Urban Density and Equity of Access to Social Services in Australian Urban Areas

Abstract: To measure access to social services (primary health care, early childhood care/education, and public transport), we create a social service access index (SSI) for Australian capital cities. We show that only two, Melbourne and Sydney, have some limited characteristics of a compact or 15-minute city, but only in city centres and inner cities where population densities are highest and have less low density housing types. In the outer suburban and peri-urban areas as well as across all of the remaining cities, proximity to social services is poor and residents suffer the consequences of spatial inequity.