<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/capital-corporation">Capital Corporation</a> has announced that its <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/lovedale-farm-1054-1184-wine-country-drive-lovedale-nsw-2325">Lovedale Farm</a> residential, resort and golf project has secured $24.6 million in sales in just three weeks since the opening of its display home, underscoring the appetite for premium lifestyle property in the Hunter Valley countryside.

The sales milestone has been driven by a diverse mix of buyers, including owner-occupiers and investors from Sydney, Newcastle and the local Hunter region, purchasing both land-only lots and house and land packages across the development.

<img alt="Lovedale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="e173edc9-e60e-4f19-a060-9dc4421a3233" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/LovedaleFarm_20250215-1.jpg?VersionId=1LY6CvOaD.Dzrt8tWpWxXtPyfchixNIo" />

&nbsp;

The result builds on the momentum generated at the display home opening on 22 March, which attracted more than 460 attendees.

With house and land pricing from $1.14 million, Lovedale Farm continues to attract strong interest from buyers seeking a premium lifestyle offering at a compelling price point. The development’s vision, a championship golf course, future epicurean village and access to the Hunter Valley’s celebrated wine country, has resonated with a broad buyer profile, from first-time investors to those looking to make the move and call the Hunter Valley home.

<img alt="Lovedale Farm records $21.4 million in sales in three weeks" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b358e789-e1eb-40ed-8105-ed5c8297136f" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/20260321LovedaleFarmDisplayHomeOpening--6.jpg?VersionId=6GUO8TNnxuELONrsM6n9imDB6oc82Bor" />

Jim Hunter, Managing Director of Capital Corporation said the response since opening the display home has been encouraging.

"To reach $24.6 million in sales in just three weeks speaks to the genuine demand for a lifestyle community of this calibre in the Hunter Valley," Hunter says.

"We’re seeing buyers from across the region and beyond, including investors who recognise the long-term value, and owner-occupiers who simply want to live somewhere truly special.

“Lovedale Farm is two decades in the making, and the market’s response is everything we hoped for. We’re excited to see these first buyers become part of the Lovedale Farm story from the very beginning."

<img alt="Lovedale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="54d985cf-2ac2-400b-ac02-4401f3421ac7" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/20260321LovedaleFarmDisplayHomeOpening--5.jpg?VersionId=3866bPoqpLZsm.3ACg9EafAr1W3miC_f" />

&nbsp;

Spanning 240 hectares on Wine Country Drive in <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/lovedale-nsw-2325">Lovedale</a>, the $1 billion development is expected to deliver around 1,250 jobs during construction and inject more than $300 million into the local economy. The first 200 homes and championship 18-hole golf course are anticipated for completion in late 2027.

Capital Corporation has also lodged development plans for the Lovedale Farm clubhouse, set to become a vibrant hub for residents and the wider Hunter Valley community. Further releases are planned for later this year.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=14476]

Joel Robinson

Lovedale Farm display home opening triggers $24.6 million in sales in three weeks

Prominent Malaysian developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/osk-property">OSK Property</a> has unveiled <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/aura-at-melbourne-square-7-hoff-boulevard-southbank-vic-3006">Aura</a>, the next stage of its $3.5 billion Melbourne Square precinct in Southbank, continuing its push into wellness-led, amenity-rich apartment living.

The $800 million tower, planned for 7 Hoff Boulevard, will rise 67 storeys and deliver 673 apartments, with COX Architecture drawing on both Japanese design principles and Australia’s natural landscape to shape the building’s identity. A rectangular grid aesthetic defines the building’s exterior, with COX drawing design cues from New York high-rises and Tokyo’s skyline.

Aura builds on a growing trend in high-density living, where wellness is no longer an add-on but central to the product. The development is structured around four key pillars, combining calm, minimalist residences with layered communal spaces, landscaped gardens, and a suite of wellness amenities designed to support both physical and mental wellbeing.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367465]

At the core of the project is what OSK describes as a vertical wellness ecosystem, a multi-level approach to amenity that integrates health, lifestyle, and social spaces throughout the building rather than confining them to a single level.

The main resident hub, the Aura Club on level seven, will include a pool, cold plunge, spa, gym, Pilates and yoga studios, alongside more lifestyle-driven inclusions like a golf simulator, music rooms, library, and work-from-home spaces. Above, a series of higher-level amenity zones, including the Meridian Club and Cumulus Club, introduce more refined, social and retreat-style environments, with private dining, lounges, and premium wellness spaces positioned to take advantage of city views.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367467]

The residences themselves will largely include balconies, a key design move in a market increasingly focused on natural light, airflow, and connection to the outdoors. Views will extend across the CBD, the Arts Precinct, Royal Botanic Gardens, and beyond.

Aura also introduces approximately 1,600 sqm of retail across the lower levels, further activating the Melbourne Square precinct, which already includes Kennedy Park, a Woolworths, childcare, and a growing mix of hospitality operators.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367474]

“Aura stands tall as an exemplar of holistic wellness – its focus on social, physical and mental health culminate in a building that is calming, restorative and relaxing, where residents will have their own sanctuary within the well-connected and sought-after <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/southbank-vic-3006">Southbank</a>," says&nbsp;OSK Property CEO Chong Boon Woon.

“We have been very encouraged by the market’s response to the BLVD offering, and we know there is a strong demand for the level of amenity, service and design that the Melbourne Square precinct is known for.

“Complemented by work-from-home lounges for professionals, family friendly outdoor garden spaces, and state-of-the-art fitness and wellness facilities, Aura will continue our focus on maximising physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing,” he said.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=151921 project_image_fid=367475]

The project follows the strong performance of BLVD, which is now around 80 per cent sold, and reinforces OSK Property’s long-term commitment to Melbourne Square as a fully integrated, mixed-use precinct.

Construction is expected to commence in late 2026.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=151921]

OSK unveils AURA, the latest stage in Southbank's $3.5 billion Melbourne Square precinct

National developer Time &amp; Place appears to have settled on a design for its long-anticipated Potts Point project.

After several years of back and forth with local council and the NSW Government, the developer, which has spent seven years targeting the former The Chimes site on Macleay Street, has now progressed its plans.

Following a concept design submission last year by SJB, Time &amp; Place has lodged a full State Significant Development Application with the NSW Government, this time for a scheme designed by Kerry Hill Architects.

<img alt="Time &amp; Place" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="504d2a27-d65f-4227-8189-1e35e3376e62" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-04-20%20at%209.38.24%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=_XqFKATYHF30KnVByPxhaI9UBzmkmfn7" />

The 16-storey proposal includes 44 apartments, 21 of which will be build-to-sell. These will comprise 19 three-bedroom apartments and two four-bedroom units.

More than 50 per cent of the development will be dedicated to affordable housing, with 23 studio apartments to be delivered in line with the NSW Government’s Housing SEPP.

Kerry Hill Architects said the proposal is driven by a strong response to place.

“Our proposal for a new residential building for Potts Point in Sydney is driven by a deep consideration of place,” the practice said in its submission.

“This operates on multiple levels, including a landscape approach that reinstates endemic flora of the Sydney peninsula and provides a ground-floor garden for residents, reconnecting the site to its pre-European history. A brick podium further strengthens this relationship to context, integrating planting and fine bronze detailing that references the predominant material language of Macleay Street.”

The three-level podium will be topped by a communal resident space, featuring a covered pool designed to receive direct afternoon sun in winter, a neighbouring reflection pool, dining and event areas oriented to maximise sunset views, and an outdoor exercise zone.

<img alt="Time &amp; Place" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="8d3eedc1-babb-44a3-bd96-d8a42f3adf1f" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-04-20%20at%209.37.48%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=Ii7.4dvqNatu5GQi6bhqNjAswrMB998." />

The design also incorporates highly crafted shopfronts and a clearly defined residential entry to activate the street. Juliette balconies to the podium residences will provide passive surveillance and a strong sense of habitation.

Above, the larger apartments are housed within a light-coloured masonry and bronze tower.

“The tower steps back in a series of gently curved volumes that reference the rich Art Deco context of Macleay Street,” the architects said. “Carefully calibrated vertical fins frame the views while providing privacy and a sense of refuge.”

<img alt="Time &amp; Place" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="6fab60f4-3140-4469-b47a-48c781e0a30b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-04-20%20at%209.28.44%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=e5XxrM3kzdASdKlcIACHAHbOSZhSKC9O" />

Time &amp; Place has been one of the most active developers nationally in the last 12 to 24 months. Late last year they completed&nbsp;The Queensbridge in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/southbank-vic-3006">Southbank</a>, a mixed-use tower with 353 apartments and a hotel. They are currently selling Park Modern, 246 apartments near the famous Botanic Gardens in South Melbourne.

The developer has approval for The Burke, a mixed-use project in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/glen-iris-vic-3146">Glen Iris</a>&nbsp;being delivered in partnership with Woolworths. The 60 apartments, positioned above a new Woolworths supermarket, are expected to launch in the coming months. Time &amp; Place is also progressing plans for the redevelopment of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/northcote-vic-3070">Northcote</a>&nbsp;Plaza, and have recently submitted plans for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/vic/time-place-unveils-plans-22-storey-south-melbourne-tower">22-storey tower</a>, another in South Melbourne.

In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/sydney-nsw">Sydney</a>, the developer has two projects in Manly: Two Tides, which is currently under construction, and an ultra high-end building on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/buildings/shoreline-manly-beach-89-90-north-steyne-manly">North Steyne</a>, fronting the beach. It is also continuing to work through the redevelopment of The Chimes building on Macleay Street in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/potts-point-nsw-2011">Potts Point</a>, as well as Marlborough House, the redevelopment of the original David Jones warehouse building in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/surry-hills-nsw-2010">Surry Hills</a>.

First look: Time & Place settles on design for The Chimes, Potts Point redevelopment

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/develotek">Develotek</a> is joining the likes of TOGA, Deicorp, and One Global Capital, betting on a boom in Five Dock ahead of the 2032 mooted opening of the Five Dock Metro Station.

Develotek, which is currently developing Bianca on the Drummoyne waterfront and has plans approved for a tower in Chatswood, has filed a State Significant Development Application for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/79-81-queens-road-five-dock-nsw-2046">two-building project in the evolving Kings Bay precinct</a>.

The buildings, one more boutique just five storeys and the other 26 storeys, will rise from an 3,158 sqm site across&nbsp;79–81 Queens Road and 2–8 Spencer Street, will home 134 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, above ground-floor retail and five basement levels of parking.

A key component of the proposal is the inclusion of 15 per cent of residential floor space as in-fill affordable housing, unlocking additional height and density under the Housing SEPP.

<img alt="First Look: Develotek lodges State Significant shop top housing project in Five Dock precinct" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="3ee31bf7-75ba-4bc5-b190-49885193219f" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/podium_2.png?VersionId=730UbrduuwK3C1sO28RHjiLPUPqXqjkh" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a>, the scheme adopts a podium-and-tower configuration, with a five-storey street wall along Queens Road transitioning to a 26-storey tower set deeper into the site. The ground plane prioritises activation and permeability, with retail frontages and a new through-site link connecting Queens Road to Spencer Street.

At the upper levels, the tower façade has been conceived using a modular system to support prefabrication and reduce construction waste, while improving build efficiency. The splayed form draws on the geometry of surrounding industrial rooftops, reinterpreting the area’s heritage in a contemporary expression while also helping to reduce solar heat gain to east and west-facing apartments.

“This project aspires to transform a former industrial site into a connected, resilient and people-focused urban community, grounded in Country, shaped by history, and designed to enrich everyday life within the evolving Kings Bay Precinct,” said John Walsh, Principal at Plus Studio.

The proposal reflects the broader transformation of the Kings Bay Precinct under the Parramatta Road Corridor Urban Transformation Strategy, marking a shift from its industrial past to a higher-density, mixed-use urban neighbourhood.

<img alt="First Look: Develotek lodges State Significant shop top housing project in Five Dock precinct" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="abde734c-1e31-4a97-a1d2-fa9bcf31c380" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/building%20podium.png?VersionId=fNUupP6u146yEytQT31kKVRxwtACgPpP" />

Develotek is emerging as an active participant in the state’s affordable housing-led uplift pathway. The developer recently secured approval for a 34-storey mixed-use tower in Chatswood, where it similarly leveraged the in-fill affordable housing provisions to increase scale and deliver a 101-unit scheme with dedicated affordable apartments.

Their entry into Five Dock places them alongside a growing list of developers targeting the suburb ahead of its anticipated transport uplift, with Sydney Metro set to extend into the area. Major players including TOGA, Deicorp, and One Global Capital are all progressing large-scale precinct-style developments nearby, collectively reshaping the low-rise industrial fabric into a higher-density mixed-use corridor.

The Five Dock site sits within the Kings Bay Precinct, a key renewal area under the Parramatta Road Corridor Urban Transformation Strategy, where planning controls support significant uplift tied to affordable housing delivery. The consolidated 3,158 sqm site is currently occupied by low-rise industrial uses, including warehouses and vehicle workshops, earmarked for transition.

First Look: Develotek joins in Five Dock apartment boom

Ascot’s Racecourse Road continues to be a hive of activity for Brisbane developers.

Following Fortis and GRAYA, which are both preparing new projects along the key strip connecting Kingsford Smith Drive and Eagle Farm Racecourse, local developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/skyhold">Skyhold</a> is the latest to lodge plans for its own development.

The group is proposing One One Two Residences, a boutique project comprising just seven apartments, named after its address at 112 Racecourse Road.

The proposal outlines a five-storey building on an 810 sqm site. The built form slightly exceeds the four-storey expectation under the neighbourhood plan, aligning instead with the emerging character of the strip. As the planning report notes, “the locality is characterised by a transition toward medium-rise residential development, with a number of recent developments… above the stipulated height limits.”

<img alt="First Look: Skyhold lodges plans for boutique Ascot apartments as Racecourse Road revival gathers pace" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="ec577631-8c51-4163-960e-e7b3a77d655b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Ascot.png?VersionId=iAzQ46D4Uu1UqiS0mVnlcy9jeFKBpJIj" />

Designed by 111 with landscape architecture by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/paul-bangay-garden-design">Paul Bangay Studio</a>, the scheme adopts a layered architectural approach with strong articulation and a subtropical response. Deep balconies, integrated planters, and a mix of masonry and textured finishes define the façade, while upper-level setbacks reduce perceived bulk. The architectural statement describes “a series of horizontally expressed layers, defined by deep balconies and a consistent robust material palette,” aimed at delivering a refined streetscape presence.

Apartments are configured as large-format residences, including multiple three-bedroom layouts and a full-floor penthouse, supported by ground-level parking. A rooftop terrace will provide communal amenities including a pool and landscaped recreation areas. The design prioritises privacy, natural ventilation, and greenery, with planting integrated across all levels to soften the building form and contribute to the public realm.

<img alt="First Look: Skyhold lodges plans for boutique Ascot apartments as Racecourse Road revival gathers pace" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="1e1219bd-b45a-4d7f-bbc7-7207d7b2fc94" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Ascot%20entry.png?VersionId=JIoUOLMgQ5xWpEF0etEI3ffIoIVjD7gO" />

The proposal sits within the Racecourse Road precinct, a key mixed-use spine in Ascot that continues to attract renewed development interest.

Later this year national developer Fortis will launch its own boutique development, which, pending council approvals, will be 16 apartments designed by Koichi Takada Architects, just down the street.

“Racecourse Road is going through a massive revitalisation and we’re proud to be a part of that transformation,” said Fortis's QLD General Manager, Dan Boman.

Nearby, GRAYA is advancing its larger-scale The Gallery, a mixed-use shop-top housing project designed to act as a “catalytic project for Racecourse Road.”

First Look: Racecourse Road, Hamilton revitalization to continue as Skyhold joins the party

Social Class

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Australia as a nation has never been richer. But it is now also more unequal than at any time since the early 1980s. This inequality takes many forms, not least between suburbs and neighbourhoods. And our research suggests the few celebrated examples of famous Australians who emerged from disadvantaged neighbourhoods are the exceptions to the rule for children who grow up in them.
The Dropping Off The Edge research program, started by the late Professor Tony Vinson in the early 2000s, identifies the most disadvantaged suburbs and local government areas in each state and territory. This shows that as few as 3% of communities bear a disproportional burden of disadvantage. They are characterised by low rates of education and employment, and high rates of disability, criminal convictions and poverty.
Children growing up in these disadvantaged communities enjoy few opportunities for upwards social mobility when compared with peers in more affluent suburbs. And, significantly, the children of low-income families in better-off suburbs have higher aspirations and know what they need to do to achieve those.
Our recent research with young people in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide shows children in disadvantaged communities are not only more likely to live in poverty, but are also less likely to have access to sports clubs, libraries and other recreational and arts facilities, which those in more affluent suburbs appear to take for granted. Their schools are also less likely to offer extracurricular activities that enable young people to engage with others who live in different areas and have different life experiences.
Most young people see these activities as fun and a good way to connect with other young people. However, the implications for young people’s life chances of missing out on these activities stretch far beyond recreation.
‘Soft skills’ and social mobility
As Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman states: "Conscientiousness, perseverance, sociability and curiosity matter."
While these “soft skills” can be learned in the home and in the classroom, they are reinforced and embedded in structured out-of-school activities. Parents who recognise the long-term benefits of these activities often invest heavily in their children’s participation in them.
For young people in low-income families, access to these activities is made difficult by not being able to afford registration fees, uniforms and other equipment, or even the petrol for transport to the activities. For young people in low-income families living in disadvantaged suburbs, these challenges are multiplied.
Affluent suburbs tend to have good opportunity structures – a combination of physical facilities, institutional support and social networks that provide access to education, jobs and other valued opportunities. Poor suburbs often lack these opportunity structures.
While poor suburbs often abut more affluent suburbs with good opportunity structures, our research suggests young people in the disadvantaged suburbs do not often feel welcome there. As one girl told us when asked if she mixed with young people in the better-off neighbouring suburbs: "No, but if I did, I know it would be my fault."
Her worry is that if her interactions with better-off counterparts end in a conflict, she will be accused of something.
Young people in better-off suburbs, on the other hand, regarded their less well-off neighbours as in need of remediation. When one young man was asked if he went to the youth club in the neighbouring disadvantaged suburb where they offered a range of short workshops (for example; hip hop or graffiti skills), he replied: "Oh there, no! That’s for troubled kids."
These comments capture the social exclusion that keeps young people living in disadvantaged suburbs from connecting with young people in more affluent suburbs, or using facilities near them.
Neighbourhood overcomes lack of money
Not all poor kids live in poor suburbs. We talked with several young people living in low-income families in affluent suburbs who did take part in a range of recreational activities. Their parents struggled to pay registration fees, buy the right equipment and have petrol to take them to activities, but they were able to cobble together arrangements. Often the support of other parents helped with their children’s participation.
The contrast in outlook and aspirations between these young people and those living in the disadvantaged suburbs was notable. Most of the young people in the disadvantaged suburbs who we spoke with had low aspirations for their future careers. But most young people from low-income families in the more affluent suburbs aspired to university and knew what they needed to do to get there.
These differences in opportunities and aspirations underline how life chances are connected to young people’s community contexts as well as their individual and family situations. Young people’s perceptions of these contexts, the people they meet in their out-of-school lives and how they understand the possibilities of their own futures all have impacts on their capacity to take up opportunities.
In order to have equal access to opportunities that improve life chances, young people in the most disadvantaged suburbs need to have access to and feel welcome in the same opportunity structures that are available to more advantaged young people. This demands investment in recreational facilities and a focus on a culture of inclusion in these facilities. Redressing this problem also requires policies that reduce inequalities more broadly, so that progressively fewer suburbs can be defined as “dropping off the edge”.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102640/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
Gerry Redmond, Associate Professor, College of Business, government &amp; Law, Flinders University
Jennifer Skattebol, Senior Research Fellow, Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/young-australians-prospects-still-come-down-to-where-they-grow-up-102640" target="_blank">original article</a>.
</body></html>

j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Young Australians’ prospects still come down to where they grow up

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVATION
Crime and insecurity are deeply entrenched in some cities. While we have rankings of the most dangerous cities in the world, this does not give a clear picture of how and why dangerous spaces develop in cities.
We are analysing case studies from cities in France, Colombia, Brazil and Australia to understand the factors that lead to insecurity, and to examine possible solutions.
Risks of ghettos in Australia
Australian cities aren’t immune to the dangers. While there is no clear upward trend in crime nationally, the social polarisation and concentration of certain crimes in parts of the cities of Sydney and Melbourne are cause for concern. As a result, New South Wales and Victoria are the states with the highest rates of unlawful entry and armed robbery.
Sydney in particular is experiencing a “ghettoisation effect”. Social polarisation between suburbs is increasing. Another issue in Sydney’s western suburbs is domestic violence.
While crime rates here are much lower than in cities in Latin America and France, we need to be mindful of how neighbourhoods can become dangerous through neglect by planners and policymakers.
What can we do about it?
Social disorganisation theory has dominated research in this field. Central to this approach are neighbourhood mechanisms to reduce crime and disorder.
Some have criticised this theory for not considering the influences on crime of the larger urban political economy. Political and economic decisions may have direct effects by increasing unemployment, residential instability (via planning and housing policies) or population density (via zoning policies).
Reducing crime is also the job of planners. Research has shown, for instance, that better planning can reduce the tragedies of domestic violence.
Incentives at the city scale – such as tax breaks and policies to decentralise public services and promote economic activity in poorer outer suburbs – need to be twinned with strategies to foster social integration at the neighbourhood level.
Latin America: a focus on Colombia and Brazil
Violence and high crime rates have created stark divisions in some Latin American cities. Residents have responded with several strategies to feel safe at home.
In Argentina, crime rates soared after the political and financial crisis of 2001. Citizens started building barricades and fortified their living environments with all types of security devices. Gated communities became the preferred type of housing, especially for upper-middle-class groups who could afford it.
However, gating and security devices have not been successful deterrents to crime. The strategies that have succeeded are linked to encouraging more social integration, shared use of public space, and less opposition to and marginalisation of “the other”.
“Social urbanism” policies in cities like Medellín, Colombia, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have led to dramatic reductions in crime. The idea of these interventions is not only to physically upgrade housing and public space, but to improve social outcomes.
In Medellín, public space was improved in some of the poorest neighbourhoods, which included new infrastructure. Alleys were upgraded, to make walking easier and increase safety, and the famous escalators were built. The community manages these escalators, which improve access to the upper areas of neighbourhoods and help create safer environments.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217392/original/file-20180503-83693-dfjkg9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
One of the escalators managed by the local community in Medellín. Sonia Roitman. Author provided
The installation of aerial public transport (“metrocable” cable cars) also improved access and helped integrate these areas with the city centre. This in turn led to greater awareness of their existence and less prejudice against them as areas of marginalisation. Residents of other areas who wouldn’t normally travel through these poor neighbourhoods became more aware of them while using public transport.
In the case of Brazil, the Favela Bairro program to upgrade slums in Rio de Janeiro in the late 1990s succeeded in integrating favelas with the city to improve living conditions and reduce crime rates.
For such projects to succeed it is essential to have community participation, engagement and buy-in.
Urban policy in France
The 2005 riots in French cities were the results of both structural issues, such as unemployment and police violence, and long-term social and spatial segregation.
Since the 2000s, the “action on places” paradigm has dominated urban policy. Its goal has been to tackle spatial inequality, with the National Agency for Urban Renewal (ANRU) playing a central role.
In exchange for state funding, cities had to commit to eradicate old social housing projects and build new residential buildings.
Previously, the policy for “deprived neighbourhoods” allowed elected officials and local representatives of the state a larger choice of strategies. These included renovation, positive discrimination, mediation, and the development of local community-led initiatives.
The urban renewal policy, launched in 2003, restricted the range of strategies. It is now criticised because it changed the urban form of neighbourhoods without really changing the social issues.
Today, the possible avenues for action are more diverse. Efforts are concentrated in the most deprived neighbourhoods, with employment, education and security as the budget priorities.
Build on existing social ties
Many strong social ties exist in these so-called deprived neighbourhoods. One promising avenue for action, but which currently attracts the least investment, is to focus on the strengths of those neighbourhoods. This can be done by supporting local initiatives, especially those led by women.
In the book Remake the City, two French researchers stress that it is illusory to think that solutions imposed from above can prevent ghettoisation. They see a need to learn from the experiments carried out in Latin America and in the United States. In the US, the rise of the “community development corporation” has helped to turn negative situations into experiences that foster social integration at the neighbourhood level and present a more positive image of the “ghetto”.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94418/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">Even if the contexts are very different, these examples show that the factors at work in places at risk of ghettoisation need to be analysed at different scales. Solutions need to integrate bottom-up actions with strong engagement from communities and a policy rethink on the structural drivers of strong social and spatial segregation in cities.
Sebastien Darchen, Lecturer in Planning, The University of Queensland
Gwendal Simon, Assistant Professor of Planning and Urban Planning, Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée (UPEM)
Sonia Roitman, Senior lecturer in Development Planning, The University of Queensland
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-neighbourhoods-become-dangerous-look-to-local-strengths-for-a-lifeline-94418" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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When neighbourhoods become dangerous, look to local strengths for a lifeline

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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/66976/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">
GUEST OBSERVER
The relentless housing boom in Australia’s cities, especially Melbourne and Sydney, is often framed as an intergenerational conflict in which younger generations are being priced out of the market by baby boomers.
However, sociological theories of social class suggest parents’ wealth and social status will eventually be passed onto their children anyway.
So, by focusing on intergenerational inequalities that will eventually be reversed, we are framing the housing affordability question the wrong way. At the same time, the impact of the housing boom is so deep that some long-established ideas about social class may be no longer relevant.
The housing boom has blurred existing boundaries between upper, middle and lower classes that applied to the baby boomers and previous generations. New social class boundaries and formations are being produced.
This does not mean younger generations, as a collective, are disadvantaged compared to their parents. Rather, these younger generations will be subdivided differently and more unequally.
<h2>The renting class</h2>
In the industrial city, the term “working class” was defined by the experiences of low-income workers in manufacturing jobs. Yet in a post-industrial Australian city it makes more sense to talk about the “renting class”. 
Not all renters are poor, and not all poor households are private renters. However, the correlation between the two is significant and strengthening. The proportion of private renters in the total population is slowly but surely increasing – from 20.3 percent in 1981 to 23.4% in 2011. 
Simultaneously, public housing – once a symbol of the working class – is undergoing a dramatic demise.
Largely abandoned by the state to fend for itself, with weak regulation for security of tenure or rent control, the renting class faces the unrelenting burden of ever-rising rents. The average renter paid 19 percent of their income on rent in 1981. In 2011, this proportion increased to 26.9 percent. 
And, in 2014, around 40 percent of low-income private renters were in housing affordability stress, paying more than one-third of their income on housing. 
With hardly enough “after-housing” disposable income to meet basic living standards, savings for retirement is almost impossible for the low-income renter. And with little or no wealth to assist their children to buy a home, the renter’s social class status is likely to be passed from one generation to the next.
<h2>The home-owner class</h2>
More than just a status symbol, home ownership has become increasingly central to the way most Australians accumulate wealth. About half of the home-owner’s wealth is held in their own home. Each housing boom enriches them further through tax-free capital gain on their homes.
The housing boom also creates work in the construction industry, which is the third-largest employer in Australia with more than one million workers. These are no longer working-class occupations, with most skilled jobs paying average weekly earnings of close to A$1,500. So, it is arguably the home-owner class that benefits most from each construction boom. 
One consequence of the housing boom is that a growing cohort of moderate-income households is now priced out of home ownership. Had they been born a generation earlier, they would have probably been able to afford a house. Now it is beyond their reach. 
Over the years, as their rents rise and their wealth stagnates, the gap between the renter and a home owner will become unbridgeable. Their experience of retirement will be worlds apart. 
One lifeline for this cohort is the prospect of inheriting some of the housing wealth of their baby boomer parents. But when this will happen is highly uncertain.
<h2>The housing elite</h2>
The housing elite is rewarded by the housing boom well beyond the capital gain on their own homes. Much of the massive wealth of Australia’s elite is generated through the housing market – through investment, construction and financing of housing. 
Harry Triguboff, Australia’s third-richest person, earned his fortune in the apartment development business. So did the three youngest entrants into the 2016 BRW Rich List. Their entry marks the rising importance of housing in the making of Australia’s super-rich. 
The top 20 percent of the wealthiest Australians hold most of their wealth in their home and in other investment properties. They also hold significant wealth in the sharemarket, which is commanded by big banks whose portfolios are heavily dominated by housing loans. Each housing boom significantly adds to their wealth.
Social class, however, is more than just financial wealth. The wealthiest Australians secure their social class position by living in exclusive suburbs where they are able to associate with the right people and live an elite lifestyle. The astronomical prices of houses in some of these suburbsensure their hermetically exclusive nature. 
<h2>Breaking the loop</h2>
None of these social class categories is natural or universal. These categories will not apply in some European countries, for example, that have very different housing systems.
The deepening fusion between Australia’s housing system and its social class system creates a dangerous cycle. The further house prices grow, the more important housing becomes as a determinant of social class. And when social class is increasingly defined by housing, people are willing to bid even higher to enter home ownership or the housing elite.
Unless we break this cycle, Australia will continue in its path of becoming a more polarised society, with a weakened renting class, an impenetrable elite, and a shrunken home-owner class between them.
Ilan Wiesel is lecturer in Urban Geography, University of Melbourne and author for The Conversation. He can be contacted <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ilan-wiesel-303040" target="_blank">here</a>.
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