This week, we open up with a chat about our increasingly popular polls and the surprising results this week revealing what annoys you most about your neighbours.

Then we take a look at what NSW Premier Chris Minns really means when he “declares war on Nimbys”.  

If as this article suggests, he may use his power to let his minions, aka senior civil servants, rule on projects held up by recalcitrant, backsliding local authorities, what does that mean for suburbs that have steadfastly held out against medium to high rise developments in their low-rise avenues?

Then we hear about a Canadian “urbanist” who has come up with a new style of communal living, turning apartments into “friendship machines”, whereby families get together to inhabit blocks where everyone has their own living space but they share cooking facilities and child care.  

It all seems a bit commune-like and will doubtless have some citizens of Queensland reaching for their pitchforks when he presents his thoughts at the Asia Pacific Cities Summit in Brisbane next week.

And finally, we can’t avoid having another look at how Airbnb is under serious pressure, now that the mainstream media is getting the message that throwing renters out so that investors can make more money, specifically from from tourists, is necessarily good for our society as a whole.

Airbnb again? Hey, it’s all grist to the strata mill.

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Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.
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Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.