Indicator Rationale

Social infrastructure addresses social service needs across the lifespan that are largely government funded and provides essential societal resources that support wellbeing. Social infrastructure includes community and individual support services and resources such as health, education, early childhood, community support, community development, culture, sport and recreation, parks and emergency services. The provision of well-planned social infrastructure supports the liveability of communities by promoting walking and community social interaction.  Similarly, it is associated with people’s improved physical and mental health and their increased satisfaction with the area in which they live.

Relevant Sustainable Development Goals

Measures

Social Infrastructure Index with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 16.

Health Infrastructure subdomain is derived from the Social Infrastructure Index includes access to Residential aged care facilities, Dentists, General Practitioners, Pharmacies, Community Health Centres and Maternal child and family health centres, with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 6.

Education Infrastructure subdomain is derived from the Social Infrastructure Index includes access to Childcare, Out of hours school care, Government primary schools and Government secondary schools, with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 4.

Community and Sport Infrastructure subdomain is derived from the Social Infrastructure Index includes access to Community centres, Public swimming pools and Sports facilities with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 3.

Cultural Infrastructure subdomain is derived from the Social Infrastructure Index includes access to museum/art galleries, cinemas/theatres and libraries with a minimum score of 0 and maximum score of 3.

Average distance to closest GP clinic is related to the Social Infrastructure Index and provides the average distance to the nearest General Practitioner clinic.

Average distance to closest GP clinic with bulk-billing is related to the Social Infrastructure Index and provides the average distance to the nearest General Practitioner clinic offering a Medicare bulk-billing payment system where a patient has no out-of- pocket expenses.

Average distance to closest playground

Methodology

The Social Infrastructure Index and subdomains are calculated based on a range of different measures that include: Community Centres; Culture and Leisure; Early Years; Education; Health and Social Services; and Sport and Recreation. They include 16 individual service types and are based on the presence of service mix within threshold distances detailed in the table below.

Measure Destination Distance Threshold (m)
Community Centres Community centres 1000
Culture & Leisure Museum/Art gallery 3200
Cinema/Theatre 3200
Libraries 1000
Early Years Childcare 800
Out of school hours care 1600
Education Government primary schools 1600
Government secondary schools 1600
Health and Social Services Residential aged care facilities 1000
Dentists 1000
General practitioners (GP) 1000
Maternal, child and family health centers 1000
Other community health care centers 1000
Pharmacies 1000
Sport and Recreation Public swimming pools 1200
Sports facilities 1000

Binary indicators were used to record the presence (=1) or absence (=0) for the 16 types of social infrastructure destinations. The Social Infrastructure Index represents a social infrastructure mix score created by summing the 16 binary indicators for each participant. Score for the Social Infrastructure Index range from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 16 if all types are present. Sports facilities are limited to public swimming pools and council supported recreation/leisure centres.

References

Davern M, Gunn L, Whitzman C, Higgs C, Giles-Corti B, Simons K, Villanueva K, Mavoa S, Roberts R, Badland H. (2017). Using spatial measures to test a conceptual model of social infrastructure that supports health and wellbeing; Cities and Health. vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 194-209