Community adversity and resilience: the distribution of social disadvantage in Victoria and New South Wales and the mediating role of social cohesion

Abstract

This research report measures the concentration of disadvantage according to postcode areas in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria. It also seeks to identify characteristics of local communities faced with severe social disadvantage that could be promoted to build greater social cohesion rather than social exclusion. The report suggests that some communities that are marked by social disadvantage are not necessarily communities lacking inner strengths and the potential to progress given reasonable opportunities. In general, the report demonstrates little change in the four years since a similar study was undertaken in 1999. The chapters are: Executive summary; Social geography and disadvantage; Literature update, choice of indicators and procedures; Concentration of disadvantage; Interconnections between indicators; Towards the assessment of social cohesion. Includes preliminary information, bibliography and appendices. The CD-ROM contains three types of information that supplement the data presented in the printed report: (1) maps showing the distribution of specific forms of disadvantage throughout Victoria and NSW with the capacity to zoom in on particular regions and display detailed attribute information for single postcode areas; (2) a complete set of relative disadvantage rankings for all postcodes in both states with a detailed listing of place names for each postcode; and (3) the life stories of a number of women who live in Windale (NSW) representing an extension of the case study presented in chapter one of the report.