Rebecca Leshinsky

Recognising 'community' in condo law and living: hard lessons and soft learning from Melbourne and Toronto

Purpose - Ontario (Canada) and Victoria (Australia) are internationally recognised for best practice in Multi-Owned Property (MOP) living and law. Yet both jurisdictions struggle with the emerging urbanism associated with condominium MOP. This article aims to advance best practice by gaining insights into key MOP issues and challenges facing policy-makers and communities in Toronto and Melbourne. Design/methodology/approach - Differential ways of recognising community in regulating and resolving challenging issues attending MOP urbanism will be examined typologically against public policy and political theory perspectives on community and collaborative approaches to social sustainability. A rich mixed-data analysis is used to develop a typology around three pillars of MOP community governance: harmonious high-rise living, residential-neighbourhood interface, and metropolitan community engagement. The article interrogates Canadian policy and law reform documents engaging Ontarian residents, and Australian dispute case law from Victoria to explore and showcase critical management, residential, and policy issues facing MOP communities in Toronto and Melbourne. Findings - The article proposes a theory-building typology for formally recognising and reproducing ‘community’ as an affective performance across MOP governance contexts: cosmopolitan, civic-citizen, and neighbourly. These ideal types account for differential community affects that may determine alternative dispute resolution remedies, address neighbourhood and metropolitan NIMBY-ism in urban consolidation, and bridge the critical policy and civic gap regarding limited but aspirational knowledge about MOP vertical-tenured community characteristics in and beyond (case) law and land-use planning. Research limitations/implications - Strong cross-jurisdictional MOP community lessons exist as other cities follow the legal and governance structures of Toronto and Melbourne despite differing architecture and contingencies. This article contributes more widely on engaging community to effect change at the frontiers of 21st century urbanism. Originality/value - Past studies emphasise classifying dispute issues, single-issue concerns, or historical and life-cycle evaluations. This theory-building article advances why and how community must be better understood holistically across community contexts, in interdisciplinary and local terms of social sustainability to inform cutting-edge governance practices.

“I Don’t Think My Landlord Will Find Out:” Airbnb and the Challenges of Enforcement

Abstract Airbnb is an established part of the platform economy, which in many cities is operating unregulated. Some jurisdictions, however, have started regulating this sector, even imposing bans on short-term rentals (STR). Where regulatory limits have been instituted, local officials identify enforcement as a challenge. Amidst the dearth of enforcement resources, some local councils are turning to private companies, thereby introducing private enforcement which does not sit well in the planning (public) law context. We query whether traditional enforcement strategies can even succeed in the platform economy of STRs and whether alternatives to STR regulation make for a more realistic approach.

The unintended consequences of strata title for urban regeneration

This chapter explores the diffusion of strata title across Australian cities since the 1960s. Based on this review, we identify stages in the housing life cycle of strata-titled property and emerging pressures for redevelopment in greyfield areas of Australian cities. Drawing on data from an urban infill project, we argue that the spatial pervasiveness of smaller scale strata title development is acting as a major inhibitor to precinct-scale residential redevelopment. This is particularly evident in inner and middle suburbs, which in current metropolitan planning strategies are key targets for intensification of development. We conclude by placing Australian strata title development within a wider international context of current legal and planning instruments. Here we compare the positive and unintended negative consequences of contemporary approaches.

Touching on transparency in city local law making: Experiences from waking up each day in City of Melbourne, Australia

Purpose The purpose for this paper is to share jurisdictional knowledge on local law-making theory and praxis, an area of law not well represented in the literature despite its involvement in day-to-day life. Design/methodology/approach The paper not only shares knowledge about the local law-making process in Melbourne, Australia, but also explores attitudes to local law-making gathered through semi-structured interviews from a sample of relevant stakeholders. Findings The paper reports on findings from a study undertaken in Melbourne, Australia. Stakeholder perceptions and attitudes were canvassed regarding local law-making in the areas of land use planning and waste management. Overall, stakeholders were satisfied that Melbourne is a robust jurisdiction offering a fair and transparent local law-making system, but they see scope for more public participation. Research limitations/implications The findings suggest that even though the state of Victoria offers a fair and transparent system of local law-making, there is still significant scope for more meaningful involvement from the community, as well as space for more effective enforcement of local laws. The stage is set for greater cross-jurisdictional reciprocal learning about local law-making between cities. Originality/value This paper offers meaningful and utilitarian insight for policy and law makers, academics and built environment professionals from relevant stakeholders on the operation and transparency of local law-making.