By Ainsley Milton, Account Manager Place Score
There are lots of ways government and business measure neighbourhood liveability, but only one that is measured by people living there! At Place Score we take a ‘human-centric’ approach to measure liveability by capturing the voice of the community.
So far, over 10,000 people from across Australia have told us what they care about in their ideal neighbourhood, with a further 5,000 rating their neighbourhood.
While you may have thought that a person’s age and background shapes their values, interestingly it seems to be where you live that really has impact.
Our research has revealed that regional coastal communities like Townsville and Coffs Harbour really value ‘Elements of the natural environment (natural features, views, vegetation, topography, water, wildlife etc.)’ while their metro Sydney counterparts priorities ‘General condition of public open space (street trees, footpaths, parks etc.).
What makes our research important?
With Australia’s population continuing to grow, the primary focus is on where people will live, work and play, and how will we connect key land uses. In an ideal world, government should be aiming to localise co-dependent activities because of the multiple benefits that cascade from them; closer communities, less dependence on transportation, stronger local economies, healthier people and more.
For existing neighbourhoods, this is likely to mean more housing closer to existing amenity like shops, train stations, education or health. This makes sense. Yet… it also potentially causes conflict because people embedded in these neighbourhoods may feel that any change will be detrimental to their current way of life.
Place Score was developed with the primary intention of helping understand what people really care about, how they rate their current lived experience and when we aggregate these two data sets, to clearly identify priorities for government and private sector development.
As well as revealing liveability improvement priorities, we can also identify neighbourhood strengths – characteristics that are both highly valued and performing well which should be retained and protected into the future.
We’re really excited to help communities shape a future for their places that improves people’s lives by prioritising the common good and reducing conflict. Our data means that government not only hears the loudest voices but, more importantly, to segment the data so they can hear what the little voices are saying too.
Want to tell Place Score what you care about?
Place Score’s research reveals that at a national level, most people care about the ‘General condition of public space (street trees, footpaths, parks etc.)’, ‘Elements of the natural environment (natural features, views, vegetation, topography, wildlife etc.)’ and ‘Sense of personal safety (for all genders, day or night.)’.
Don’t agree? Place Score is currently conducting a survey about neighbourhoods across Australia and you are invited to participate. Your voice will help shape future city planning decisions.
Rest assured, the information and opinions you provide are completely confidential will be used only for research purposes. The survey will take approximately 5-7 minutes to complete.
As an incentive, each survey participant has the chance of winning one of five $50 vouchers of your choice from one of eighty retailers.
For more information about Place Score, please visit their website: www.placescore.org