Love where you live? The five elements for thriving neighbourhoods
By Robyn Willis
Shaun Carter marvels at the difference between his upbringing and that of his daughter, Claudia. While the former president of the NSW chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects grew up in the north-west suburbs of Sydney, his daughter, now 20, has spent her entire life much closer to the city, in the inner west.
And, he says, she’s better for it.
Shaun Carter with colleagues Samantha Kirby (left) and Julie Niass in Sydney’s Summer Hill.Credit: Janie Barrett
“I grew up in a cul-de-sac, and we played on the street, which was fantastic until I got to 14 or 15, and I thought, ‘What do I do now?’” he says. “All the things I was interested in were not within walking distance.
“I look at my daughter’s life – we have always lived in Dulwich Hill and Summer Hill – and she jumps on a train or light rail and goes wherever she wants. It gets her out and engaging with the community and it connects you with people.”
As government and mental health experts grapple with ways to stave off loneliness and improve mental health, it appears part of the solution might be in front of us. Architects and healthcare practitioners are increasingly acknowledging the ways in which neighbourhoods can influence our mental wellbeing.
A 13-year study by the Australian Catholic University and the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing at UNSW published this month found that people over 70 living in more densely populated, walkable areas with good public transport were less likely to develop dementia.
Lead author Professor Ester Cerin, of the ACU, noted that neighbourhoods were not a “backdrop” to healthy ageing, but a key ingredient.
“Supportive neighbourhoods that encourage activity, reduce stress, and offer better air quality appear to help protect the ageing brain,” she says.
In terms of wider mental health, though, the role of our neighbourhoods is less clear, although it is generally understood there are elements that successful communities share.
One of the key elements is placing pedestrian activity at the heart of neighbourhood life, whether that’s the ability to walk to school, the shops or leisure pursuits such as dining out or going to a park. In recent years, this has led to the popularity of the 15-minute city movement, an idea that has been around for more than a century which gained new traction in 2016 when French-Colombian scientist Carlos Moreno popularised it in the period before the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns.
While it is close to the city, Brunswick’s tree-lined streets in inner Melbourne maintain a leafy connection. Credit: Bonnie Savage
While the movement has attracted controversy, architects and mental health researchers insist the notion of minimising time spent in solo environments such as cars and larger, detached housing while maximising opportunities for engagement are sound pathways for happier neighbourhoods.
Many people now also understand the importance of a connection to nature to nurture wellbeing, particularly parks and bushland, but tree-lined streets, laneway gardens or even verge gardens can serve a similar purpose. Initiatives like Sydney’s GreenWay linking the Cooks River at Earlwood to Parramatta River at Iron Cove combine green corridors with universally accessible cycleways and footpaths to create practical routes and connections with nature.
University of Wollongong senior lecturer in nursing Christopher Patterson says the evidence for the benefits of green spaces in all shapes and forms is clear, and they should be prioritised.
“With increased urbanisation and density, their utility needs to be at the forefront – for wellbeing, and broader sustainability,” he says. “Accessibility is key, really. They should promote equitable access and be designed to promote activity, social connection and environmental features like green shade, biodiversity and even relief from urban noise.”
Dr Amanda Alderton, a vice chancellor’s postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at Melbourne’s RMIT University, says creating easy access to a range of “third spaces” – not work and not home – from parks and plazas to cafes and libraries through wide, well-maintained footpaths is an easy win for planners.
“Making it safe and easy and attractive to get outside and move is important,” she says. “Footpaths and cycle paths need to be well maintained and useable.”
Architect Adam Haddow says walkability is an essential part of any high-functioning neighbourhood.Credit: Nick Moir
National president of the Australian Institute of Architects Adam Haddow says it boils down to one idea: simplicity of movement.
“It is not rocket science,” he says. “How do we simplify people’s lives? Can we simplify people’s lives? I live 500 metres from my office, I finish work and I go to the supermarket and go home. It all happens in five minutes. But I know that is not necessarily easy for everyone.”
He points to innovations like Sydney’s Metro M1 rail line, which celebrated its first birthday this week, as an example of infrastructure that gets people where they need to go quickly, and with a minimum of fuss.
For Shaun Carter, keeping it simple is also about the style of housing. Freestanding houses on large blocks are not conducive to connection, he says, neither in terms of neighbours and people passing on the street nor the ability to quickly get to shops, parks and various activities.
“This has been the great failing of the suburbs, unlike an area like Ashfield [in Sydney] where tighter houses push more people together. Fine-grain suburbs (where a range of smaller buildings are placed closer together) can make for stronger neighbourhoods – a lot of terrace housing is finer grain.”
So while planners have pursued the larger block to create an idea of suburban bliss, Carter argues the model for good neighbourhoods already existed, even if it was almost accidental.
“You realise how radical in a contemporary planning sense the Victorians were,” he says. “It was really around the strategy of not wasting land, but it made fantastic streets.”
Indeed, this has been reflected in lists like Time Out’s annual World’s Coolest Neighbourhoods, which are judged on criteria including community life, walkability, street life and cultural attractions.
In recent years, Brunswick East and Windsor in Melbourne, and Marrickville, Enmore and Chippendale in Sydney, have made the top 10. Each is characterised by vibrant main streets with extended use into the evening, good public transport with proximity to the city – and a celebration of diversity that fosters inclusion.
“The balanced-diet analogy speaks to the need for a little bit of everything,” says Haddow. “We want people from different walks of life. We don’t want places filled just with wealthy people.”
Alex Haslam, a professor of social and organisational psychology at the University of Queensland, says feeling like you belong in your neighbourhood is crucial to ensuring any sense of isolation is diminished.
“The phrase we use to describe that process is identity impresarioship,” he says. “You want designers and builders to be identity impresarios that create buildings and structures that allow people to live out these shared identities.”
He says neighbourhoods that support mental health don’t have to be architectural wonders to be successful.
His mother-in-law knew everyone in the area she grew up in Brisbane and “liked the vibrancy of it, and she liked the disorder of it. She had zero interest in architecture and design; she just wanted to be able to find her way through her community and say hello to people”.
Her experience taps into another essential element: a sense of ownership. Haslam says it’s a point sometimes lost on planners.
“Feeling at home in a space is incredibly important.”
UNSW professor of planning Susan Thompson says that is unlikely to happen where people don’t enjoy secured tenancy.
“If you are unable to afford renting and you have to move every six months, that is not going to be conducive to embedding a sense of belonging or attachment to a place,” she says.
Haslam says the ultimate sense of belonging and connection comes from knowing you have influence and ownership in the neighbourhood you call home.
“Co-design and people’s ability to have input into the process is critical,” he says. “It is not just about doing a survey and asking people what they want; it is about engaging with groups of people who are going to use that space.”
For those communities and governing bodies prepared to make that leap, Haslam says the pay-offs extend beyond creating desirable places to live.
“I was at a conference in London a couple of weeks ago about neighbourhood policing. The realities in communities where people are connected is that they have much lower levels of mental distress, they have less crime, they have much more thriving structures and they are places where people want to live and work.
“If you are not able to create meaningful connections and feel a part of it, it is going to be bad for you and the people in your life.”
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