‘A completely different world’: the rich and resilient communities inside Melbourne’s towers

The cramped conditions of the city's public housing high-rises have an upside, according to those who live there

When Nor Shanino was a teenager in the early 2000s and wanted company on a Saturday morning, he would go to the 20th floor of his building and start knocking on doors. Many families had six or seven kids living in three-bedroom apartments, so it didn't take him long to find someone he knew. Then the pair would knock on another door, and another, and before long a group of 10 noisy boys would be slowly descending in the building's shuddering lift before emerging to play in Debneys Park, the large green space that lies beside the four high-rise buildings commonly known as the Flemington housing commission flats.

No one had any money, so families didn't have gaming consoles or multiple TVs, Nor says. Instead, all day, he and his male friends played sport. In summer it was cricket or tennis, in winter, football or soccer -whatever was on TV at the time". There was basketball, too, and next to the court was a bench under a big tree where people went to talk. We called that bench the parliament. If people got into an argument, we'd say, Take it to the parliament.'"