Sergio Famiano

Sergio Famiano is an urban planning, developer and housing enthusiast. He has over 30 years’ experience in working for some of the leading housing and property development companies in Australia in senior development and management roles. This complements his qualifications in urban planning, economics and psychology. Having worked across Australia, Sergio Famiano has a very good understanding of the ‘Australian Dream’ of home ownership and the slow decline in housing affordability in Australia which is now at crisis point.

Sergio Famiano is the author of The New Australian Dream – Rethinking Our Homes and Cities to Solve the Housing Crisis, published in 2022. The book examines the origins of the Australian Dream of home ownership, and Australia’s love affair with the house and block with a car. The book sheds light on the ‘growing economic, environmental and social shadows’ that have emerged since the ‘suburban experiment’ in Australian cities took hold from the 1950s onwards. The current housing affordability crisis is examined, followed by a city-wide approach to redesigning our cities and rethinking housing to solve the housing crisis and to make Australian cities more sustainable.

In his latest book, Requiem for the Australian Dream, Sergio examines the housing crisis from a different perspective. He takes a deep dive into the social, political, economic and existential factors which have conspired to turn the great ‘Australian Dream’ into a ‘nightmare’. It draws attention to the notion that rather being a ‘recent crisis’ caused by policy shortfalls over the span of 10 years, it is instead, a crisis that has been 50 years in the making. The final third of the book turns the reader’s attention to solutions. A total of eight key initiatives to solve the housing crisis and bring back the ‘Australian Dream’ of home ownership for future generations of Australians are considered. A must read for anybody interested in the subject.

Author's Books

Requiem for the Australian Dream

‘Requiem for the Australian Dream’ examines the origins of the Australian Dream and its importance to Australian society. Under the Robert Menzies government, the ‘Australian Dream’ became the measure of a mature society, built on the collective values of the ‘fair go’ and the notion tha...

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