Meet Your Neighbours
Creating friendly and resilient communities in apartment buildings
Research has shown that residents who live in apartments are less likely to call on their neighbours for help in times of need. Yet neighbours are often the first to help out in times of need.
In 2022/2023 Lane Cove Council and Willoughby City Council received funding from the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet to deliver a series of engagements with residents from three apartment buildings to engage them in identifying local resilience issues, increase connectedness within the building, and work to implement solutions for themselves.
The Meet Your Neighbours toolkit was developed as part of this project. It is your guide to creating a friendly and resilient community in your apartment building. You can use the toolkit for ideas to get to know your neighbours.
You can also watch the Building Vertical Neighbourhoods webinar to learn more about the "Meet Your Neighbours" project. The webinar aims to inspire residents and strata who are passionate about creating friendly and resilient communities.
Social Cohesion project for apartment buildings
Following the success of past programs, Council is calling for additional apartment buildings to participate in our Social Cohesion project where residents can attend a range of events to meet their neighbours, identify resilience and safety issues, and then prioritise and coordinate resident led solutions.
Past rounds of the project have led to initiatives such as the creation of whatsapp groups, social groups for walks or games nights, regular social events, first aid training, and fire warden training.
Submit an EOI
Meet Your Neighbours - Funding Support for Neighbourhood Events
Lane Cove Council is inviting residents to host their own Meet Your Neighbours event in their apartment building or with the residents on their street, with Council reimbursing up to $250 for food and non-alcoholic drink. Host a BBQ breakfast, a trivia night, pizza party or some other social event to bring your neighbours together. Make sure to check out the Meet Your Neighbours toolkit for further ideas or templates.
This program will run until funding allocation is exhausted or the event close off date of Sunday 2 May 2027.
Please note funding for this program is currently at capacity. Applications are still open and if further funding is sourced then those who have completed an application will be contacted first.
Submit an EOI