Rural Balance · Section of State
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.
Only 4.3% of homes in Rural Balance pass the 15-minute-city test, meaning almost everyone must rely on a vehicle to get around. The area is officially car-dependent, with very few residents able to reach basic services or shops on foot.
All section of state areas, 2021. The marker is Rural Balance — car-dependent of areas.
Share of homes (G-NAF addresses) in Rural Balance 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.
A walkability score of 0.7 confirms the area is car-dependent, as the typical resident has access to fewer than one amenity type within a 15-minute walk.
0.7
Car-dependent of section of state 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.
0.7
Lower than 86% of section of state 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.
4.3%
Lower than 76% of section of state 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.
Parks are the most accessible amenity, with 16.8% of homes within a 15-minute walk. In contrast, health services are the hardest to reach, with 95% of homes located more than 30 minutes away on foot.
4.2%
Lower than 82% of section of state areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries or everyday shopping. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
11.4%
Lower than 69% of section of state 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.
7.7%
Lower than 78% of section of state areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a school. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
16.8%
Lower than 86% of section of state 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.
1.2%
Lower than 83% of section of state 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 terrain has a mean slope of 8.0% and there are 17.4 walkable amenities per 1,000 residents. There are 0 intersections per square kilometre.
17.4
Lower than 58% of section of state 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.
0
Lower than 93% of section of state areas.
Walkable street intersections per square kilometre. Denser, better-connected street grids give more direct routes on foot than winding, cul-de-sac layouts.
8.0%
Higher than 86% of section of state 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 Rural Balance [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/sos/SOS13/rural-balance/topic/walkability
