Quality of Life In NZ Cities: Survey
The vast majority of NZers living in cities are positive about their quality of life, regardless of where they live in the country, according to the Quality of Life 2004 Survey. The Quality of Life 2004 Survey is a partnership between 12 Quality of Life Project Cities and the Ministry of Social Development. The 12 cities are: North Shore, Waitakere, Auckland, Manukau, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington, Porirua, Hutt, Christchurch, Dunedin and Rodney District.
The survey of NZ residents found that 88 percent of people in the 12 cities rate their overall quality of life positively, a similar pattern to that found in other parts of NZ. However, the survey also indicates there are some areas in which cities can work to improve the quality of life for residents. The survey found, for example, that city residents are more likely to express some level of dissatisfaction with the balance between their work and other aspects of their life than those living elsewhere. Two-thirds of NZ residents are either satisfied or very satisfied with their work-life balance, but 18 percent of 12 cities residents had some level of dissatisfaction with this compared with only 15 percent of people elsewhere.
Residents of the 12 cities are also less likely to agree or strongly agree that a sense of community with others in their neighbourhood is important - with 77 percent of 12 cities residents agreeing with this, compared with 81 percent of people living elsewhere in NZ. On the other hand, 56 percent of 12 cities residents are more likely to cite social networks based on similar interests compared with 49 percent for those living outside larger urban areas. It's thought there could be a variety of factors causing these differences, including transport networks, stress factors, cultural disparity, greater diversity among people, and wider opportunities available in urban communities.
The survey reveals that residents of the 12 cities are more likely to have experienced negative stress most or all of the time than those living in the rest of NZ (15 percent compared with 11 percent).
Twenty-one percent of residents surveyed said that in the past 12 months there has been at least one instance when they or someone in their household have wanted to visit a doctor but had not done so, primarily because of the cost involved.
The survey also shows 28 percent of residents feel unsafe or very unsafe in their city centre, higher than those living elsewhere in NZ (19 percent). Female residents of the 12 cities are slightly more likely to feel unsafe than males.
Transport attitudes have also been surveyed with 55 percent of 12 cities respondents saying they have not used public transport in the past 12 months, while 25 percent of this group said they thought it was difficult to access public transport.
The survey shows that residents living in the 12 cities are as confident as people living elsewhere that their council has made decisions in the best interest of their city or district. However, understanding of council decision-making processes is less evident in the cities, with 29 percent of residents more likely to say they did not understand their council's decision-making process compared with 23 percent outside of cities.
Contact for Enquiries
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: +64 4 894 0100
Fax: +64 4 894 0720
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