Rosenblatt, T., L. Cheshire, et al. (2009). "Social interaction and sense of community in a master planned estate." Housing, Theory and Society 26(2): 122-142.
This article explores social interaction, place attachment and sense of community through a qualitative case study of a master planned community in Australia, drawing on semi-structured interviews with residents. Focus on community is a major promotional feature of master planned communities, which are becoming the dominant form of new large-scale housing development in Australia. In the case-study master planned community that this research focuses on, the developer made considerable efforts to facilitate community processes beyond the level of marketing. The findings from this paper suggest that while high levels of attachment to place and sense of community were reported by residents, actual social interaction within the master planned community was not generally extensive. This research has implications for developers wishing to facilitate increased social interaction within master planned communities. The article would be interesting to read alongside Keller*'s book about the growth of 'community' within the first 'planned unit development' in New Jersey.