Vertical Villages: Community, Place and Urban Density Pilot project: final report

This report has been written for the Vertical Villages: Community, Place and Urban Density Pilot project. This pilot project is a partnership between Macquarie University, BaptistCare and Faith Housing Alliance (formerly Churches Housing, supported by a grant from the Salvation Army). The aim of the project is to explore the role and potential of faith-based organisations (FBOs) to facilitate placemaking and community development in multicultural high-rise/high-density urban environments.

This study uses the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) definition of high density as dwellings of four or more storeys. The study involved an online questionnaire and 25 semi-structured interviews with residents of high-rise apartments across five suburbs of Sydney and 16 interviews with expert urban designers, placemakers, and community developers offering insight on their experience and practice. This report draws together the findings of this empirical fieldwork and a large literature review in order to make recommendations for FBOs, non-government organisations (NGOs), urban designers and policymakers who are interested in enhancing resident experiences of community connection and wellbeing in high-density urban neighbourhoods.