Amid the current housing crisis, there’s never been a better time for property developers, planners, and local governments to deliver a legacy of new homes that reflect local values and support stronger communities.
As more houses, apartments and developments are built, hearing what is important to community is critical.
The 2025 Articulous People Matter Community Engagement Poll reveals valuable insights for how developers and planners can better engage with key stakeholders to shape our future urban landscapes.
Here are 5 lessons on what community told us is important for them and why it matters:
1. Housing is a top issue and people want their say
Housing was one of the top three issues for respondents across Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. It highlights how housing is front-of-mind for many Australians. It also reflects changing community expectations on what gets built, where and how it impacts people’s lives. For developers, there is a strong stakeholder appetite for participation, and the community wants to be heard.
2. Community wants to engage, and how you ask matters
In our People Matter Community Engagement Poll, 57% of Australians indicated they are likely to engage if given the opportunity. This includes young people as the next generation of home buyers. To make the most of your engagement design, 50% of people want to answer multiple choice questions as well as providing a comment. Open-ended questions allow respondents to feel heard in their own words. This also leads to more meaningful and actionable insights that multiple choice questions can miss.
3. Surveys reign, but fairs and festivals are king for face-to-face
Surveys continue to be the preferred engagement method across age all groups, except for 18–29-year-olds, who favour feedback via social media. Fairs and festivals are the next most popular engagement avenue. An intentional presence from developers and planners at community events shows an openness to engage informally. This can enhance social capital and credibility around how future housing projects that can benefit the community.
4. Catch Queenslanders early on weekends
The adage ‘the early bird gets the worm’ rings true for engaging Queenslanders, who prefer to be reached first thing on weekend mornings (32%), followed by weekend afternoons (27%). Try going along to weekend markets or club sports and invite locals to share their thoughts over a coffee or croissant. Knowing your stakeholders, how they want to be engaged, and understanding what matters to them is key. People in the southern states, including 31% of those from New South Wales and 40% of Victorians, say they prefer to be reached on weekday evenings.
5. Trust is earned through action
About 4 in 10 people believe engagement is just a ‘box-ticking’ exercise, with 11% stating they have little or no confidence that they are being listened to. These insights invite developers to be proactive and go beyond business as usual. Community confidence can be built through actioning feedback, communicating early and often and telling people how their input has been used.
Community wants to be heard and able to trust future developments take their local community identity and lifestyle into account. Learning from one another through engagement helps to build developments and infrastructure that can make a positive contribution to all involved.
Articulous can help turn these insights into collaborative engagement outcomes for your next project. To learn more about our planning and development experience visit https://articulous.com.au/sectors/planning-development-engagement/
