A socio-economic analysis of social inclusion and lifestyle factors in South-East Queensland

This paper addresses three questions in relation to perceptions of city liveability; Does social capital in a city vary across different socio-economic groups; Do lifestyle factors in a city vary across different socio-economic groups; Do different socio-economic groups perceive different levels of public sector infrastructure support? The questions were assessed using a quantitative survey to collect data from a cross-section of suburbs from the cities of Logan and Ipswich which included identified areas of high, medium, low and disadvantaged socio-economic groupings. The results generally indicated little differences in relation to social capital, lifestyle and levels of public sector infrastructure support across all groups. However, the highest socio-economic group stood out as being consistently (and sometimes significantly) more negative than others about almost every aspect measured. In fact, it was concluded that this group rather than the lower groups which were socially isolated. Part of the research required the development of a scale for measuring social capital for which support for validity and reliability was found.