Suburb-by-suburb analysis
Golden circle leaving rest in its wake, says study
A GOLDEN circle of inner Brisbane suburbs is leaving most of the rest of southeast Queensland trailing in its wake when it comes to liveability, a major new study shows.
The CityPulse SEQ index compiled by professional services firm PwC is the most detailed suburb-by-suburb analysis ever undertaken, rating every area in the region against dozens of “live”, “work” and “play” measurements.
The list of most liveable suburbs — based on factors like good access to essential services such as transport, health facilities, education, childcare and aged care and affordability — is dominated by a string of localities within a three to 10kilometre ring of the centre of the capital.
“The disparity between those areas with proximity to Brisbane’s CBD and others is stark,” Debbie Smith, PwC Brisbane managing director, said.
“SEQ consists of a series of diverse subregions that each have their own unique lifestyles, cultures and economic strengths — Inner Brisbane, Outer Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
“However, the inefficient urban sprawl that characterises the region has resulted in poor ‘live’, ‘work’ and ‘play’ scores for a significant portion of the population.”
The CityPulse tool is being launched today by PwC as part of The Courier-Mail and The Chronicle’s Future SEQ series exploring ideas to help ensure the region continues to thrive as the population grows by about two million over the next 25 years. It will culminate in an action plan, and a major event on October 23. The most liveable list is topped by Toowong, Coorparoo and Tarragindi. Ms Smith said they all scored highly for accessibility to higher education, schools, public transport and affordability, economic performance and employment, sports, entertainment and dining. “Controversially, and perhaps counter-intuitively, CityPulse shows that many part of SEQ that are synonymous with offering a high quality of life such as the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast don’t score as highly,” the report says.
“This is because, despite having immediate access to beaches and other natural attractions, these areas have poorer access to jobs, healthcare, educational facilities and other desirable amenities within 30 minutes.”
That was due to both geographical separation and less effective transport.
“What you need in everyday life is different to what you look for in a holiday destination<” Ms Smith said.
The big surprise in the analysis was the emergence of some of the region’s new master-planned communities such as Yarrabilba in Logan City, Springfield in Ipswich and North Lakes in Moreton Bay.
They scored highly on both the ‘live’ and ‘work’ metrics and are forecast to perform even more strongly in future, replacing some of the innercity suburbs over the next 25 years.
“While a reasonable portion of these master-planned precincts’ performance on ‘work’ scores is a result of the residential construction activity involved in building the cities, a large amount is down to new small businesses locating to the areas,” the CityPulse SEQ report says.
Those new areas offer the key to raising the scores of suburbs right across the southeast corner, according to PwC.
“The future we envision for SEQ is a series of smart, wellconnected and active precincts,” Ms Smith said.
By 2043, the PwC modelling forecasts Fairfield-Dutton Park and the adjacent Annerley areas will claim top spots as the region’s most liveable suburbs.