Iris Levin and Kathy Arthurson
The purpose of this paper is to examine the causes, the nature and the extent of unneighbourly relations between neighbours living in small multi-owned residential buildings…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the causes, the nature and the extent of unneighbourly relations between neighbours living in small multi-owned residential buildings (MOBs, sometimes called strata) in Australian cities, and the effect of these relations on the health and wellbeing of residents. The impact of neighbour relations and conflicts on residents' health and wellbeing has not been explored before in the context of small MOBs in Australia (under 12 units).
Design/methodology/approach
The research involved an analysis of secondary data on common problems experienced in MOBs between neighbours, in-depth face-to-face interviews with twenty-six residents and interviews with five managers of management agencies in metropolitan Melbourne (Victoria) and Adelaide (South Australia), Australia.
Findings
When strata processes and management worked well residents were positive about living in such an arrangement. However, when the strata group was less harmonious residents reported that it impacted negatively on their health and wellbeing.
Research limitations/implications
The study's findings are subject to the widely acknowledged limitations of small sample-based interview research. Findings indicate that there is a need to explore the benefits and disadvantages of living in small multi-owned residential buildings in Australia on a larger scale.
Practical implications
There are three policy implications from the findings: a need for better education of prospective buyers regarding the nature of strata living; tighter regulation of rules for small multi-owned apartment buildings is required, (in a similar way to how the regulations operate in large apartment buildings); and a need to include private rental tenants living in strata in the everyday life around the management of the building.
Originality/value
The impact of neighbourly relations and conflicts on the health and wellbeing of residents living in MOBs, particularly small ones, has not been studied adequately, as current research focuses on large apartment buildings. This research addresses a gap in the literature in the study of small living arrangements (town houses, apartment buildings, terraces), with 12 or less apartments, with a focus on residents' health and wellbeing.
Details
Keywords
Increasing concern about rising crime rates, high levels of unemployment and the anti-social behaviour of youth gangs that are concentrated within particular regions and…
Abstract
Increasing concern about rising crime rates, high levels of unemployment and the anti-social behaviour of youth gangs that are concentrated within particular regions and neighbourhoods of cities has prompted renewed interest in governments to frame policies to create socially mixed cities. Recent riots experienced on social housing estates, including in France (St Denis, Poissy, Clichy-sous-bois), Australia (Macquarie Fields, Redfern in New South Wales) and Britain (Bestwood, Nottingham) have reinvigorated public and community debate into just what makes a functional neighbourhood. The nub of the debate about dysfunctional neighbourhoods is whether part of the problem is to be found in the lack of social mix of residents, that is, the homogeneity of the neighbourhoods in aspects such as housing tenure, ethnicity and socioeconomic characteristics of residents.
Paul J. Maginn, Susan Thompson and Matthew Tonts
This chapter, together with those that follow, builds upon the ideas presented in the previous volume in this series (Maginn, Thompson, & Tonts, 2008). There we outlined our…
Abstract
This chapter, together with those that follow, builds upon the ideas presented in the previous volume in this series (Maginn, Thompson, & Tonts, 2008). There we outlined our vision for a ‘pragmatic renaissance’ in contemporary qualitative research in urban studies. We argued that to survive as an effective and frequently used tool for policy development, a more systematic approach is needed in the way that qualitative-informed applied urban research is conceptualised and undertaken. In opening this volume we build on these initial ideas using housing as a meta-case study to progress the case for a systematic approach to qualitative research methods. We do this to both stimulate broad debate about the ways, in which qualitative research in urban/housing scholarship might be of greater use to policymakers and practitioners, as well as to suggest a way forward in realising the ‘pragmatic renaissance’.