Waterloo is surrounded by the suburbs of Redfern and Darlington to the north, Eveleigh and Alexandria to the west, Rosebery to the south, and Moore Park, Zetland, and Kensington to the east.

[6] In 1974, the Builders Labourers Federation placed a green ban against the construction of demolition of low-income housing to make way for new apartments.

Since early 2000s, the region has undergone some degree of gentrification with a rising business district focusing on technology-oriented firms and the development of more green space such as parks.

[10] Nevertheless, the suburb maintains a large housing commission estate shared with Redfern with around 4,000 tenants.

[citation needed] The Waterloo estate is set for a facelift, with the older flats/tower blocks getting redeveloped into large luxury apartment blocks mixing social housing with affordable housing alongside the new Metro station being developed nearby.

It involves an urban renewal program which has seen many industrial buildings redeveloped or replaced by new residential and commercial developments.

The area adjacent to South Dowling Street contains many high-rise apartment buildings with retail space at ground level.

In January 2019, the Government of New South Wales released a redevelopment masterplan of the Waterloo social housing estate.

Green Square station, on the Airport line of the Sydney Trains network, is located in the south-west corner of the suburb.