With five cities in the top 20 of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual global liveability survey, Australia boasts some of the most attractive urban environments in the world. In the most recent edition, Melbourne was declared the world’s most liveable city for the seventh year running, with Adelaide fifth, Perth seventh, Sydney 11th and Brisbane 16th.

Yet from long commutes and high car dependency to the low provision of affordable housing in the more appealing areas, Australian cities still have plenty of room for improvement.

The Centre for Urban Research’s Creating Liveable Cities in Australia report provides the first baseline measure of liveability in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin and Hobart. The result of five years of research, it examines walkability, public transport, public open spaces, housing affordability, commuting and access to food and alcohol.

Walkability

A composite walkability index for suburbs in each of the eight cities. Note that indices are not comparable across cities. Illustration: RMIT University

The walkability index combines dwelling density, daily-living destinations and street connectivity. It showed that a minority of residents in Australians cities live in walkable communities. With few exceptions, walkability is generally concentrated in inner suburbs. Despite the health and environmental benefits of walking, Australian cities are still being designed for cars. One notable exception was found: some new, walkable areas being built in outer-suburban Perth.

Public transport

Percentage of residences by suburb within 400m of a public transport stop with services at least every 30 minutes. Illustration: RMIT University

Research shows that people are more likely to walk when they have access to nearby and frequent public transport. Only 35% of homes in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney are within 400 metres of a public stop with a scheduled service at least every 30 minutes between 7am and 7pm on weekdays. This dropped to 18% in Perth, and between 11% and 13% in Brisbane, Canberra and Hobart.

Percentage of Perth residences within 400m of a bus stop or 800m of a train station. Illustration: RMIT University

Perth appeared to outperform other Australian cities at meeting its public transport access policy targets. However, Perth’s policy ambition is significantly lower than those of other cities, requiring only 60% of dwellings to be within walking distance of public transport. Overall, approximately 64% of all residential addresses across metropolitan Perth and Peel were within a 400m walk of a bus stop or 800m from a train station.

Percentage of Melbourne residences within 400m of a bus stop, 600m of a tram stop or 800m of a train station. Illustration: RMIT University

Almost 70% of residential dwellings in metropolitan Melbourne are within 400m of a bus stop, 600m of a tram stop or 800m of a train station, but this fell short of the state’s more ambitious target of 95%.

Percentage of Sydney residences within 400m of a bus stop and 800m of a train station, with a service every 15 minutes. Illustration: RMIT University

The most ambitious target for public transport access was in New South Wales – where they aimed for 100%. But only 38% of residential dwellings across metropolitan Sydney achieved the state government’s comprehensive public transport indicator, which incorporates frequency of service as well as proximity.

Housing affordability

Cities were assessed using the 30/40 housing affordability measure – households whose income is in the bottom 40% and who spend more than 30% of that income on housing costs. Using that measure, more than one-third of lower-income households in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Darwin and Perth appear to be experiencing housing affordability stress.



Percentage of households with income in bottom 40% and which spend more than 30% on housing.

In Sydney and Brisbane particularly, housing affordability stress is spread across large areas of the city. However, in all cities, those suburbs enduring the greatest stress were located towards the urban fringe. Given that outer suburbs also have poor access to public transport, and are less likely to be walkable, household expenditure on cars is likely to be higher there than in other areas. This suggests that continued suburban expansion will not improve housing affordability.

Public open space

Percentage of suburb gross area that is parkland.

Unlike other indicators of liveability, outer suburban areas mostly have better access to public open space than inner-city areas.

The vast majority (75% to 82%) of residential dwellings in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are within 400m of public open space. However, when the size of those open spaces is considered, this drops dramatically: around one half or less or residential addresses in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane are within 400m of a larger park (greater than 1.5 hectares); unlike in Perth where nearly two thirds of residential addresses meet this target.

Percentage of residences by suburb within 400m of public open space.

Employment access

Across all eight cities, the vast majority of workers travel to work by private motor vehicle. The proportion who travel to work by public transport varies from 23% in Sydney to 5% in Darwin.

Percentage of workers using public transport to travel to work.

Darwin has the highest rate of residents using active transport to get to work (9%), with other cities ranging from 4% to 8%.

While in smaller cities such as Canberra, Darwin and Hobart the vast majority of residents live and work in the same area, in the larger Australian capital cities this drops – to 53% in Perth and Adelaide, and between 42-48% in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. There is an opportunity to increase commuting to work by walking and cycling, which in the Australian context is extremely low. This requires infrastructure investment – even on the urban fringe – to separate pedestrians and cyclists from cars.

Food

Across Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane, there are more fast-food outlets on average than supermarkets within 3.2km of residents’ homes.

Although supermarket access varies significantly between cities, well over half of residential dwellings in all Australian capital cities are further than 1km from the nearest supermarket. Only 17% of Darwin households have access to a supermarket within 1km.

Healthy food ratio: low score means fast-food dominated; high score means supermarket dominated).

Alcohol

Previous research has shown that in Melbourne the density of off-licences in disadvantaged areas corresponded to poorer self-rated health. This reflects other Australian research showing that the density of alcohol outlets is associated with harmful alcohol consumption and alcohol-related violence, and that more alcohol outlets appear to be located in more disadvantaged areas.

Percentages of residences by suburb without access to an off-licence within 800 metres.

In Perth and Brisbane, only 10–14% of residential addresses are within 400m of an on-licence alcohol outlet, but in Melbourne and Sydney that rises to 20–23%. Access to an off-licence is more prevalent, with 56% of Sydney residential addresses, 48% in Melbourne and 34% in Perth within 800m of an outlet.



Percentage of residences by suburb without access to an on-licence (pub, bar or licensed restaurant) within 400 metres. Illustration: RMIT University

Due to difficulties in obtaining alcohol data, these indicators were created for only four cities: Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney.

Q&A What is Australian cities week? Show Guardian Cities is dedicating a week to exploring the opportunities and challenges of Australia's rapidly growing cities. The nation of nearly 25 million has one of the fastest-rising populations of all OECD countries, overwhelmingly focused on its biggest cities: Sydney and Melbourne. But with car dependence, urban sprawl and unaffordable housing threatening their famed "liveability", are they ready for the challenge? Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin and Brisbane face similar issues, while nationwide, poor indigenous consultation is a growing urban issue. Australian Cities Week, a collaboration with Guardian Australia, seeks to reveal and celebrate the culture, architecture, wildlife and character that bolster these cities' reputations as unique and desirable places to live.

Given the health and social harms caused by alcohol, most notable was the lack of planning policy across Australian cities for the spatial distribution of alcohol outlets, and the high level of access, particularly to off-licence outlets.





This research was supporting by funding provided by the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub of the National Environmental Science Programme, The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Liveable Communities



In collaboration with Guardian Australia, Guardian Cities is devoting a week to Australian cities. Share your thoughts with Guardian Cities on Twitter, Facebookand Instagram using the hashtag #AusWk