Residents' associations are organisations formed by groups of people from a specific geographic community who come together to address issues within their local area and act as a voice for their local community. In one form or another they have existed since the mid nineteenth century. In many cases they were founded within newer communities, for example as new settlements were built in British Commonwealth countries, and in the UK many residents' associations were formed by the newcomer-residents of the housing estates that proliferated between the World Wars.