Building Community in a Master Planned Community: The Experience of Older Residents

Walters P¹*

1. The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia

This paper presents preliminary results of research into how older people might contribute to, and benefit from the establishment of community in a new ‘master-planned community’ (MPC), a ‘post-traditional’ successor to the traditional Australian suburb. The phenomenon of older people moving to MPCs and participating in the establishment of a new community flies in the face of orthodox portrayals of retirement, which often describe a choice between prolonged ageing in place or migration to an aspirational destination with other like-minded retirees. The MPC is heavily marketed for its potential as a community of place, invoking the imagery of a ‘return to neighbourhood’, the communitarian ideal also favoured by various policy makers and social commentators.

Qualitative research into the establishment of community is underway at Springfield Lakes, a new MPC on the edge of Brisbane. Preliminary findings will be discussed, focussing on the roles and experiences of older residents in building community, particularly in relation to the expectations of community created by the property developer, and the success or otherwise of a community of place. Findings will also be discussed in relation to the contribution that older residents are able to make to the development of community and social capital.

The research forms part of a wider Australian Research Council linkage project ‘Building Sustainable Social Capital in New Communities’, in conjunction with the property developer Delfin Lend Lease.

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