Geelong ranked among Australia’s best regional cities

Geelong has been named as one of Geelong’s most liveable regional cities alongside Ballarat and Bendigo.

Geelong is among the nation’s most liveable regional cities alongside Ballarat and Bendigo,

But some of these towns have reached “tipping point” due to population growth, prompting calls to limit future expansions on the fringes.

For the first time ever, the health and liveability of Australia’s 21 largest cities has been mapped by RMIT researchers.

The data, from the Centre for Urban Research, shows Ballarat has the best access to public transport and public open spaces.

Just 38 per cent of Geelong residents have good access to public transport, and 44 per cent are close to open public spaces.

Geelong has been ranked one of Australia’s most liveable cities.

According the paper 69 per cent of Geelong residents have access to employment, while 32 per cent of households have poor housing affordability.

While almost half of all homes within the Ballarat region are within 400m of train and bus services, and 58 per cent are within the same distance to a large open public space.

Lead researcher Dr Lucy Gunn said this first-time look at liveability outside Australia’s capital cities will be useful for future planning.

“One of the key benefits of living in a regional city is that people tend to live close to where they work,” Dr Gunn said.

“Ballarat and Bendigo performed well on this indicator, as well as access to public transport, which our research shows has major health and wellbeing benefits because it allows residents the opportunity to be more active.

“The benefit of looking at these liveability measures separately is you can see where each city is performing well and where improvements can be made.”

Dr Gunn warned some towns’ liveability is at risk due to steady growth on the outskirts.

“Equitable access to key infrastructure such as public transport, healthy food and community services is better in the central, more established areas,” Dr Gunn said.

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“This declines as you move to the edge of the city (and) can impact health and wellbeing.”

Dr Gunn said it was crucial that future fringe expansions were avoided in the regions.

“The good thing about our regional cities is there is still time to avoid the problems that come with our sprawling capital cities,” she said.

“There is an opportunity here for regional cities to capitalise on what makes them great and to recognise where they can improve to sustain their liveability for years to come.”

Originally published as Geelong ranked among Australia’s best regional cities