Abstract: The notion of community has had enduring appeal while undoubtedly being one of the more perplexed notions in the social sciences. Community has often been considered a ‘myth’ in many urban areas, with urban areas being hostile environments for community formation. Particularly in relation to the development of private residential estates (often termed ‘gated communities’) in metropolitan regions across Australia, community is seen to be a commodity (purely a marketing device) and anything but real.

In this paper, I (re)connect with community in the form of neighbourhood based interactions and associations through an engagement with the residents of a private residential estate (Macquarie Links) in Sydney, Australia, during detailed qualitative fieldwork in 2007. I provide a conceptualisation of the concept of community that takes into account commonalities and differences, consent and disagreement, private and community.

Privatism and community are often considered the anti-thesis of each other or an impossible combination, yet both are marketed and sold to the residents of private residential estates. This research uncovered the meanings and lived experiences of privatism and community in the context of Macquarie Links. The research found that community and privatism were interrelated and relied on each other to be successful. Common bonds and disagreements have continually sustained the community of Macquarie Links, such as that between owners and renters, adults and young people, the community and the individual. These disagreements, differences and ‘dramas’ within the estate can be managed by the community association (through the private structure), thus sustaining community. Privatism and community do not run parallel within Macquarie Links, rather they are complexly intertwined. A new version of urban community pervades private residential estates.