Suburbs have a pretty standard timeline. New homes are built, young families move in, those families age. Then the next generation moves in. But not all established areas experience the same success in attracting younger residents. But those that do tend to have fairly similar characteristics that increase their attractiveness, resulting in significant urban renewal.
The critical elements that increase attractiveness for younger people are generally consistent. The first is higher density residential development. This creates affordability for younger people wanting to buy and rent in well established suburbs where a house may be out of their reach. The second is great transport infrastructure to make it easier to get around. The third is a strong mixed-use focus, providing such things as a great retail precinct, places to work and recreational spaces.
To establish the list of where urban renewal has been most successful, we looked at established areas that not only have seen a drop in age, but also significant price growth. To further refine, we had a look at some other markers of urban regeneration. These were chosen to be major infrastructure changes, industrial area conversion, social infrastructure renewal and business district transformation. In the end, ten suburbs were chosen as being most successful at urban renewal, thereby attracting young people and seeing higher demand.
