Governing the compact city: The role and effectiveness of strata management

This research charts the key issues facing the governance and management of strata buildings and is the first major study of the strata sector undertaken in Australia.• An estimated three million people live in strata titled homes in Australia. The state of New South Wales (NSW) has the largest number of strata titled properties of all states and territories in the country and approximately 1.2 million people live in strata titled homes in the state. In the Sydney metropolitan area, almost a quarter of the population live in strata titled homes. This means that for the first time in Australia’s history large numbers of property owners find themselves in a legally binding relationship with their neighbours for the communal upkeep and maintenance of their property. The governance structures that mediate this community-based property ownership represent a new form of civic relationship. With the development of increasing numbers of strata schemes, owners corporations, through their executive committees and the managing agents and other property professionals who support the sector, have become increasingly important in ensuring the maintenance and upkeep of significant parts of our cities. In effect, owners corporations act as a fourth tier of government that is democratically elected, with lawmaking, taxation and enforcement powers. But despite the growing prevalence of strata title in our lives, relatively little is known about how well the strata system works in practice to meet the needs of those people who own and live in strata properties. The Governing the Compact City project1 provides the first comprehensive assessment of how the strata title system is operating in regard to governance and management from the point of view of those who own, live in, and manage strata homes. While it is focused on NSW, the report’s findings have implications for the entire Australian strata market which is based on essentially the same governance and management arrangements. 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. The research project focused on residential strata properties with three or more lots in NSW. The research was undertaken between 2009 and 2012 and included surveys and interviews with strata owners, executive committee members and strata managing agents in NSW, as well as analysis of the NSW strata database and NSW strata schemes management legislation and interviews with peak body representatives around Australia. In total, the research consulted 1,550 individuals including 1,020 strata owners, 413 executive committee members, 106 strata managing agents and 11 peak body representatives. Downloads: FINAL REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMAR

My Place Ashmore Community Survey 2023 Final report

The Ashmore Precinct is one of the City of Sydney’s largest urban renewal areas. The 17-hectare site is being developed over the next 10 years into a mixed-use precinct which will eventually house around 6,000 residents (CoS n.d.). A retail area with cafés and a small supermarket has been delivered, with plans for a new 7,400sqm park and a green walking and cycling link between Harry Noble Park in the north and Sydney Park in the south (CoS n.d.). The City of Sydney’s Community Strategic Plan (CoS 2022) recognises that urban renewal sites such as the Ashmore Precinct provide the opportunity to make significant improvements to the social, economic and environmental performance of the City and Sydney region. So that the City can identify how it might best support communities’ social wellbeing and resilience associated with environmental, economic and social changes, it is essential to collect information about the experiences and desires of residents and workers. This includes their satisfaction with, and feelings of attachment and belonging to, the places they live and work, the nature of their social interactions and social cohesion, and their plans and desires regarding their local areas. To this end, this report presents the results of a community survey of residents and workers in the Ashmore Area in Sydney, Australia. This survey is undertaken on a recurring basis every 2-3 years, to monitor changes to the social fabric over time as the urban renewal area develops. The study was undertaken by researchers at UNSW Sydney, with the assistance and support of the City of Sydney Council. The aim of this research was 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 and identify opportunities and barriers residents face in contributing to social cohesion and community development. * Understand the wellbeing of residents and workers, including their satisfaction with and attachment to the area, their local area preferences and desires, and their plans for the future. In summary, 1,318 residents and 650 workers completed the survey in Ashmore Area (454 respondents both lived and worked in Ashmore Area). The survey results reasonably reflect the total residential population (with a margin of error of 2.57%) once a weighting has been applied to correct for a bias in the age of respondents. However, the survey results for workers also have a similar degree of error, it is based on a potentially outdated workers base population. It is also possible that a large number of these workers are working from home. As such they should not be considered representative of the total working population of the area

MyPlace Green Square Community Survey 2023 Final Report

The Green Square urban renewal area stretches across 278 hectares in the City of Sydney Local Government Area, between the Central Business District and Sydney Airport (CoS 2015). It is one of the fastest growing areas in Sydney with 33,000 new residential dwellings built and 63,000 people expected to live in the area when complete. So that the City can identify how it might best support communities’ social wellbeing and resilience associated with environmental, economic and social changes, it is essential to collect information about the experiences and desires of residents and workers. This includes their satisfaction with, and feelings of attachment and belonging to, the places they live and work, the nature of their social interactions and social cohesion, and their plans and desires regarding their local areas. 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. This survey is undertaken on a recurring basis every 2-3 years, to monitor changes to the social fabric over time as the urban renewal area develops. The study was undertaken by researchers at UNSW Sydney, with the assistance and support of the City of Sydney Council. The aim of this research was 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 and identify opportunities and barriers residents face in contributing to social cohesion and community development. * Understand the wellbeing of residents and workers, including their satisfaction with and attachment to the area, their local area preferences and desires, and their plans for the future. In summary, 1,960 residents and 841 workers completed the survey in Green Square (513 respondents both lived and worked in Green Square). The survey results reasonably reflect the total residential population (with a margin of error of less than 3%) once a weighting has been applied to correct for a bias in the age of respondents. However, the survey results for workers also have a similar degree of error, it is based on a potentially outdated workers base population, and as such should not be considered representative of the total working population of the area

How is social housing best delivered to disadvantaged Indigenous people living in urban areas?

AN INTERCULTURAL APPROACH TO THE PROVISION OF SOCIAL HOUSINGFOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLE LIVING IN URBAN AREAS WOULD MAXIMISEOPPORTUNITIES TO STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS AND WORK WITHINDIGENOUS ORGANISATIONS. THIS APPROACH HAS THE POTENTIAL TODELIVER MORE DIVERSE HOUSING CHOICES AND ADAPT SERVICES TO LOCALCULTURAL NORMS

Planning for lower-income households in privately developed high-density neighbourhoods in Sydney, Australia

In Australia, as in many other countries, private high‐density housing is typically marketed as the domain of middle‐ and higher‐income residents. But, in practice, it accommodates many lower‐income households. These households often live in mixed‐income communities alongside wealthier neighbours, but, because of constrained budgets, they rely more heav‐ ily on access to community services and facilities. This has implications for public infrastructure planning in high‐density neighbourhoods where private property ownership dominates. In this article, we examine two neighbourhood case stud‐ ies within the same local government area in Sydney that have sizable populations of lower‐income households living in apartments, but which provide markedly different day‐to‐day experiences for residents. We consider the causes of these varying outcomes and implications for neighbourhood‐scale planning and development. The article argues that coordi‐ nated and collaborative planning processes are key to ensuring that the needs of lower‐income households are met in privately developed apartment neighbourhoods

Unique isolation vs networks of opportunity: Re-turn migration by young people to Tasmania

Despite the recent population growth experienced by the state, Tasmania continues to lose more young adults than it attracts. This paper starts from the premise that to begin to answer the question of why these young people move, we must first try to comprehend how they understand their migration decisions and recognise that such understandings are intricately tied to their understandings of particular places. Place construction – or the way people understand and discuss the nature and meaning of places - occurs at all levels from individual constructions to constructions by economic and political interest groups. These place constructions necessarily permeate and influence each other, and as a result these constructions are in constant flux and reflect the power relations evident in society. At the moment, bounded constructions of Tasmania – which stress the physical isolation and social and political insularity of the state as well as the uniqueness of the state’s environment and society - appear to be dominant. This is true among the young people the author spoke with, in the State Government and among commercial actors. However, bounded constructions can only exist in relation to networked constructions. Such networked constructions – which focus on the opportunities for people, ideas, goods and money to benefit through connections with other places as well as the loss of the uniqueness of the Tasmanian environment and society - appear to be gaining increased prominence. This is especially the case within the State Government, which has recently released initiatives to foster ties with Tasmanians interstate and overseas, and campaigns to promote Tasmanian goods and the Tasmanian environment in order to increase exports and tourism. This paper discusses the political, economic and social consequences of different forms of place construction for young migrants, the State Government and other economic actors in Tasmania

Multi-generation households in Australian cities

There has been a significant increase in the number of adult offspring continuing to reside in the family home in Western societies, especially in major cities. Multi-generational households tend to be larger in size than other household types and are demanding large dwellings. They have sought to reduce costs by locating mostly in fringe areas of major cities. Most seek to own rather than rent their properties, and there is a high propensity to ‘knock-down’ and rebuild their dwellings.  Multi-generational cohabitation is more common in other societies, especially Asian and middle eastern cultures. In Australia, it might be partly explained by the increased prevalence of such cultural groups. However, it has also been understood in terms of delayed family formation decisions that are partly due to financial or economic constraint, or lengthening participation in education. These trends are also complicated by the coincident trend of the ageing of the population (with older age groups depending on the younger). Even so, in Australia there has not been a more comprehensive rethink of how this practice affects family relationships, nor how this might affect how these households think of ‘family’ and ‘home’ in the Australian context. The authors argue that there is scope for further examination of this issue and point to possible policy concerns. For example, planning policy needs to recognize the demand for properties that better meet the needs of multi-generation households, including apartment properties in the context of urban consolidation. Also, reflecting the fact that the composition of multi-generational families is often fluid (with people cohabiting for periods of time before moving off to independent living), housing forms might need to be adaptable to meet the changing needs of households (e.g. this might further justify the use of universal or adaptable design). Planning for the provision of aged-care services will also need to take into account the complexities of multigenerational households. Provision of aged-care in multi-generation households will often be within a setting which provides opportunities for mutual help and support. This might provide opportunities for the promotion of family-based models of aged care, as are already common place in many other countries

Governing the Compact City: The Governance of Strata Title Developments in Sydney

The State of Australian Cities (SOAC) national conferences have been held biennially since 2003 to support interdisciplinary policy-related urban research. This paper was presented at SOAC 3 held in Adelaide from 28 to 30 November 2007. SOAC 3 was jointly hosted by the University of South Australia, the University of Adelaide and Flinders University. Themes and Key Persons SOAC 3 focused on the contemporary form and structure of Australian cities. The conference proceedings were grouped into six key sub-themes, each the focus of one of more conference sessions: City Economy - economic change and labour market outcomes of globalisation, land use pressures, changing employment locations. Social City – including population, migration, immigration, polarisation, equity and disadvantage, housing issues, recreation. City Environment - sustainable development, management and performance, natural resource management, limits to growth, impacts of air, water, climate, energy consumption, natural resource uses, conservation, green space. City Structures – the emerging morphology of the city – inner suburbs, middle suburbs, the CBD, outer suburbs and the urban-rural fringe, the city region. City Governance – including taxation, provision of urban services, public policy formation, planning, urban government, citizenship and the democratic process. City Infrastructure – transport, mobility, accessibility, communications and IT, and other urban infrastructure provision. Paper Review Process Conference papers published from SOAC 3 were produced through a process of integrated peer review. There were originally 147 abstracts proposed, 143 were invited to submit papers and 107 papers were finally published