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.

摘要

本文探讨了与澳大利亚 14 个弱势社区的“好于预期”和“符合预期”的儿童早期发展成果 (ECD) 相关的邻里建设环境特征。本文借鉴了社区儿童研究中收集的混合方法数据——一项澳大利亚关于社区对 ECD 影响的调查——在五个州和地区的社区中进行。总共与服务提供者和家长进行了 93 次访谈和 30 个焦点小组，并使用地理信息系统为每个当地社区创建建筑环境措施。住房因素（例如，更好的负担能力、使用期限、较少的高密度公共住房）始终与弱势当地社区相关，ECD 结果“好于预期”。对服务和公共交通的物理访问，无论 ECD 结果如何，弱势社区的社区成员都认为居住在适合步行的区域、拥有高质量的公共开放空间以及混合当地目的地一直很重要。研究结果可能有助于政策制定者考虑有助于更好的 ECD 结果的邻里特征。