When choosing a home, buyers are also choosing the neighbourhood around it.

The streets they travel, the parks they visit, the services they use and the places they can reach easily can all shape their experience of living there. For many people, these lifestyle factors are just as important as the size, price or design of the property itself.

This is part of the appeal of a master planned community.

Rather than considering homes, roads and amenities separately, a masterplan looks at how the different parts of a neighbourhood can work together over time. Depending on the project, this may include housing, public open space, walking and cycling connections, shops, schools, public transport, community facilities and future stages of development.

Master planned communities can take many forms. Some are created in growing metropolitan corridors, while others transform established urban sites or combine residential neighbourhoods with commercial and employment areas.

What connects them is a broader vision for how people can live, move and connect within the community.

Why does the wider neighbourhood matter?

A home may suit a buyer’s immediate needs, but the wider neighbourhood can influence everyday life for many years.

Access to shops, schools, open space, transport and employment can affect commuting, family routines and the amount of time residents spend travelling outside their neighbourhood. Parks and shared spaces can also create opportunities for exercise, relaxation and community connection.

A masterplan gives buyers a clearer picture of how these elements are intended to come together.

It is still important to understand timing. New communities are often delivered progressively, which means some features may already be operating while others are under construction, approved for future delivery or still proposed.

Buyers can check the status of important amenities by reviewing current project information, visiting the community and speaking with the relevant sales team. This helps distinguish what is available today from what forms part of the longer-term vision.

How do open space and local character shape a community?

Open space is often one of the most visible features of a community, but its value extends beyond appearance.

Parks, playgrounds, trails and landscaped areas can provide places for children to play, neighbours to meet and residents to spend time outdoors. Planning can also help protect or celebrate the natural and historic features that give a location its character.

At Glenside in Adelaide, approximately 29.5 per cent of the site is dedicated to public open space. This includes a 1.5-hectare public park with playgrounds, walking trails, barbecue facilities and extensive landscaping.

The Glenside masterplan also incorporates State Heritage-listed buildings into the community. Some have been adapted for new uses, including a childcare centre, helping retain a connection to the site’s history while creating places that serve residents today.

Glenside shows how new housing, public open space and heritage can be brought together within an established urban setting.

In Queensland, Flourish at South Maclean provides a different example of open space shaping a growing greenfield community.

More than 30 per cent of the Flourish site is dedicated to green space, including parklands, walking trails, natural bushland and the Flagstone Creek corridor. The community has also been planned with a broad range of homesite sizes, giving buyers different options depending on the type of home and outdoor space they are seeking.

Together, these features show how housing choice and the natural setting can be considered as part of the same community plan.

What makes a master planned community well connected?

Good connectivity is not only about the distance to a capital city. It is also about how easily residents can reach transport, shops, schools, services and other parts of their own community.

At Glenside, shared pedestrian and cycling paths connect areas within the development and link with the existing Fullarton Road network. New openings through the heritage wall also improve connections with nearby shopping, schools and medical facilities.

Homes within the community are planned to be located within 400 metres of public transport, giving residents additional options for everyday travel.

In Western Australia, Eglinton Village shows how transport and local amenity can support a growing coastal community.

Located in Perth’s northern coastal corridor, Eglinton Village is planned to include more than 1,200 homes upon completion. The community is approximately 500 metres from Eglinton Station, delivered through METRONET, with rail connections to Joondalup, Perth CBD and beyond.

The Eglinton Shopping Centre has also begun serving the growing community. Woolworths and some specialty stores are open, with additional retailers and services being delivered progressively.

The first neighbourhood park is under construction beside the shopping centre. A future primary school and conservation park with walking trails are also proposed as part of the longer-term community vision.

Together, these elements are intended to make more everyday destinations accessible within or close to the community as it develops.

Eglinton Village is also home to Eve, WA’s first community energy sharing network. Its inclusion demonstrates how services and infrastructure can form part of the broader planning of a new community.

How can master planning connect homes, transport and employment?

Some master planned communities extend beyond residential development to include workplaces, shops and commercial activity.

In Victoria, Williams Landing is a 275-hectare transit-oriented development that brings together residential neighbourhoods, offices, retail, parklands and a transport hub.

Located approximately 20 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD, the community is supported by Williams Landing Station, a major bus interchange and direct access to the Princes Freeway.

Its residential neighbourhoods are also connected with local parks, walking paths and the Federation Bike Trail. The broader town centre includes commercial, retail and community uses, allowing residents, workers and visitors to access different parts of the precinct within one wider community.

Williams Landing demonstrates how master planning can help connect where people live, work, shop and travel.

What housing choices can a master planned community offer?

A master planned community may include several types of housing rather than being designed around a single product.

Depending on the project, buyers may be able to choose from residential land, house-and-land packages, townhomes, apartments, completed homes or housing designed for particular stages of life.

Glenside includes a mix of townhomes, apartments and over-55s apartment living across different sizes and price points. Flourish has also included a variety of homesite sizes, from conventional lots to larger options near environmental areas.

A diverse housing mix can help a community respond to different household needs, including those of first-home buyers, families, downsizers and people seeking lower-maintenance living.

It may also provide more opportunities for residents to remain connected to the same area as their housing needs change over time.

What should buyers know about staged development and future amenity?

One of the distinguishing features of a master planned community is the longer-term view.

Homes, parks, roads, services and facilities may be delivered over several years, with different precincts or stages progressing at different times.

At Millars Landing in Baldivis, for example, the community has been planned across three precincts, each with its own relationship to parks, environmental areas and future facilities.

The completed Parkway precinct includes Steamrail Adventure Park and conservation wetlands. The Grounds is currently selling, while Tramway is planned as a future precinct. A retained tramway reserve is also progressively being transformed into walking trails connecting areas of the wider estate.

This staged approach illustrates why buyers should look closely at what has been delivered, what is underway and what remains part of the future masterplan.

It also shows that a new community does not arrive fully formed. It evolves as residents move in, landscapes mature, and facilities are progressively delivered.

Different communities for different lifestyles

There is no single formula for a successful master planned community.

An inner-urban development may focus on walkability, heritage and access to established services. A coastal growth community may be planned around transport, emerging amenity and future schools. A greenfield project may place greater emphasis on natural corridors, varied homesites and family recreation.

A mixed-use precinct may combine housing with employment, shops and public transport.

The value of the masterplan is not that every community looks the same. It is that homes, public spaces, infrastructure and future stages are considered as parts of a broader place.

Cedar Woods’ approach

Cedar Woods creates communities across Western Australia, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, with projects ranging from residential land communities to townhomes, apartments and mixed-use precincts.

Each project responds to its local setting, surrounding environment and the needs of the people it is intended to serve.

By considering homes alongside open space, transport, services and community connections, master planning can help create places where people are proud to live, now and into the future.

Explore Cedar Woods communities and current property opportunities across Australia.