Gosford vs Newcastle

Newcastle and Gosford are both regional hubs in New South Wales, but they offer very different levels of accessibility. Newcastle is very walkable, with 88.1% of homes in a 15-minute-city walkshed and 81.2% of residents within a short walk of groceries. In contrast, Gosford is only somewhat walkable, with 51% of homes near groceries and 57.1% in a 15-minute-city walkshed. Newcastle also has far more street intersections per square kilometre (118 compared to 15 in Gosford), which helps explain why more people there can easily walk to schools and health services.

Both areas are remarkably similar when it comes to their First Nations populations. They share almost identical figures for the typical personal income of First Nations people and an almost same unemployment rate, sitting at 9.0% in Newcastle and 9.3% in Gosford. While Newcastle has a slightly larger First Nations population, the two areas have tracked closely in these measures. This shared experience stands out against the sharp divide in how the two places are built for pedestrians.