Cowes · Suburb / Locality
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.
A gentle terrain with a slope of 3.8% makes Cowes somewhat walkable, though it is less convenient for pedestrians than the Victorian average. While almost every home is within a 15-minute walk of a park, many residents struggle to reach schools or health services on foot.
All suburb / locality areas, 2021. The marker is Cowes — somewhat walkable of areas.
Share of homes (G-NAF addresses) in Cowes 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.
The area's walkability score is 5.4, which is a little below the Victorian figure of 6.4. Only 55.9% of homes have a 15-minute-city walkshed, a result far below the state average of 74.3%.
5.4
Somewhat walkable of suburb / locality 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.
5.4
Higher than 85% of suburb / locality 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.
55.9%
Higher than 81% of suburb / locality 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.
Almost all homes (99%) are within 15 minutes of a park, but access to other needs is harder, with school access far below the state average at 48.8%. Health services and groceries are also less accessible than in the rest of Victoria.
64.8%
Higher than 83% of suburb / locality areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries or everyday shopping. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
78.3%
Higher than 81% of suburb / locality 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.
48.8%
Higher than 75% of suburb / locality areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a school. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
99.0%
Higher than 85% of suburb / locality 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.
51.2%
Higher than 84% of suburb / locality 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.
There are 75 intersections per square kilometre and 25.3 walkable amenities per 1,000 residents, which is far above the Victorian figure of 15.7.
25.3
Higher than 68% of suburb / locality areas.
Walkable amenities — shops, cafés, parks, health services, schools, cultural and community places, everyday services and public-transport stops — per 1,000 residents. Measures how much is around, apart from how far it is to walk there.
75
Higher than 82% of suburb / locality areas.
Walkable street intersections per square kilometre. Denser, better-connected street grids give more direct routes on foot than winding, cul-de-sac layouts.
3.8%
Lower than 75% of suburb / locality 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 Cowes [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sal/SAL20657/cowes/topic/walkability
