Researcher

Laura Crommelin

Email: laura.crommelin@unsw.edu.au

Institution/Organisation: University of New South Wales
Position: Senior Lecturer
Biographical Information: Dr Laura Crommelin is a Senior Lecturer in the City Planning Program at UNSW Sydney, teaching planning law and governance and working on research related to urban and housing policy. She is also a Fellow at UNSW's City Futures Research Centre. Laura’s research interests cover a range of trends and issues in post-industrial cities, including urban renewal, urban governance, digital disruptions (e.g. Airbnb), place branding, and DIY urban revitalisation practices. She holds a PhD in urban planning from UNSW, an M.Litt in US Studies from the University of Sydney and a BA/LLB (Hons) from the University of Melbourne.

 

Authored/ Co-authored Research

Title: Cracks in the Compact City: Tackling defects in multi-unit strata housing

Published: Crommelin, L., Thompson, S., Easthope, H., Loosemore, M., Yang, H., Buckle, C. and Randolph, B., 2021. Cracks in the Compact City: tackling defects in multi-unit strata housing.

Author/Co-authors: Laura Crommelin, Sian Thompson, Hazel Easthope, Martin Loosemore, Hyungmo Yang, Caitlin Buckle, Bill Randolph

Keywords: Defects, Development, Information available to owners and residents, Insurance,

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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.

Title: Planning for Lower‐Income Households in Privately Developed High‐Density Neighbourhoods in Sydney, Australia

Published: Easthope, H., Crommelin, L., Kerr, S.M., Troy, L., van den Nouwelant, R. and Davison, G., 2022. Planning for Lower-Income Households in Privately Developed High-Density Neighbourhoods in Sydney, Australia. Urban Planning, 7(4), pp.213-228.

Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Sophie-May Kerr, Laurence Troy, Ryan van den Nouwelant, Gethin Davison

Keywords: Liveability, Planning, Policy, Qualitative research/interviews,

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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.

Title: Redeveloping the Compact City: The challenges of strata collective sales

Published: Easthope, H., Crommelin, L., Gillon, C., Pinnegar, S., Ruming, K., Liu, S. (2023) Redeveloping the Compact City: The challenges of strata collective sales, Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law, https://doi.org/10.1108/JPPEL-04-2023-0016

This paper has been peer reviewed

Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Charlie Gillon, Simon Pinnegar, Kristian Ruming, Sha Liu

Keywords: Redevelopment / termination,

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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.