the regulatory framework and governance issues associated with decentralised water management systems ) within a strata and community title (S&CT) context. Concerns about the capacity of centralised water supply systems to deliver reliable and secure water supplies have triggered interest in the potential of localised DWMSs as an alternative approach to water management. S&CT developments appear to represent strong potential vehicles for promoting DWMSs because there is an extant legislative framework that supports the governance and management .

Summary:

This paper addresses the challenges facing the strata sector in Sydney in the context of current Australian metropolitan planning strategies promoting increased urban consolidation. It argues that the current focus on higher density development is vulnerable to challenges of regulation, representation and termination in strata developments. Furthermore, the increasing size and complexity of strata schemes as well as the existence of ageing strata stock are placing pressure on the strata title system in NSW . The concept of ‘governance’ provides one mechanism for improving understanding.

Summary:

This document is intended as a reference document to help organisations understand the formal connections between the various stakeholders involved in the strata sector and beyond in Sydney.

Summary:

This Executive Summary outlines the main findings of the research project . The project had three major aims:
1. To explore the role, capacity and effectiveness of owners corporations as agencies of property governance and management in contemporary urban Australia.
2. To explore the capacity and effectiveness of strata managing agents as mediators of outcomes for residents and owners in the sector, and their role and function within the overall structure of management and governance.
3. To assess how well residential strata works from strata owners’ points of view.

Summary:

The research reports on:
– Home modification needs in strata schemes identified by residents, peak body representatives and other professionals.
– Existing policy and legislation that affects the process of undertaking home modifications in strata titled properties.
– Challenges in undertaking home modifications and opportunities for change.

Summary:

The aim of this project was to explore equitable and viable solutions to what has emerged as a fundamental issue facing Australian cities in coming decades: how to effectively, efficiently and inclusively redevelop older areas of privately owned multi‐unit strata titled housing to achieve the higher densities needed to accommodate population growth without exacerbating social inequalities and collateral social disruption. The research therefore addresses questions of both feasibility and equity regarding the termination and renewal of strata schemes.  

Summary:

Of the 18% of Australians 50 years of age and older who moved between 2006 and 2011, it is estimated that around half had downsized by number of bedrooms. The majority downsized into private housing in the general community and around one fifth into retirement villages. This paper compares the demographic characteristics of these two groups, circumstances leading to moving, considerations made in their choice of accommodation, difficulty of the moving process and their satisfaction with the outcomes.

Summary:

This paper makes particular reference to the implications of this debate in the greater Sydney metropolitan area, which raises universal issues regarding tensions between the government and the market and between individual rights and the collective good. This paper argues that there is a case for changing the legislation, with government involvement required to respond to the significant social issues raised, to guarantee the needs of existing owners and tenants are met, and to ensure that high quality, economically viable, buildings result.

Summary:

This document reports on the findings of research carried out by the City Futures Research Centre at the University of NSW into the management of major repairs and maintenance of common property in residential strata properties (containing three or more lots) in New South Wales. This is the first report to outline the attitudes and experiences of strata owners towards planning for major repairs and maintenance in NSW.

Summary:

This article employs a life cycle framework to examine the profound operational and governance challenges that are associated with the fusion of private lot ownership with common property ownership. The article calls for a more explicit recognition of these challenges by academics, policymakers, practitioners and the broader community.

Summary:

This paper demonstrates the impact the actions of developers during the design and build phases of multi-unit residential developments can have on the quality and effectiveness of the on-going management of developments. The findings presented are drawn from a large research project that included interviews and surveys with property owners, executive committee (body corporate) members, strata (property) managers, and peak body representatives about the management of strata schemes in the state of New South Wales in Australia.

Summary:

The article argues there has been a devolution of responsibility to the “private governments” that manage strata schemes, without sufficient support and training. To address this challenge, and realize the potential benefits afforded by the increasing availability of retired volunteers, increased support is essential to encourage better property management and underpin the good governance of urban areas.

Summary:

This article presents an innovative analysis of Australian Census data that identifies lower income households with children as a significant sub-sector of the resident apartment population, geographically concentrated in the lower value middle-ring suburbs of Sydney. An examination of one middle-ring urban renewal site (the Sydney Olympic Park site) provides evidence to suggest that new residential developments adjacent to areas dominated by an apartment market with a significant proportion of lower income families with children are themselves likely to see an influx of these households.

Summary:

Paul Mees’ urban ideal counted on watchful, confident and well-informed citizenry to work collectively in a quest for fair and just cities. As such, The Public City is largely a critique of neo-liberalism and its arguably negative influence on urban prospects. As Mees explained it, neo-liberal urbanism was much more than a political aberration; it was a threat that imposed many costly failures in an age overshadowed by grave ecological challenges. This chapter is Bill Randolph and Hazel Easthope’s strata-related contribution to this collection.

Summary:

In this report we provide a review of Australian and international literature on issues faced by people living in higher density. Our focus is at the level of resident experience and at the scale of the building or development. This review is supported by the input of a range of stakeholders with an extensive knowledge of these issues who participated in a workshop discussion in Sydney (see below for a list of participants). We investigate these issues with regard to the lived experience of residents in higher density dwellings across tenures and forms of housing provision.

Summary:

Based on findings from two recent research projects funded by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, this paper explores why most older Australians remain in their own homes, why those who do move or downsize do so, into what types of dwellings and tenure, and how they go about this process. The findings challenge conventional understandings of both housing utilization and downsizing.

Summary:

The broad aim of this research was to understand more fully the phenomenon of
downsizing in the Australian context including: the extent of downsizing amongst older Australians; who downsizes and why; what is involved in the process; what are the outcomes; what obstacles discourage downsizing; and what policies could facilitate downsizing where appropriate and desired by older people.

Summary:

This paper discusses the findings of a recently completed AHURI research project on downsizing involving analysis of ABS data, and a national mail survey together with in-depth interviews and policy forums in three states of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia). Based on the survey findings and ABS analysis it provides an estimate of the extent of downsizing in Australia. It then explores how downsizing is conceptualised in the academic and policy literature as well as in the popular understanding of the older participants in the survey and interviews.

Summary:

So that the City of Sydney can identify how it might best support communities’ social wellbeing associated with environmental, economic and social changes, it is essential to collect information about the experiences and desires of residents and workers. To this end, this report presents the results of a community survey of residents and workers in the Green Square Urban Renewal Area in Sydney, Australia.

Summary:

This report presents the findings from a study of social interaction and social cohesion undertaken in the
Green Square urban renewal area in Sydney, Australia. The study involved the development and piloting of
a community survey.

Summary:

The multi-owned development (MOD) is a unique property type consisting of at least two individually owned lots tied to communally owned common property with a separate registered entity (the body corporate) created to govern and manage the property. While the body corporate is the ultimate governing entity and the orchestra of operations for much of a MOD’s life, there is a period of time when a MOD’s developer makes governing decisions. This study is therefore exploratory in nature, as it seeks to uncover the nature of governance decisions made by developers during the transition phase.

Summary:

The purpose of this study is to develop a governance typology which identifies governance issues and outcomes. The study reviewed the legislation in three Australian states to identify specific governance categories and the legislative requirements related to those categories. To gain group opinion about the specific governance issues and outcomes, the Delphi method was utilised whereby industry experts participated in a two-round survey questionnaire. A typology was developed as a result of consensus found between participants. The findings identified key governance issues and outcomes.

Summary:

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the international significance of multi-owned developments, present an MOD life cycle conceptual model and review the range of identified peer-reviewed empirical research papers. The paper utilises an exploratory qualitative methodology to collate and analyse literature focusing on MODs. From the 403 research papers identified 96 peer-reviewed empirical research papers specific to MODs were examined. A MOD life cycle model has been conceptualised to facilitate a content analysis of the reviewed papers. The findings of this paper highlights the gaps

Summary:

Anecdotal evidence suggests that if inappropriate decisions are made by developers in the initial establishment phase of multi-owned residential schemes, conflict and long-term dysfunctionalism for the eventual owners result. This paper maps out practises commonly utilised by developers in establishing staged, multi-owned residential developments and the consequences that these practises can have on a scheme in the short and long-term. Findings stemming from twelve semi-structured interviews conducted with key strata and community title industry experts from around Australia.

Summary:

This is the trends and issues paper derived from the larger project on Crime in High Rise Buildings project. The research investigated crime hotspots within the Surfers Paradise, Australia suburb which is dominated by high density and a mix of holiday and residential tenure types. By analysing actual rates and types of crime, guardianship levels, building management styles and perceptions of fear of crime, the research reveals how planning policies and high-rise building management styles can coalesce to create safer vertical communities.

Summary:

The aim of this chapter is to examine, using illustrations from a co-housing development, how property is ‘constituted from the bottom up’ by those who live it. It is based on empirical research into how residents share and manage the non-privately owned spaces that they hold in common.

Summary:

This contribution to the special issue addresses the “what, how, what to be wary of, and why” questions about socio-legal approaches to researching property law. As will become clear, it is not possible to talk about “the” socio-legal approach; this article starts with these definitional difficulties and then discusses the range of research which can be labelled as socio-legal. Following an overview of the challenges faced by the socio-legal researcher, the article concludes by assessing the unique perspective provided by this research approach, with reference to multi-owned properties.

Summary:

Drawing on insights from psychological theories and understandings of mental processing, the paper evaluates the effectiveness of disclosures in aiding purchasing decisions and in mitigating the (potential) harmful effects of conflicts of interest in the multi-owned property environment.

Summary:

This article proposes a new way of looking at property relationships that will enrich our understanding of how they operate. It focuses on property rights in land which are consensual in origin, although this approach could usefully be applied both to non-consensual property relationships and to other property types. Recognising both the temporal and spatial dimensions of land, the dynamics approach reflects the fact that most property relationships are lived relationships, affected by changing patterns and understandings of spatial use, relationship needs, economic realities, opportunities.

Summary:

Strata or condominium property creates multiple privately owned lots or units within an association of owners. Dissolving strata property involves winding-up the association and terminating the private interests. As a result, the non-consensual dissolution of strata property involves the taking of property from those owners who oppose dissolution. This article analyzes British Columbia’s move to facilitate non-consensual dissolution by lowering the required threshold in a dissolution vote from unanimous consent to 80 percent of owners.

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Summary:

Discrimination law typically applies in the public, not private sphere
• Refusing to allow a guide dog into your private home or refusing to date someone because of their religion or ethnicity might make you an unpleasant person, but it is not illegal
• Strata schemes are private property and it is not clear whether
discrimination law applies to them
• The strata Acts recognise this in the prohibition on by-laws that ban guide and hearing dogs and/or assistance animals – if those provisions were not there, prima facie schemes could prevent those animals entering schemes (…)

Summary:

Nothing sets my teeth on edge like a real estate sign screaming ‘Oversized Torrens Title Townhouses’. This is because it is unlikely that new townhouses could be on Old System titles. So why do agents use the term Torrens? Because what they in fact mean by ‘Torrens Title’ is ‘not strata title’ and ‘not community title’. Of course, strata and community title are Torrens title, but what agents are trying to convey is that the townhouses do not have titles burdened by the restrictions, obligations, social and legal complications that come with ownership of strata or community title.

Summary:

Statutory condominium regimes facilitate massive increases in the density of owners. The courts are responding to this spatial reorganization of ownership by reconstructing what it means to be the owner of an interest in land. This article analyzes the ten cases over eight years (2008-2015) in which Canadian courts grant eviction and sale orders against owners within condominium for anti-social behaviour.

Summary:

After three years of consultation, the New South Wales government has released the Strata Schemes Management Bill 2015 and the Strata Schemes Development Bill 2015. The Bills are open for comment until August 12, 2015 and are the latest attempt in longstanding strata title legislative efforts to ‘get it right’. Of course no legislation is ever going to ‘get it right’, remedying all the problems that plague strata schemes, because strata schemes are the sharing of limited amounts of space between multiple parties with divergent interests, desires and convictions (…)

Summary:

Property law is the collection of rules that regulate the rights of multiple people to the limited resource of land. When a person owns land, they own from the centre of the earth to the ‘heavens’, (the Latin maxim “cuis est solum eius est usque ad coelom et ad inferos”). Strata and community title legislation regulates the rights of people to both land and airspace, ergo, it is clearly property law.
Because strata and community title differ from non-strata and community title, there is a temptation to separate it from ordinary property law. (…)

Summary:

High rise and master planned development are a global phenomenon. However, property law differs between jurisdictions, requiring developers to use varied doctrines of private law to support similar developments. Private property law sometimes stymies rather than facilitates development,
leading developers to instigate changes in property law that are not always beneficial to the wider community. In Australia, the United States and England, high rise and master planned communities have been supported by changes in the common law and legislation, & consequently create complex property relations.

Summary:

Strata schemes present real difficulties in relation to discrimination law that have not been sufficiently thought through in Australia, either by legislatures or by some tribunals. There are some activities of a strata scheme that are irrefutably captured by discrimination legislation. For example, members of executive committees are
prohibited from sexually harassing their strata or building manager or engaging in racial discrimination when employing a tradesman. However, there are many activities of strata schemes that are not captured, or it is unclear if they are captured. (…)

Summary:

One of the fundamental aims of property statutes is to clarify the complexity of hundreds of years of judge-made property law. Some of that judge-made law is common law and some of it is equity. Equity presents particular challenges because remedies are discretionary and not available as of right. The state Torrens Acts, which all strata and community title Acts work in conjunction with, attempted to eradicate the operation of considerable equitable property rights, most notably the enforceability of equitable interests in land as a consequence of notice. (…)

Summary:

The impact of housing on students’ wellbeing has recently gained much media and political attention in Australia. The dire situation of students living in overcrowded housing was, for example, highlighted by State MP Cr Clover Moore. This paper presents a typology of housing options available to students in metropolitan Sydney, as well as an overview of the complexities of the student population in Australia. Our typology will assist policymakers and practitioners to target particular housing pathways where interventionist housing policies and action will have the most impact.

Summary:

Green Square is the largest urban redevelopment project in the southern hemisphere, and one of the fastest growing areas in Sydney. This research aimed to develop a survey tool for on-going assessment of social interactions and social cohesion at a large-scale urban renewal site that could be used to measure the nature of social cohesion and social interaction, identify opportunities/barriers residents face regarding social cohesion and community development, understand wellbeing of residents and workers, including satisfaction/attachment to the area, preferences and desires, and future plans.

Summary:

The 17ha Ashmore Precinct is one of the City of Sydney’s largest urban development projects. This research aimed to develop a survey tool for on-going assessment of social interactions and social cohesion at a large-scale urban renewal site that could be used to measure the nature of social cohesion and social interaction, identify opportunities/barriers residents face regarding social cohesion and community development, understand wellbeing of residents and workers, including satisfaction/attachment to the area, preferences and desires, and future plans.

Summary:

Multi-owned properties constitute an ever-growing proportion of the world’s commercial and residential building stock. The multiplicity of owners and tenants produces social and legal complexity that many existing legal systems struggle to accommodate. On 29 September 2017, a diverse group of researchers, practitioners, policy and decision makers met to discuss the challenges of multi-owned properties. The themes of the workshop were drawn from the key ideas of ‘Dynamics of Enduring Property Relations’ (Blandy, Bright & Nield 2017). This is a summary of the workshop’s deliberations.

Summary:

This project, supported by Strata Community Association who are the peak body for the strata industry in Australia, provides the first comprehensive national picture of the strata industry. The national (and state and territory) information sheets provide information on the number of strata properties, their value, the demographic characteristics of their residents, and the professionals employed to serve them. The accompanying report provides detail on the data collection methodology.

Summary:

The Kelvin Grove Principle Body Corporate has commissioned this Report. The objective is to gather a better understanding of the permanent and transient population of KGUV as well as to understand which communication strategies could work better to engage and interact with KGUV city dwellers. There is an additional research component of the project that investigates the lived and perceived space of KGUV and builds on previous research by Guaralda, Yigitcanlar, Caldwell and Houghton about knowledge communities, creative suburbs, placemaking and community engagement.

Summary:

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which gatekeepers of information stymie due diligence investigations in the multi-owned property environment. The study reviewed and analysed the relevant state legislative provisions providing statutory protections for (pre)purchasers of lots within the multi-owned property context. Further, an exploratory survey questionnaire was distributed to owners corporation (OC) managers in Victoria to gain knowledge and a greater understanding of the extent to which OC managers are gatekeepers of information.

Summary:

Highlights
The experiences and emotions of skygarden users and stakeholders is explored.
Management fear of anti-social behaviour increases at height.
Stringent rules in the skygardens fuel a sense of frustration in the residents.
A sense of contested ownership exists between residents and skygarden management.
Skygardens provide an opportunity for escapism from dense vertical living.

Summary:

English-language literature on the relationship between home and dwelling has largely focused on the benefits of homeownership and (to a lesser extent) social rental in
facilitating ontological security. Less consideration has been given to the experiences of private tenants. This paper draws on findings of a study on security of occupancy to discuss private renters’ ability to exercise control over their dwellings in Australia vs. Germany. It discusses the limitations of Australian legislation, within its policy, market and cultural context, in enabling private tenants to exercise control.

Summary:

The next few decades will see a significant increase in high density development in strategic centres in Australian cities, if current city plans are put into practice. The social consequences of this shift towards higher density are profound and will have a significant impact on Australian cities’ social sustainability. This research provides insights into how people use spaces socially in high density, and which kinds of spaces are likely to facilitate the maintenance of weak ties. These findings can inform the design and planning of socially sustainable high density areas.

Summary:

Two significant changes in housing patterns have impacted on the ability of people to become attached to, and identify with, their dwelling because of tensions between these ways of living and dominant cultural representations of the dwelling as home. These are an increase in multi-unit property ownership and long-term private renting. However these phenomena need not necessarily result in people feeling less attached to their dwellings if dominant social norms and constructs of the dwelling as home, and home ownership in particular, are challenged.

Summary:

A raft of challenges face multi-unit residential housing design, at the forefront of which is a triad of interrelated needs – to make dwellings more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. To date, this discussion has primarily focused on the provision of high quality new housing. However, the existing housing stock offers rich opportunities for creating more liveable, affordable, and environmentally-friendly solutions, which remain largely underexplored in Australia. In this paper we explore the opportunities of what we term “adaptive redesign” of existing multi-owned housing.

Summary:

Cities around the world are struggling to provide adequate housing for growing populations. Concurrently, the significant amount of housing stock built during the post-war housing boom (1950–80) is now ageing and in need of repair. To date, the discussion surrounding both issues – growth and redevelopment – has primarily focused on the provision of new housing, predominantly multiunit apartments for medium-to high-density living. However, much existing housing stock offers rich opportunities for creating more liveable, affordable and sustainable solutions.

Summary:

All multi-owned developments are, by definition, owned collectively by multiple individual owners. While for some shared ownership can be part of the attraction, for others it is a necessary evil. This chapter focuses on the experience of strata title in NSW, Australia. Based on consultation with strata owners, this chapter highlights the mismatch that can occur between the responsibilities of owners as members of an owners corporation (body corporate) as enshrined in legislation and people’s knowledge and acceptance of those responsibilities, and discusses why this mismatch occurs.

Summary:

In the 21st century Australian city, urban renewal has become synonymous with higher residential densities. This chapter discusses: the potential for conflict; problems of building design, build quality and defects and ongoing problems with major repairs and maintenance; strata ownership as a formidable barrier to further renewal in areas that otherwise would be prime sites for redevelopment. We draw on a series of interlinked and on-going research projects undertaken by the authors and colleagues over the last decade looking at aspects of the emerging strata title sector in Australia.

Summary:

Although Australia has over 2 million solar households, the 10% of Australians who live in apartments are still missing out on cheap, clean energy. This final report from CEEM’s three-year research project includes an assessment of the scale and nature of the solar opportunity and analysis of the costs and benefits of different technical configurations and financial arrangements. It also identifies some of the challenges preventing apartment residents from installing solar PV and suggest some policy reforms that could help overcome the key regulatory barriers.

Summary:

This paper reviews opportunities for, and barriers to, increasing photovoltaic (PV) deployment on apartment buildings. We undertook a review of the academic literature and of specific Australian regulatory arrangements, as well as conducting interviews with relevant stakeholders. Barriers identified include the huge variety amongst apartment building stock, demographic factors and knowledge issues. However, the Australian regulatory context – including governance of apartment buildings, regulation of the energy market, and electricity tariff policies – also impacts on the options available.

Summary:

Apartment buildings offer an opportunity to apply central battery storage and shared solar generation to aggregated apartment and common loads through an embedded network or microgrid. We present a study of energy and financial flows in five Australian apartment buildings with photovoltaics and battery storage using real apartment interval-metered load profiles and simulated solar generation profiles, modelled using an open source tool developed for the purpose.

Summary:

The research aims to identify the types of building defects impacting residential buildings, the effects that building defects have on buildings and residents, the impact of the regulatory environment and how defects are managed by the owners corporation. The study identified the prevalence of building defects based on construction systems. Defects were most prevalent in following systems (in order): building fabric and cladding, fire protection, roof and rainwater disposal, waterproofing and structural.

Summary:

Driven by policy, demographic and market factors, increasing numbers of people are living in apartment buildings. Especially where populations are heterogeneous and highly mobile, this presents major challenges for social connection, and consequently for social cohesion and individual wellbeing. There is a need to better understand how positive social connection might be facilitated amongst apartment residents, and what role building design and management can play. This thesis presents case study research into relationships in four large Sydney apartment complexes and their surroundings.

Summary:

Compact city policies have become planning orthodoxy over the past three decades. But compact city development takes many forms, and the compact city concept often obscures a diverse range of social, economic and environmental outcomes of urban densification. This paper identifies (i) how high density living is different; and (ii) how the current compact city model makes lower-income and disadvantaged
residents especially vulnerable.

Summary:

Contemporary urban life has been shaped by two momentous shifts over the twentieth century: increasing global mobility and increasing housing density. Arguably, because global mobility is now so pronounced, engagement and civility require that people are respectfully observant of ethno‐diversity. Yet our review of the existing literature on multicultural encounters and participation in multi‐owned private apartment buildings suggests the need for more research on the intersections among global mobility, housing density, and apartment living. This paper begins to bridge this gap.

Summary:

Higher density multi-unit residential developments, such
as townhouses and apartment buildings (henceforth
‘higher density housing’), have become increasingly
common feature of Australian cities. Shelter NSW engaged the City Futures Research Centre to identify the major challenges confronting lower income and vulnerable residents in higher density housing. In
higher density buildings (‘the building scale’), factors
like proximity between residents, and the need to share
responsibility for building upkeep, create a different
living experience to that of detached housing.

Summary:

Higher density multi-unit residential developments, such
as townhouses and apartment buildings (henceforth
‘higher density housing’), have become increasingly
common feature of Australian cities. Shelter NSW engaged the City Futures Research Centre to identify the major challenges confronting lower income and vulnerable residents in higher density housing. In areas
with growing quantities of higher density housing (‘the
neighbourhood scale’), this densification can strain
local services and reshape the area’s socio-economic
mix.

Summary:

Higher density multi-unit residential developments, such
as townhouses and apartment buildings (henceforth
‘higher density housing’), have become increasingly
common feature of Australian cities. Shelter NSW engaged the City Futures Research Centre to identify the major challenges confronting lower income and vulnerable residents in higher density housing. The compact city policy objective puts pressure on governments to coordinate infrastructure planning and delivery, and to manage the social, economic and environmental effects of changing population patterns and urban form.

Summary:

This paper outlines and compares the policy frameworks designed to encourage higher density urban renewal in Sydney and Perth since the mid-2000s. These policies underpin the ‘compact city’ model that has become urban planning orthodoxy worldwide (OECD 2012). Following an overview of the key policy settings adopted in the two cities (summarised in Appendix 1), the paper offers a high-level commentary on the key similarities and differences, and what these might mean for future compact city planning in Australia.

Summary:

This paper explores the transition towards the compact city model in Australia, which has become the orthodoxy of metropolitan planning in the last two decades through an examination of experience in Sydney and Perth. This transition is aligned with neoliberal policies through which private investment and the marketplace have become dominant in driving urban growth and change. Key
insights relate to who has a say in development control, growing executive power, increased government engagement with lobby groups, and growing inequality.

Summary:

This research investigates the experiences of lower-income apartment residents in relation to planning and infrastructure provision; urban design; building design and management; neighbourhood amenities and facilities; and ongoing place management and community engagement so as to improve wellbeing, community and housing affordability outcomes.

Summary:

Urban renewal in brownfield areas is an important component of broader compact city policies in place in Sydney, around Australia, and elsewhere in the world. Local and state governments have an interest in understanding how well urban renewal areas are performing, including the satisfaction of residents and workers with these areas. This report presents the results of a community survey of residents and workers in the Green Square Urban Renewal Area in Sydney, covering social cohesion, social interaction, community development, wellbeing, place attachment, preferences and future plans.

Summary:

Urban renewal in brownfield areas is an important component of broader compact city policies in place in Sydney, around Australia, and elsewhere in the world. Local and state governments have an interest in understanding how well urban renewal areas are performing, including the satisfaction of residents and workers with these areas. This report presents the results of a community survey of residents and workers in the Ashmore Estate Urban Renewal Area in Sydney, covering social cohesion, social interaction, community development, wellbeing, place attachment, preferences and future plans.

Summary:

This research project:
• describes the characteristics of lower-income apartment residents and the places where they live in Sydney and Melbourne
• identifies important issues with how well apartment developments provide for the wellbeing, community and affordability needs
• considers how these issues can most effectively be addressed in high-density developments at both the building and precinct scale.
It considers planning and infrastructure provision; urban design; building design and management; neighbourhood amenities and facilities; and ongoing place management and community engagement

Summary:

This project, supported by Strata Community Association who are the peak body for the strata industry in Australia and New Zealand, provides a comprehensive picture of the strata industry in Australia and New Zealand, following from the first Australian National Strata Data Analysis in 2018. National, state and territory information sheets provide information on the number of strata properties, their value, the demographic characteristics of their residents, and the professionals employed to serve them.

Summary:

Perhaps the single most important decision in the lifecycle of a condominium is the one to dissolve it. This paper gives an overview of various dissolution rules in various common-law jurisdictions with statutory condominium regimes, describes the rule in British Columbia before turning to several court cases revealing common issues. We develop the argument that the non-consensual dissolution of condominium is a form of private-to-private takings, in order to reveal that the choice between dissolution rules is also a choice between different conceptions of property.

Summary:

This article considers a conflict between residential-unit owners and a commercial-unit owner within a condominium development in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Drawing from material produced in litigation, the article situates the dispute within its property and urban contexts to argue that condominium government requires attention, not just for its impact on owners or residents, but also because cities must now account for, work alongside, and, in some circumstances, contend with these rapidly proliferating sites of government that are helping to shape who has the right to live in the city.

Summary:

Though strata title legislation is over 50 years old, important questions about its intersection with other areas of law remain unanswered, including whether discrimination law applies to residential strata schemes. Bodies corporate wield considerable power over residents’ properties and lives, and the capacity to use that power in discriminatory ways is real. As ever-increasing numbers of Australians choose or are compelled to live in strata schemes, the need to resolve this legal dilemma becomes more pressing.

Summary:

Rapid urban population growth has prompted a shift towards higher-density dwellings. Yet little is known about the everyday emotional experiences of apartment residents. This paper draws on insights gathered from families, with children, living in apartments in Sydney, Australia. These families’ experiences of high-density living reveal how the materiality of sound and built form interact with cultural norms to shape how apartment spaces are understood and inhabited.

Summary:

This paper offers the concept of embedded property as a way of thinking about and understanding condominium property, and of explaining how ownership of land within condominium is changing the character of ownership. In doing so, it describes property within condominium as spatially embedded, politically embedded, and temporally embedded, and then demonstrates how these different modes by which condominium embeds property are forcing courts and legislatures to reconsider long-accepted incidents of land ownership.

Summary:

This research, undertaken in 2019, investigated the social aspect of living in large apartment complexes, drawing on case studies in Sydney and asking what ‘good outcomes’ look like. To understand how we can improve spaces within and around apartment complexes to better support social connection and encourage use, two overarching questions were asked: what types of social connections residents want locally, and how the built environment and management can support this.

Summary:

This report examines the complexities of strata insurance and the role of strata managers in this process. It highlights increased costs of strata insurance over the period 2016-2020 and the significant imposition of state and federal taxes. The legal complexities of strata and obligations imposed on owners corporations and bodies corporate to insure are outlined. The report recommends changes including a more transparent disclosure regime so that consumers are more informed about insurance processes and the fees imposed by management companies and others in the strata insurance supply chain.

Summary:

As one form of common interest community, condominium packages private property with a co-ownership interest in common property and rights to participate in the governing organisation. A statutory innovation, the condominium form has been adopted in jurisdictions around the world and has quickly become the dominant form of land ownership for new-build housing in many cities. As an increasingly prominent feature of urban real estate, condominium is changing the nature of ownership and of local government, and is one of the defining institutions of our time.

Summary:

This paper traces the history of apartment design with an emphasis on spatial layout. It charts the events that have influenced apartment design in Sydney, Australia and provides a framework for understanding how changes in society, the economy, regulations, and architectural paradigms have influenced apartment layouts over time. Through a review of historical and contemporary apartment plan drawings in Sydney, we identify four chronologically distinct eras.

Summary:

In Australia, private high‐density housing is typically marketed as the domain of middle‐ and higher‐income residents. In practice, it accommodates many lower‐income households. This has implications for public infrastructure planning in high‐density neighbourhoods where private property ownership dominates. Examining two case-studies with markedly different day-to-day experiences, this article argues that coordinated and collaborative planning processes are key to ensuring that the needs of lower‐income households are met in privately developed apartment neighbourhoods.

Summary:

The report addresses the serious and growing problem of building defects in the trillion dollar multi-unit housing sector. The research investigates the prevalence of building defects, why they occur and how multi-unit housing quality can be improved.
The findings are intended to inform changes to planning and development policy and regulation, leading to improved building quality and safety, lower costs and stress for owners, more resilient urban communities, and better urban planning outcomes.

Summary:

The multiple ownership of the Renewable Energy Systems (RES) in common properties of Multi-owned buildings (MOBs) develops energy and benefit allocation concerns. The research poses the ‘Energy Entitlement’ of apartment owners as a critical research concept to promote the adoption of RES in MOBs. We scrutinise the factors influencing the adoption of RES in MOBs and the existing energy allocation frameworks proposed in the literature while emphasising the necessity of ‘Energy Entitlement’ that calls for an equitable delineation of energy ownership integrated with land administration principles.

Summary:

Older apartment blocks represent a significant urban asset, but many no longer suit their current inhabitants.
Sandra Karina Löschke and Hazel Easthope look to Europe, where many redesign projects that involve residents in the process have transformed the quality of apartment living. How might we adopt similar methods of renovation in the Australian context?

Summary:

In modern buildings, a combination of passive and active fire protection systems are used in an effort to safeguard residents from death or injury by facilitating safe evacuation, enabling emergency services to safely undertake activities, and limiting the spread of fire to other properties. To avoid a catastrophic outcome, all fire protection systems must complement each other, working together in a holistic way.
The aim of this research was to better understand commonly identified passive fire protection defects and the regulatory environment associated with this construction system.

Summary:

Building product performance is an under-researched area. There are numerous aspects of building products non-conformance and non-compliance that require investigation in order to understand the true extent and intricacies of the problem. For this project, we focus on
product selection accountability. This is because irrespective of the extent of the problem, there needs to be confidence that those designing and constructing our built environment are undertaking due diligence to ensure the building products chosen and installed are
compliant and conformant.

Summary:

This publication is a compilation of writing from Ireland about multi-unit developments (MUDs), and owners’ management companies (OMCs). OMCs are responsible for the management of shared spaces and services in managed estates such as apartments.
The writing aims to explain the relationships, stakeholders, and systems that underpin an expanding component of Ireland’s housing stock. It is hoped that the reader will gain a better understanding of the elements necessary to achieve successful apartment living.

Summary:

As a form of land ownership, condominium enables subdivision and produces local government. Designed to facilitate the production of apartments as distinct parcels of land, in some jurisdictions the condominium form may also be deployed to subdivide land for single-house lots within a structure of private local government. The principal effect of extending condominium to unbuilt land is not to enable subdivision, something that is already common, but, rather, to endow groups of single-house lot owners with fiscal capacity and governing authority to assume important aspects of local government.

Summary:

While recent high-profile incidents have highlighted the impacts of building defects, there remains a dearth of comprehensive research that examines the full spectrum of health risks encountered by residents living in apartments affected by these defects. In this paper, an interdisciplinary perspective provides a comprehensive and structured synthesis of the literature on the varied impacts of lifecycle construction quality characteristics and defects on the health and wellbeing of apartment residents, including classification of methodological approaches.

Summary:

The Ethiopian government designed the condominium housing program to afford houses for residents, which requires the provision of infrastructure and faculties in the new developed areas. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate condominium housing institutional problems, actors, and roles in reducing urban problems. The researcher used mixed research approaches. The condominium can manage land; enhance housing supply, minimize service provision costs and compensation expenses, reduce number of expropriated farmers, minimize horizontal city expansion; and enhance housing affordability.

Summary:

The success of compact cities depends on built environment quality, social relationships within buildings, and broader social norms. This paper focuses on the experiences of families with children. We extend on existing research that documents families’ experiences of poor design, to recognise the role regulation plays in shaping a sense of home. Utilising narratives of parents raising children in apartments in Sydney, Australia, we argue social norms, neighbourly interactions, and by-laws interact to enforce codes of behaviour that impinge upon family life.

Summary:

This project, supported by Strata Community Association who are the peak body for the strata industry in Australia and New Zealand, provides a comprehensive picture of the strata industry in Australia and New Zealand. The 2022 report is the third instalment of strata insights published by the City Futures Research Centre. National, state and territory information sheets provide information on the number of strata properties, their value, the demographic characteristics of their residents, and the professionals employed to serve them.

Summary:

Urban renewal in brownfield areas is an important component of broader compact city policies in place in Sydney, around Australia, and elsewhere in the world. Local and state governments have an interest in understanding how well urban renewal areas are performing, including the satisfaction of residents and workers with these areas. This report presents the results of the 2023 community survey of residents and workers in the Green Square Urban Renewal Area in Sydney, covering social cohesion, social interaction, community development, wellbeing, place attachment, preferences and future plans.

Summary:

Urban renewal in brownfield areas is an important component of broader compact city policies in Sydney, around Australia, and elsewhere in the world. Local and state governments have an interest in understanding how well urban renewal areas are performing, including the satisfaction of residents and workers with these areas. This report presents the results of the 2023 community survey of residents and workers in the Ashmore Estate Urban Renewal Area in Sydney, covering social cohesion, social interaction, community development, wellbeing, place attachment, preferences and future plans.

Summary:

This research investigates how Australia can supply new and retrofit older apartments so that they are sustainable, that is they are comfortable; deliver cost reductions for householders while minimising consumption and waste; and maximise energy efficiencies and energy management, both in their construction and throughout their lifecycle (including through the adoption of renewable energy technologies).

Summary:

High-density development requires large land parcels, but fragmented land ownership can impede redevelopment. While earlier compact city development in Sydney occurred on large-scale brownfield sites, redeveloping and re-amalgamating older strata-titled properties is now integral to
further densification. The purpose of this study is to examine collective sales activity in one Sydney suburb where multiple strata-titled redevelopments and re-amalgamations have been attempted. We explore how owners navigate the process of selling collectively.

Summary:

There is evidence that many apartment residents find it challenging to form and maintain local social connections, especially those renting their home. This can negatively impact physical and mental health, and have implications for the management of apartment complexes and local area social sustainability. In this paper, we draw on interviews with renters of condominium complexes in Sydney, Australia, to investigate their local social interactions. While many renters desire greater local connection, their opportunities and motivations are limited.

Summary:

This paper develops a clearer understanding of consumer demand and market supply of multi-unit dwellings in suburban town centres. The paper combines qualitative analysis of the housing preferences of a group of (largely) migrant women with children living in apartments in the suburban town centre of Liverpool, Sydney, Australia, with quantitative analysis of household type, apartment size and dwelling approvals. We show that market-led supply creates a mismatch between housing need and type. We conclude that calibrating the share of larger apartments will improve housing outcomes.

Summary:

As Australian strata properties grapple with both systemic building defects and concerns around the lack of building repair and maintenance, it is timely to investigate, evaluate and discuss whether similar reforms should be introduced in Australia. This research project is an international cross-jurisdictional analysis of the current regulations that require strata-type buildings to be inspected during the lifecycle (post any initial defect inspection).

Summary:

The thesis identifies mixed-use developments, and specifically mixed -use developments that contain at least one owners corporation (part strata), as anticommons property. Anticommons property is a type of property regime where the initial endowments are so disaggregated that ultimately, they risk the wasteful underuse of resources (Heller 1998). Underuse in this thesis is the inability to reassemble the fragmented property rights for a collective sale and urban renewal. Without government intervention to assist with the reassembly of these properties , they risk becoming ruins.

Summary:

In modern buildings, a combination of passive and active fire protection systems are used in an effort to safeguard residents from death or injury by facilitating safe evacuation, enabling emergency services to safely undertake activities, and limiting the spread of fire to other properties. To avoid a catastrophic outcome, all fire protection systems must complement each other, working together in a holistic way.
The aim of this research was to better understand commonly identified passive fire protection defects and the regulatory environment associated with this construction system.

Summary:

Building product performance is an under-researched area. There are numerous aspects of building products non-conformance and non-compliance that require investigation in order to understand the true extent and intricacies of the problem. For this project, we focus on
product selection accountability. This is because irrespective of the extent of the problem, there needs to be confidence that those designing and constructing our built environment are undertaking due diligence to ensure the building products chosen and installed are
compliant and conformant.