The built environment and early childhood development: qualitative evidence from disadvantaged Australian communities

Article

Villanueva, Karen, Woolcock, Geoffrey, Goldfeld, Sharon, Tanton, Robert, Brinkman, Sally, Katz, Ilan and Giles-Corti, Billie. 2023. "The built environment and early childhood development: qualitative evidence from disadvantaged Australian communities." Children's Geographies. 21 (2), pp. 330-346. https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2022.2059651

Article Title	The built environment and early childhood development: qualitative evidence from disadvantaged Australian communities
ERA Journal ID	5927
Article Category	Article
Authors	Villanueva, Karen, Woolcock, Geoffrey, Goldfeld, Sharon, Tanton, Robert, Brinkman, Sally, Katz, Ilan and Giles-Corti, Billie
Journal Title	Children's Geographies
Journal Citation	21 (2), pp. 330-346
Number of Pages	17
Year	2023
ISSN	1473-3277
	1473-3285
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)	https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2022.2059651
Web Address (URL)	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14733285.2022.2059651
Abstract	This paper explores neighborhood-built environment features related to ‘better than expected’ and ‘as expected’ early childhood development outcomes (ECD) in 14 Australian disadvantaged communities. This paper draws from mixed methods data collected in the Kids in Communities Study–an Australian investigation of community effects on ECD–in communities across five states and territories. In total, 93 interviews and 30 focus groups were conducted with service providers and parents, and geographic information systems were used to create built environment measures for each local community. Housing factors (e.g. better affordability, tenure, less high-density public housing) were consistently related to disadvantaged local communities with ‘better than expected’ ECD outcomes. Physical access to services and public transport, living in a walkable area, having high-quality public open space, and a mix of local destinations was perceived to be consistently important by community members in disadvantaged communities regardless of ECD outcomes. Findings may help policymakers to consider neighborhood features that contribute to better ECD outcomes. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords	built environment; Neighborhood; community; early childhood development; mixed methods
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020	3302. Building
Public Notes	Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.
Byline Affiliations	Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT)
	Royal Children’s Hospital, Victoria
	Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Victoria
	Institute for Resilient Regions
	University of Melbourne
	University of Canberra
	University of Western Australia
	University of New South Wales

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