Blue Mountains · Indigenous Area
How much of daily life sits within a walk of home — a transparent 0–10 walkability score and the everyday destinations you can reach on foot: shops, public transport, schools, parks and health services, plus the streets and terrain in between.
Steep terrain with a typical slope of 10.8% helps explain why the Blue Mountains is only somewhat walkable, with a score of 5.5. While most residents can easily reach a park or transport, far fewer can walk to essential services compared to the state average. This creates a landscape where nature is accessible, but daily errands often require a car.
All indigenous area areas, 2021. The marker is Blue Mountains — somewhat walkable of areas.
| Blue Mountains | 5.5 |
|---|---|
| 2787, NSW | 3.5 |
| New South Wales | 6.2 |
Share of homes (G-NAF addresses) in Blue Mountains by walking time to the nearest amenity of each type, on an elevation-aware pedestrian network. How we calculate this →
The overall walkability score and how much of daily life is a short walk away.
Only 60.2% of homes have a 15-minute-city walkshed, which is far below the New South Wales figure of 71.9%. On average, residents have access to 5.3 amenity types within a 15-minute walk, a little below the state average of 5.8.
5.5
Somewhat walkable of indigenous area areas.
A 0–10 score for how much of daily life sits within an easy walk of the average home — weighing how close groceries, public transport, cafés, parks, health services, schools, culture and everyday services are, and how many of each. Walking times are measured on an elevation-aware pedestrian network, so hills count against reach. The methodology page describes how the score is put together.
5.3
Higher than 76% of indigenous area areas.
How many of the eight everyday amenity types — groceries, food & drink, health, schools, parks, culture, everyday services and public transport — the average home can reach on foot within 15 minutes, out of 8.
60.2%
Higher than 71% of indigenous area areas.
Share of local homes that can reach at least five of the eight everyday amenity types within a 15-minute walk — the "15-minute city" test. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
How many homes can walk to groceries, transport, schools, parks and health services.
Walking to a park is very easy, with 92.4% of homes within 15 minutes, well above the state average. However, access to schools (60.7%), groceries (52.9%), and health services (46.6%) is far below the state figures.
52.9%
Higher than 57% of indigenous area areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries or everyday shopping. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
86.5%
Higher than 77% of indigenous area areas.
Share of local homes within a 10-minute walk of a public-transport stop — bus, train, tram or ferry. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
60.7%
Higher than 54% of indigenous area areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a school. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
92.4%
Higher than 72% of indigenous area areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a park or area of open space. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
46.6%
Higher than 62% of indigenous area areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of health services such as a GP, pharmacy or hospital. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
Amenity density, how well the streets connect, and how hilly the walk is.
The area has a mean terrain slope of 10.8%, which is well above the New South Wales figure of 6.8%. There are 14 intersections per square kilometre.
14
Higher than 65% of indigenous area areas.
Walkable street intersections per square kilometre. Denser, better-connected street grids give more direct routes on foot than winding, cul-de-sac layouts.
10.8%
Higher than 99% of indigenous area areas.
Average terrain slope across the area, as a percent grade. Steeper ground shortens how far people will walk; it is already folded into the walkability score through the elevation-aware pedestrian network, and is shown here on its own for context.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Walkability in Blue Mountains [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/iare/IARE107004/blue-mountains/topic/walkability
