title: Examining associations between area-level spatial measures of housing with selected health and wellbeing behaviours and outcomes in an urban context.
abstract: Adequate and affordable housing is a major social determinant of health; yet no work has attempted to conceptually map and spatially test area-level measures of housing with selected health and wellbeing outcomes. Sourcing data from 7,753 adults from Melbourne, Australia, we tested associations between area-level measures of housing density, tenure, and affordability with individual-level measures of neighbourhood safety, community satisfaction, and self-rated health. Compared with the reference groups, the odds of: feeling unsafe was higher for residents living in areas with less affordable housing; community dissatisfaction was ~30% higher in those living in areas with >36% residential properties assigned as rentals, and was significantly higher in the least affordable areas (OR =1.57). Compared with the reference groups, as dwelling density, proportion of rental properties, and housing unaffordability increased, the odds of reporting poorer self-rated health increased; however these associations did not always reach statistical significance. This work highlights the benefits of evidenced-based planning spatial measures to support health and wellbeing.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: hannah.badland@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Badland
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Built Environment and Health, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. Electronic address: sarah.foster@uwa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: brj@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: carl.higgs@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Higgs
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: rebecca.roberts@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: City Futures Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: c.pettit@unsw.edu.au.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pettit
authors.affiliation: Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: b.giles-corti@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Billie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giles-Corti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D002958:City Planning; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000073276:Models, Spatial Interaction; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012449:Safety; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Australia; Geographic information systems; Liveability; Policy; Urban planning