Sustainable lives in sustainable Sustainable lives in sustainable communitiescommunities

Living and working in suburban AustraliaLiving and working in suburban Australia

Philippa Williams, Barbara Pocock, Ken Bridge & Jane EdwardsPhilippa Williams, Barbara Pocock, Ken Bridge & Jane EdwardsCentre for Work + LifeCentre for Work + Life

University of South AustraliaUniversity of South Australia

Funding partners includeFunding partners includeAustralia Research Council, Lend Lease Communities, The Innovation and Economic Australia Research Council, Lend Lease Communities, The Innovation and Economic

Opportunities Group and University of South AustraliaOpportunities Group and University of South Australia

Project at a glanceProject at a glanceAim

To explore how work, home and community interact in the lives of men, women and teenagers

living in suburban Australia

Method10 traditional & planned communities across 4 states.Multiple methods, including household survey, focus groups and interviews with men, women & teenagers

Theoretical perspective (2)Voydanoff’s demands & resources perspective encouraged an examination of how demands and resources across different contexts interact to affect work-life integration.

Theoretical perspective (1)Bronfenbrenner’s ecological

systems theory encourages an holistic examination of work

home and community

You cannot plan for housing without planning for activities of daily living such as work, care, education, recreation, social interaction and

consumption.

These activities need to be integrated into housing development. Attention to the SPACE and TIME characteristics of different activities at different STAGES OF LIFE is

essential.

Many storiesMany stories

Working mothers

“My wife works part-time, and she works right next to where the kids sport is. So if there’s anything happening with the kids she’s got a bit more flexibility

than I do.” (male worker with children)

Insert picture from poster – woman working at home with baby

Key issuethe spatial and temporal organisation of work, in relation to care

and community

Child

Child

Child

Mother

Mother

Father

Father

Father

Mother

Available parents can maximise local social networks

Child

Child

Child

Mother

Mother

Father

Father

Father

Mother

Local social networks are diminished if work keeps residents away from their community

Workers and small business

“We have a work environment where I can just run out the door, go home, see the electrician, come back to work…last year I had a son wanted to do baseball so I had to pick him up from the bus stop, drop him at baseball and come back to work for another hour” (Employed female with children)

Key issue Problematic flexibility and access to services

Key issuePoor access to opportunities for social interaction, recreation, extra-

curricular activity, work experience, and independent agency

Teenagers

Sometimes we can’t do anything because no parents are home ... because we live so far out, we can’t walk anywhere. (14 year old girl)

Child

Child

Child

Mother

Mother

Father

Father

Father

Mother

When I moved here I knew nobody… my son was still at [his old school] so I didn’t get to meet anybody for three years, then when he finally did move here, he made friends with the older boys, not the younger boys … So it took ages and ages sort of for us to assimilate in. (employed female with children)

Local social networks are diminished if children attend school outside their community

Sustaining and sustainable communities:An holistic approach

Understanding how housing interacts with work and other activities is essential for good urban policy and planning.

Planning needs to considering LIFE STAGE, SPACE and TIME in relation to each other in order to understand how work, home and community interact

for different groups of people.

Key questions raised by this analysisKey questions raised by this analysis

1. Should the responsibility (and the costs) of socially connected communities be borne primarily by women?

2. How do we design communities and workplaces to increase opportunities for workers (men and women) to participate in the social life of their communities?

3. How do we maximise the benefits of flexibility (at work and in the community) while at the same time reducing the demands often created by flexibility (especially for women)?

4. How do we design communities and workplaces with the needs of teenagers in mind?

Thank youThank you

unisa.edu.au/hawkeinstitute/cwlunisa.edu.au/hawkeinstitute/cwl