Liveability for older residents in regional communities through the lens of walkability and attitudes to nature – a case study in northeast Victoria, Australia

ABSTRACT

Liveability is determined by characteristics of a place including walkability and access to natural environments. These two attributes can be quantified at a fine spatial scale providing insights into liveability. Most liveability studies focus on metropolitan areas, and we identified a research gap in regional liveability research. Using a case study on two towns in Indigo Shire in regional Victoria and focusing on older residents, we examined walkability and access to and attitudes about the natural environment. We found that opportunities for walking in regional towns can be limited, and that only a small number of older people walk regularly. Despite being largely surrounded by nature in regional towns, connection to nature and sense of community is sometimes lacking. In addition, measures of walkability and access to natural environments designed to be used in metropolitan environments do not translate well to regional areas. However, the data and insights gathered in this research helped build a context-specific understanding of liveability in each community and allowed us to provide useful recommendations to local government. While these recommendations are specific to the study area, the methodologies used, and insights gained are applicable to regional and rural towns in a wide range of contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• Liveability
• walkability
• attitudes to nature‌
• regional communities
• older Australians
• regional Victoria

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all participants who carried GPS devices, answered surveys and participated in focus groups and interviews. Kate O’Toole from Indigo Shire contributed to all stages of the project including research design, participant recruitment and analysis.

Human ethics approval was granted by the Charles Sturt University Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) protocol numbers H19374 and H19377.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Funding for this project and scoping of the project was provided by a consortium including Indigo Shire, North East Catchment Management Authority, Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning and Charles Sturt University.