Great Lakes vs Newcastle

Great Lakes and Newcastle are two New South Wales areas with very different layouts. Newcastle is very walkable, with 88.1% of homes in a 15-minute-city walkshed and a walkability score of 7.5 (very walkable). Great Lakes is only somewhat walkable, with a score of 4.5 and just 50.3% of homes in a walkshed. These differences extend to daily needs; for example, 90.7% of Newcastle homes are within a 15-minute walk of a school, compared to only 46.5% in Great Lakes. There is also a significant gap in First Nations outcomes, with Year 12 completion at 43.6% in Newcastle but 25.6% in Great Lakes.

Both areas share a similar mean terrain slope of around 6%. This physical commonality exists alongside a shared trend in First Nations employment, as the unemployment rate in Great Lakes is about the same as the national figure. In contrast, other gaps have shifted over time, such as the typical personal income for First Nations people, which is now well higher in Newcastle by $170.