Going for a walk to get your morning coffee and paper, riding a bike with the kids to school or catching a bus to work without having to walk too far or wait too long sounds like a lifestyle dream.

In fact, for many of us, it really is only a dream. When did convenience become so expensive?

If we want to enjoy all the benefits of the local shops, cafes and bike paths, as well as a choice of public transport, we need to have close to a million-dollar debt (or budget).

Why? Because only inner suburbs seem to enjoy the infrastructure that supports convenience and healthy lifestyle.

The recent Domain Healthy Brisbane study rated Brisbane suburbs based on their capacity to provide a healthy environment for their residents.

Access to fresh food, tree cover and walkability were some of the factors considered, so I’m not surprised the inner suburbs rated high in this study.

Inner suburbs typically have a much higher rate of open space provision and cycle routes, and a higher dwelling density to pay for that infrastructure, which supports the density.

While most emerging communities in South East Queensland enjoy the benefit of having a large park in their neighbourhood, when exactly do you get the time to enjoy those parks?

Those people who live on the outskirts and work in the city must leave home not long past dawn to miss the traffic, and come back close to sunset.

So instead of having active living incorporated into everyday routines, they always need to make time to go for a walk.

Inner-suburb residents have a much greater propensity to actively commute to work because it’s simply not practical if you live too far from work, irrespective of the amount of money spent on cycle lanes or end-of-trip facilities.

In general, the impediment to active commuting is quite high. Many people need to pick up and drop off children, and as someone who has taught over 100 adult beginner cyclists, it’s absolutely the case that people generally feel unsafe and too inexperienced to negotiate most of the travel routes around Brisbane.

Ultimately, active transport becomes a privilege for the few who have the skill, location and time to make it work for them.

When it comes to entertainment, the choice again is left only to those who live within 5 kilometres of the CBD, because many businesses struggle to survive elsewhere.

“Sorry, we are closed” signs pop up on the doors of many local suburban cafes (up to a few times a year) who simply can’t survive at the low population densities common to most Brisbane suburbs.

So where are we missing the point? We seem to associate density with traffic, dust and people who are different to us, when, in fact, it is quite the opposite.

Greater density supports local businesses and infrastructure developments, making us less reliant on cars, our streets more walkable, and our transport and entertainment choices much broader.

The Domain Healthy Brisbane study showed that suburbs like Indooroopilly and Toowong are at the top of the game.

Despite its high density, with smaller blocks, apartments and town houses, Indooroopilly is one of the most socially diverse and sought-after suburbs by families due to the convenience of having some of the best schools and extracurricular activities being a walking distance away. Added to this is a great choice of transport options, shopping, cinemas and restaurants.

What this all boils down to is the fact that density doesn’t seem to matter, and people are happy to pay a high price for the convenience of having all these facilities nearby.

Yet, when a new development is proposed in an area, it often raises nothing but suspicion and negativity from the community.

Instead, or at least in addition, we should be thinking how a new development project near our home will add local services and infrastructure that will support a better, more social, more active and healthier lifestyle built in to our everyday routines.

It’s time to balance the conversation on density.

Brad Jones is an associate town planner at Wolter Consulting Group