See this is bullshit. People were moved out of Victoria St (Flemington) to the towers in Flemington and North Melbourne, and now the towers are set to be demolished. You can promise them a home after the site is redeveloped, but that’s another disruptive move, pushing it up to three moves in just a few years (Victoria St, towers, who knows where, and back again).

Given the density of the towers (about 400 bedrooms across 180 apartments for the standard tower design), I don’t even know where they plan to move everyone. It’s a lot of people to house with public and social housing already over-stretched.

Then what do you do for the people who rely on their trusted neighbours? All the old people with mobility issues who call a younger, more able-bodied neighbour to assist them when they need it? Or the people who call a neighbour when they have a medical emergency to help out until paramedics arrive? Or the people who call a neighbour when they need a babysitter in an emergency? Or even just looking after each other’s kids after school on alternate days? Or just knowing who your neighbours are that will look out for you?

What do you do about people with ties to the rest of the community? For example the Việt Catholic community centred on St Vincent’s in Flemington? The Muslim community associated with the mosque on Boundary Rd? All the people working in the local supermarkets and cafés? A lot of these people don’t drive, so they’ll be forced to get another job, and lose entitlements like years of service for long service leave entitlement.

Forcing children to change schools can be particularly disruptive. If they’re also moved to a different area, they usually lose contact with their circle of friends. This is particularly devastating for children with autism spectrum disorders who can’t deal with change easily.

Calling the company they outsourced housing to “Building Communities” is particularly insulting because all they’re doing is destroying communities.