Private community? : the lived experiences of privatism and community in the development and management of a private residential estate in Sydney, Australia

Private residential estates are becoming a mainstream product in urban residential development in Australia. While this urban residential form has attracted attention because of its possible contribution to processes of segregation in metropolitan regions, there has been little empirical research that has examined social life and community formation within these neighbourhoods. Thus, one of the main aims of this thesis is to understand the nature of social life, interactions and community formation within a private residential estate in Sydney, Australia – Macquarie Links. Of particular interest is the ways in which community is understood by the residents and how this community is managed and negotiated given the private governance structure of the neighbourhood. In this thesis I develop an understanding of the role of the private structure in the formation, negotiation and management of community. With the promise of privatism and community being actively marketed and sold to residents of private residential estates by developers and real estate agents, they appear at once both contradictory and dependent. This thesis argues that community formation relies on the private structure of the neighbourhood with the two being intertwined and co-dependent, rather than contradictory or mutually exclusive as is usually viewed in the urban studies literature. The thesis argues that the formation of community in Macquarie Links relies on the identification of commonalities and complexities, consent and disagreement, private and community, which in turn allows for a consideration of the ways in which community and privatism are intertwined and sustain each other. Common bonds and disagreements have continually sustained the community of Macquarie Links such as that between owners and renters, adults and young people, the community and the individual. These disagreements, differences and ‘dramas’ within the estate are frequently managed by the community association (through the private structure), which in turn sustains community. For the residents of Macquarie Links, the structure of the neighbourhood and community relations, with private governance and neighbourhood committees, allowed for a more encompassing protection of the residential environment, or indeed, control. Physical security and gating is thus not the most significant element of private gated residential estates. Control, through restrictive covenants and community management offers order and stability in the residential neighbourhood. The structure of the community is important for controlling the quality of the neighbourhood. Restrictive covenants and community-led management of the estate are very communal tactics for maintaining the private structure and privatism within Macquarie Links. The thesis challenges the assumptions that privatism and community are the anti-thesis to each other. Further, neoliberal, private and individual ‘subjects’ are often coupled together and considered to be one in the same. However, being ‘private’ in Macquarie Links also requires being communal. The individual is a threat to solidarity in the belief in the private structure of the neighbourhood that aids social and communal life. This thesis demonstrates that in the context of private residential estates the private subject is different from the neoliberal subject. There are a number of emerging concerns regarding the long term economic viability of private residential estates internationally. So as well as providing original and important insights into the lived experiences of life in a private residential estate, the thesis contributes to emergent understandings of the structure, functioning and legalities of privately governed residential developments. This thesis also points to the lack of transparency in the contractual arrangements for purchasing property within a private estate. Finally, this thesis contributes to key debates in urban geography and urban sociology in three ways. First, through a detailed qualitative study of social life within private residential estates, this thesis contributes to broader understandings of the complexities of urban differences and divisions. Second, this thesis challenges some of the established assumptions regarding the development of private residential estates as purely an outcome of the neoliberal agenda and neoliberalist project in many western cities through an identification of the local nuances and lived experiences of privatism, which demonstrates how privatism, individualism and neoliberalism are subtly different in reality. Finally, this thesis engages with the notion of community through a recasting of theories of community to encompass commonalities and disagreements within community. This thesis demonstrates how this conceptualisation of community creates a space for understanding different types of community within cities

Exclusive suburban 'villages': Master planned estate development and socio-spatial polarisation in Western 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 2 held in Brisbane from 30 November to 2 December 2005. SOAC 2 was hosted by the Urban Research Program at the South Bank campus, Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University. The principal intention of the conference was to lead a dialogue between leading researchers on the state of Australian cities and where they might be headed. SOAC 2 was designed to lead to a better understanding of the research needs of Australian cities and to provide those in the public and private sectors with a better appreciation of the current state and capacities of researchers. SOAC 2 brought together participants from a wide range of fields, including: academics, researchers, policy makers, private and public sector practitioners, leaders in government, social commentators and the media. Conference papers published fromSOAC 2 were subject to a peer review process prior to presentation at the conference, with further editing prior to publication

Macquarie Links Estate: A Gated Residential Suburb 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

Negotiating community title : residents' lived experiences of private governance arrangements in a master planned estate

Residents of private residential estates must negotiate the complex of expectations, rights and responsibilities that comes with the community title legislation that defines the management and structure of these neighbourhoods. Of particular importance is the way in which the governance structure of these estates simultaneously supports and threatens their social and financial viability. Drawing on the findings of research conducted in a privately governed master planned residential estate in Sydney, Australia, this article considers the residents’ lived experience of the community title scheme. It argues that a perceived lack of transparency in the contractual arrangements which residents enter into when they purchase a property within a private estate directly frames a set of expectations that are at odds with their legislative responsibilities. Also evident is the existence of tensions between the demands placed on residents by the structure of private governance that manages and polices the estate and those of the local government that manages the area within which the estate is located. The article concludes that there is a need for policy attention to be given to the development and management of private residential estates in Australia

Experiences of 'community' in a gated residential estate

Gated residential estates have become common features of the landscapes of cities around the world. The proliferation of these estates has attracted significant critical attention from urban scholars who have focused in particular on their contribution to urban segregation. Many commentators also question the possibility and existence of the neighbourhood-based community that is promised to potential residents by estates developers. They argue that it cannot be delivered primarily because meaningful community does not form in circumstances of privatism. In this paper, we examine what community means to the residents of Macquarie Links, a gated residential estate in the Australian city of Sydney. To this end, the paper traces the interplay of contradictions that define the expectation and experience of community and argues that rather than being in conflict, the experience of community for many in this gated estate is actually underpinned by the structures of private governance that define the estate. In other words, not only is community said to exist in this neighbourhood, but also it is not homogeneity and everyday neighbouring that are pivotal but the governance structure of the estate

The virtuous discourses of private communities

This article reviews research on the contemporary marketing of private communities. Ultimately, the success of this marketing relies upon some existing or insipient consumer preferences. The urban studies literature offers at least five related sets of explanations for the emergence of desires for privatised residential communities, which we outline in this article. Yet, the research to date on the selling of private residential communities has tended to investigate specific features of private communities (e.g. demand, supply, representation and discourse) and has eschewed a more holistic encapsulation of the phenomenon. We use this article to propose a holistic approach that contemplates the ‘virtuous cycles’ that favour private community growth

Privatising the suburbs : examining the trends and implications of 20 years of private residential development in Sydney, Australia

Master planned estates have been the subject of considerable academic interest since the publication of Blakely and Snyder’s (1997) typology. The growing provision of private assets, facilities, and infrastructure in such estates has been documented and discussed. However, the extent of this form of residential estate in Australia has yet to be systematically documented. This paper seeks to contribute to knowledge in this field by reference to findings from an investigation in Sydney, Australia, using data from 300 private residential estates constructed under the New South Wales Community Land Development Act, 1989 (community title) over a 20-year period. The aim is to understand the broad trends emerging in relation to the nature and extent of these types of developments and to consider some of their potential implications. This research suggests that there has been a quiet revolution in residential development and postulates that the extent of privatisation of essential neighbourhood infrastructure has been considerable. The study finds that master planned residential estate development has proliferated, particularly in the outer suburbs and in areas of relative disadvantage, and resulted in enclaves of comparative affluence disconnected from surrounding areas. In addition, the restrictive covenants usually applied in these estates are often designed to prevent change, including future densification or environmental adaptation. To this extent, the privatised nature of these estates puts them beyond the reach of broader urban planning goals

A holistic approach to studying social segregation in Australian cities

In this paper we are specifically concerned with research approaches to the growing societal divisions that have captured the attention of many urban scholars and policy makers. In this paper we argue that research on segregation has had an over-reliance on statistical measures of outcomes, which limits our understanding of segregation processes and impacts. A mixed method, multi-staged approach to research on residential segregation generates a more holistic picture of the processes and impacts of social segregation. We showcase a staged analysis of data from Sydney, Australia, using Vietnamese-Australians. The use of both statistical measures and field based insights enriches the understanding of segregation, and allows a more rounded basis for discussing policy responses and remedies

A Holistic Approach to Studying Segregation in Australian Cities

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

A dependents’ cooperative location network for behaviour analysis in public spaces

This document contains the Table of Contents, Foreword & Introduction.Many dependents such as children, elderly or disabled people get lost or missing, but as dependents, they often lack the skills to protect themselves, and carers cannot keep their dependents in sight all of the time. Therefore, the challenge to be tackled in this paper is to develop a dependents’ cooperative location network over which carers could monitor the dependents’ positions in real time, giving them more freedom to safely roam within public spaces. Not only in open spaces such as crowded parks or streets, but also inside buildings such as city malls, museums or nursing homes. The aim of this paper is twofold, to create a cooperative and dynamic network of carers over which to monitor the position of their dependents by means of standardised technologies, and to understand how the physical environment could influence dependents’ activities by means of behavioural analysis in public spaces.Funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Unionpeer-reviewe