Developed by demographer Mark McCrindle on behalf of Urban Taskforce, the Urban Living Index aims to rank Sydney’s 228 suburbs on their liveability through analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.
“The index measured scores across 20 measures within the areas of Affordability, Community, Employability, Amenity and Accessibility using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) broken into 228 suburbs of Sydney,” Urban Taskforce chief executive officer Chris Johnson said.
“To supplement the ABS data, McCrindle also surveyed 1,000 Sydney residents living in both suburban and urban areas to get more detail on liveability issues,” Johnson said.
According to the Urban Living Index, Crows Nest tops the list of the best Sydney suburbs to live in, followed by Surry Hills and Pyrmont.
Potts Point and North Sydney rounded out the top-five most liveable suburbs.
According to Johnson, the index shows a correlation between density and liveability, with many of the city’s densest suburbs also ranking high on the liveability scale.
“The 20 most dense suburbs in Sydney generally scored very highly on the index indicating that a good lifestyle is compatible with urban density,” he said.
“The factors that lead to a high Urban Living Index include the affordability of apartments, more diverse communities, access to jobs, more restaurants and cafes, closeness to public transport and a better walking environment.
“The Urban Living Index indicates that a new urban culture is evolving that is different to suburban living. Those living in urban areas seem to have creative industry jobs close to where they live and are far less car dependent than their suburban cousins.”
Source: Urban Taskforce/Urban Living Index
With tens of thousands of apartments predicted to come online in Sydney over the next two to three years, Johnson said the research should be welcomed by policy makers.
“The extensive survey taken at a critical point in Sydney’s development demonstrates that Sydneysiders are adapting to a denser environment based on apartment living as long as amenities and public transport are part of the new urban neighbourhood.
“There are important lessons for Sydney’s growth in the detailed analysis by Mark McCrindle’s team.”
“The Urban Living Index has been refined to be of use by the soon to be established Greater Sydney Commission.”
