For many, the days of jumping over the neighbours’ fence to recover lost tennis balls and knocking on doors to borrow eggs and sugar are pretty much over. It’s a sad reality, as these simple interactions are the ones that create lasting relationships and an inherent feeling of safety that is very different to that offered by locks, alarms and surveillance cameras.

The residential development industry is exploring new and innovative ways to bring neighbours together again. We are looking at how our city is changing and the opportunities those changes present to us. 

Our world is constantly evolving and so is how we live, move and interact with each other.  Creating cohesive communities is more important for our personal wellbeing now than it ever was before, and is highly valued by the residential development industry as we look at where and how we are building homes of the future. We are creating strong communities by promoting and enabling people to have more quality interactions with each other and with the physical environments they occupy.  These actions will improve the health and wellbeing of Victorians and encourage a sense of belonging. 

Building strong and connected communities is the responsibility of developers, policy makers, and society at large, who all play a role in creating a sustainable future that empowers Victorians to feel a greater sense of ease and comfort in their surroundings. 

There is no doubt that our community spirit is changing and has even diminished in today’s modern era. I know people who have never spoken to their neighbours, and others who go as far as to avoid eye contact with them. Once upon a time, people got to know each other because they lived close; they formed friendships and they looked out for each other. Now, that’s simply not the case.

Successfully re-building our sense of community is not going to be a quick nor easy task, and a future sense of community is not going to be the same as it was in the past.  With the many changes to the way we live our everyday lives – social media, digital technology in our built environments – we need to craft a new sense of community that is unique to us.  

The emergence of contemporary apartments is a good example of how we can use the changing nature of housing in Melbourne to re-build our sense of community.  Communal dog parks in apartment complexes and shared vegetable gardens – these are just two examples of innovations that will reconnect us with those who live around us. 

As the residential property industry continues to grow and adapt to consumer wants and needs, we can expect many more innovative urban projects to emerge. The challenge now is for us all – the development industry, policy makers and the public – to work together and pitch in to create the strong communities we live in.

For the development industry, that means finding ways to deliver unique features and lifestyle offerings that are focused on what is important to the lives of the communities we are building. For policy makers, it means working with the development industry to ensure the planning system enables innovation in a way that doesn’t unnecessarily increase house prices. And for the public, it’s as simple as introducing yourself to your neighbour. 

Read more from Danni Addison:

Am I crazy to buy an inner-city apartment?

A five-point plan for Victorian housing affordability

Can Victoria build 55,000 new dwellings every year for the next 35 years?