Addressing the ‘Liveability’ Concerns of Residents in High Density Housing

Issues surrounding central city residential housing has increased in prominence in recent times as a result of the onus on the planning systems of most developed countries to develop a more sustainable development pattern. If urban compaction efforts are ultimately to be successful, however, then providing well-designed housing in central urban areas that are suitable throughout all stages of an individual’s lifecycle and can offer a good quality of life should be a central objective for urban planners and designers in the contemporary city. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research data, the overall aim of this paper is to examine residents’ satisfaction with new relatively high-density apartment developments in the central city. This type of residential housing is likely to become increasingly visible on the residential landscape given recent policy emphasis promoting high-density inner urban living. Results from a logistic model of housing satisfaction indicate that background variables such as age and ethnicity as well as various features of the dwelling unit such as storage space, sound insulation, view from the dwelling and size of the kitchen area emerge as significant predictors of overall housing satisfaction. At the level of the apartment block dissatisfaction with outside storage space, open space and the provision of parking were also found to be significant sources of dissatisfaction for residents.