Recent, award-winning research from ANU I2S shows there are increasingly more neighbourhoods across Australia’s cities and towns that are highly culturally diverse. This evidence underscores the importance of planning and delivering infrastructure that positively recognises diversity, including through equitable access to infrastructure and services to promote social inclusion and high liveability.
The research shows that Melbourne and Sydney are now comprised mostly of “superdiverse” neighbourhoods, while the trend towards moderately diverse and superdiverse neighbourhoods is also growing in most other Australian cities and many regional towns.
The study, led by I2S’ Dr Hayley Henderson, together with Helen Sullivan (ANU College of Asia & the Pacific) and SGS Economics and Planning colleagues Helen Mok, Kishan Ratnam & Marcus Spiller, developed a method to measure levels of cultural diversity and track how stable these levels were across Australian communities (ABS Statistical Areas Level 2) between 2011 and 2021. Using a composite measure of country of origin, language spoken at home, and religious affiliation, the study shows how high levels of cultural diversity increasingly characterise urban Australia. This short paper in the Planning Institute of Australia’s Planning News highlights these findings in Victoria.
In Victoria, our study found that 47% of all SA2s in Melbourne are “superdiverse” (drawing in part on Steven Vertovec’s seminal work from 2007, we principally measured cultural diversity levels and patterns of spatial distribution, but were also interested in the varying conditions of these communities, e.g. wellbeing, housing*). Melbourne (Brisbane and Sydney too) exhibits greater reach of high levels of cultural diversity into middle and outer suburbs compared to other cities. Parts of some regional towns like Shepparton, Geelong, and Mildura also show high cultural diversity levels.
Between 2011 and 2021, most urban regions maintained or increased their level of cultural diversity in Victoria, with increases occurring particularly in outer, metropolitan growth regions through significant overseas migration (e.g. Melton, Whittlesea, Cranbourne South, Werribee South, and Beaconsfield – Officer) and in regional areas also experiencing population growth, such as parts of Ballarat, Bendigo, and Kilmore.
It’s also important to note that our study showed some areas in Victoria experiencing moderately declining levels of cultural diversity (e.g., Burnside, Croydon South, Epping East, Belgrave/Selby, Bonbeach, Chelsea), though the change in these areas is relatively small.
*Not included here: In our study we employ the Rental Affordability Index (RAI) and Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey data to explore possible links between neighbourhood cultural diversity, housing affordability, and wellbeing outcomes. Australian-wide results will be published later in 2024, together with more detailed results relating to affordability and wellbeing outcomes.