Living Together: Stories from the Collective

On Saturday 4^th March, we joined the MPavilion program to present an MTalk, ‘Living Together: Stories from the Collective’, in the Queen Victoria Gardens under the vivid orange and red canopy designed by all(zone).

We brought together a panel of residents living in local collective housing developments – Balfe Park Lane (Brunswick East), Nightingale 2 (Fairfield) and 122 Roseneath Street (Clifton Hill) – to explore the reality of sharing amenities and living together better in the context of growing population density.

Facilitated by our academic lead on the Living Together Research Project, Rebecca Roke, the discussion focused on the resident experience of collective housing and explored themes of sustainability, activating community, underperformance, like-mindedness, and value for money.

Panellists Jen, Ray and Johannes shared stories from their lived experiences, touching on topics such as, the strength of their connections with neighbours, the tricky balance between safety and openness in the building, and the impact of the car-free strategy for some developments on the neighbourhoods they call home.

With residents from a variety of deliberative and speculative developments represented on the panel, the group was able to discuss the extent to which each of their buildings engaged in collective housing elements, such as sharing amenities and initiating a sense of community. Balfe Park Lane resident, Johannes Lupolo-Chan, shared:

If you weren’t able to join us on the day, the MTalk recording is now available. You’ll find the MPavilion link below.