More apartments. Fewer families. A very different Inner West
Before more family homes are knocked down and replaced with luxury apartments, it is worth asking a simple question: what kind of community does that create?
The data is clear.
- 80% of apartments in the Inner West do not house families with children
- 45% are occupied by just one person
- Another 27% are couples with no children
- Just a small minority are families
We already see the impact.
- Apartments already make up 42% of housing in the Inner Wes
- As a result, only 34% of households are families with children and the number of families continues to decline
Compare that to Greater Sydney:
- 31% apartments
- 47% families with children
Push this model further and the outcome is predictable.
In areas like the City of Sydney (78% apartments and Waterloo (91% apartments):
- Families drop to just 15–16% of households
- Single-person households dominate (41%)
That is not a balanced or diverse community.
Yet under current plans, the Inner West is heading in the same direction:
- Apartments increasing from 42% to 67%
This is not just about buildings. It is about who gets to live here.
A genuinely diverse community needs a mix of housing that supports families, not just smaller households.
Because once the mix shifts this far, it does not come back
Stage 1 of Labor’s ‘Fairer Future Plan’ and Parramatta Roads plan delivers 45,000 new apartments, the vast majority being studios, one and two bedrooms, many with no parking.
So the real question is:
Will this plan actually support families, or does it lock in a future of smaller households and fewer families in the Inner West?
We’re constantly being told we need more housing or risk a future with no families and no grandchildren.
But if we keep building homes that don’t suit families, isn’t that exactly the future we’re creating?
Share this with your neighbours and make sure more people understand what’s at stake. The shape of our community is being decided now.