Emerald · Urban Centre
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.
Flat ground with a mean slope of 3.0% makes Emerald easier to traverse than the Queensland average, yet the town remains mostly car-dependent. While many residents live within a short walk of schools and parks, access to shops and health services is much lower than in other parts of the state.
All urban centre areas, 2021. The marker is Emerald — mostly car-dependent of areas.
| Emerald | 3.8 |
|---|---|
| 4720, QLD | 3.4 |
| Queensland | 5.0 |
Share of homes (G-NAF addresses) in Emerald 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 3.8 means the area is mostly car-dependent, which is well below the Queensland figure of 5.0. Fewer than half of all homes — 49.6% — are within a 15-minute walk of a local amenity.
3.8
Mostly car-dependent of urban centre 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.
4.1
Lower than 58% of urban centre 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.
49.6%
Lower than 57% of urban centre 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 school or park is easy, with 77.2% and 92.7% of homes within a 15-minute walk, both far above state levels. In contrast, access to groceries and health services is far below the state, and no homes are within a 10-minute walk of public transport.
46.7%
Lower than 58% of urban centre areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of groceries or everyday shopping. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
0.0%
Lower than 99% of urban centre 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.
77.2%
Higher than 58% of urban centre areas.
Share of local homes within a 15-minute walk of a school. Homes are counted as addresses (G-NAF), not people.
92.7%
Higher than 50% of urban centre 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.
36.5%
Higher than 55% of urban centre 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 town has 49 street intersections per square kilometre. There are 11 walkable amenities per 1,000 residents, which is a little below the Queensland figure of 13.4.
11.0
Lower than 74% of urban centre 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.
49
Higher than 72% of urban centre areas.
Walkable street intersections per square kilometre. Denser, better-connected street grids give more direct routes on foot than winding, cul-de-sac layouts.
3.0%
Lower than 80% of urban centre 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 Emerald [Census of Population and Housing]. CensusAtlas, used under CC BY 4.0. https://censusatlas.au/region/ucl/UCL313004/emerald/topic/walkability
