Researcher

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:

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 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:

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:

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.