A Sense of Community

One positive that has come out of COVID is the way in which local communities have banded together to help each other. Sharing knowledge, experiences and support

Residz Team 2 min read


One positive that has come out of COVID is the way in which local communities have banded together to help each other. The strictures of social distancing and isolation have meant that connecting primarily online but ultimately personally to local community members has given comfort. However, people’s knowledge about their current and perhaps future local community is often poor. Yes, you may know your next-door neighbours and where the local shopping centre is, but what else could or should you be aware of?

There are many examples of how a better knowledge of your community can provide that feeling of belonging and dare I say it satisfaction. An example might be if you are looking to offload that old fridge at a bargain basement price and a local newlywed young couple respond in a rush. Doesn’t that give you warm feelings that you’re helping a local couple? Further, if you’re looking for tradespeople or a babysitter, isn’t it better to find someone local who doesn’t have to travel far and with whom you feel you have something in common?

The rise in community groups on Facebook, sharing a wide range of needs and interests, is evidence of the growing need for local connectedness in addition to the wide world of the Internet. As life goes on you will find that those various needs and interests evolve, such as schooling. If you have a new baby you may want to know the location of childcare centres and whether the service they provide is highly regarded. Then when your children reach school age and you may consider a larger home, you may want to know the school catchment areas and results in other localities to which you intend to move.

Overall there is value in having connections to your local community which enables you to access a range of services and tradespeople. To be able to easily sell, buy, socialise, trade, and generally feel that you play a valued role in that community is rewarding both socially and potentially financially. It is certainly more efficient to be interacting locally.

To date there have been few if any single places where you can find out about your local community on multiple levels. Yes, there are local government websites for services, and there are Facebook community groups as mentioned earlier, but where can you find most of what you need in a single place with just a few clicks? The answer is Residz, a location-based portal that provides school results, traffic conditions, open areas, transport, shops, cultural profiles, employment, demographics on neighbours, medical facilities, bushfire risk, subsidence risk, development applications, 5 and 10-minute drive times, and more.

Residz have mapped every address in Australia and have already attached a wide range of risk and lifestyle data as exampled above. The information can be easily accessed with a few clicks from a simple address or suburb search. As the site develops further to embrace the trend towards community participation, aspects such as local tradespeople, homecare services, childcare centres, wellness (e.g. noise levels, air quality, contaminated land) and interest group forums will be added.