Action Plan for Spatial Variation

in a Local Area.
Research Question

Researching and comparing housing affordability, accessible facilities and income in Blacktown City
Council compared to the Hills Shire Council

Investigation
For this assessment task I plan to research and investigate the different wellbeing factors in Blacktown
City Council and the Hills Shire Council. I will compare the data of factors including housing affordability,
income of each household, health facilities, education system and any other facilities and how accessible
they are. The aim of this report is to gather the information about each council’s wellbeing and compare
the results.

Action Plan

Spatial variation
[Explain the spatial variation of your local area – include a map, facts, figures]

Housing affordability:

Australian International Academy, Kellyville Assessment Task Sheet Adapted from:

Understanding by Design, written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
Income:

Education System:

Australian International Academy, Kellyville Assessment Task Sheet Adapted from:

Understanding by Design, written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
 Action Plan for spatial variation in local areas.
Geographical Tools and Information

[this is the same content as the fieldwork report, just summarise it]

 Blacktown city council is much more populated, The Hills Shire council has the population of
157,243 and Blacktown city council has 336,962. This means Blacktown City council requires
more facilities and caters to a larger community. In terms of housing let’s take two suburbs as
examples. The representative from Blacktown city council is Marsden Park (my area) and from
The Hills District it is Kellyville (the school area). If we compare both areas, 43.6% of citizens
there fully own a house, on the other hand in Kellyville only 25.3% own houses. This could be
due to many factors. Kellyville has relatively new areas near metros and train stations. These
areas have many apartment homes in preparation for a sudden increase of residents due to the
availability of more facilities. Having more apartments available encourages people to rent them
as not many people wish to buy an apartment but rather save for a house. Another reason less

Australian International Academy, Kellyville Assessment Task Sheet Adapted from:

Understanding by Design, written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
 people own houses in Kellyville is due to the lack of development of the area, as the area is still
growing there are a lot of undeveloped areas that are still being built and developed to account
for the growing population. Lastly, the most obvious reason for the lack of housing ownership is
due to the housing prices, an average house in the Hills District area is approximately
$2,568,396 and for Blacktown City council it is, $752,569. There is a drastic variation in the
housing prices and hence less people fully own a house in the Hills District. Moving on to why
houses are much more expensive in the Hills District, this is due to many other factors that we
will discuss in detail. But the main reasons for the hills having such high house prices is the
income received by the residents, the more money earned, the more money the council is able
to collect via tax and government funding. With the money that the council have they invest it in
the area and are able to provide more for their residents. They do this by providing parks,
recreational centres, natural reserves, residential areas, shopping centres, leisure centres, gyms,
restaurants, hospitals, medical centres, schools, metros, train stations, bus stops, health care,
disability facilities, libraries, childcare centre etc. This then increases the prices of the houses
and it becomes a cycle, the income of residents affects the amount of money the council has,
and the council then uses that money to provide for the residents which ultimately increases the
house prices and the cycle continues on.

 Secondly, I will compare the income of both areas and discuss the positives and negatives that
has on the area. It is very obvious that the Hills Shire Council is much richer than Blacktown City
council and that can be reflected through comparing the house prices, education system,
facilities open and income of each council. On average In the Hills Shire, 41.6% of households
earned an income of $2,500. In Blacktown City Council on the other hand, only 24.9% of
households earned an income of $2,500 or more per week. Again, the same reasons apply for
why the Hills Shire council has residents earning a higher income. There are more job
opportunities in The Hills due to their variety of facilities available. The wellbeing in Blacktown
City council isn’t as good compared to the Hills Shire. Blacktown is heavily populated with
migrants and Indigenous people due to its cheap housing affordability and cheap living
standards, not all areas in Blacktown city council are like this but this is a large reason for it’s low
wellbeing rates. Having many migrants and Indigenous people means that some residents may
not have speaking barriers, might experience difficulty communicate, lack of experience and
their degrees might not be eligible for jobs in Australia, being illiterate or not having enough
educational qualifications. The unemployment rate for Blacktown City council is 7.9% and in The
Hills Shire it is 4.6%, this again is another reason why the income Is higher, with more people
working the economy of that specific area is much better and financially. This justifies how
difficult it is for people in Blacktown City Council to get jobs.

 Lastly, the final aspect I will be analysing is the education system of both areas. 33.5% of people
in The Hills Shire had a Bachelor or Higher degree qualification in 2016, higher than the average
of Greater Sydney. Whilst 22.0% of people in Blacktown City had a Bachelor or Higher degree
qualification in 2016, lower than the average of Greater Sydney. 55.5% of people aged 15 or
over finished year 12 or something equivalent in Blacktown City Council. 66.2% of 15-year old’s
and over had finished year 12 or something equivalent in the Hills District. This shows that the
Education levels and system in the Hills District council is much better. The same reasons also
apply here, many people living in areas like Blacktown City Council experience lack of
educational resources and are living in not as well-developed areas like in the Hills District.
Another reason schooling is better in The Hills District is because of other factors we covered,
having a higher income and higher house prices affects the type of people living in The Hills,
people who are richer live in The Hills which provides better schools, these people then invest in
their education and the education if their children which benefits the education system of that
specific region. 33.6% of graduates had no qualifications in The Hills and for Blacktown City it

Australian International Academy, Kellyville Assessment Task Sheet Adapted from:

Understanding by Design, written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
 was 43.4%. These statistics prove that the wellbeing in The Hills District is better educationally
and financially. The education system seems to have been spent on by the government more
and the types of students who attend schools in the Hills are much more privileged.

Internal and external reasons for variations

[define each and then give one example of each reason. Link it to how it made your local area different
from another place.]
Internal reasons: lack of funding on the community by the council, this is due to the council not having
enough money or limited money to spend on its area.

Example: An example of this is if the economy of that specific area isn’t good, meaning employment
rates are lower than usual and the income being earned doesn’t meet the average then that area will
suffer. In Blacktown City Council you can see that these numbers are inconsistent and hence the low
education system, affordable houses and low income. This is something the council can take in
consideration and work to improve. They can encourage people to work, create facilities for people to
learn experience and try building the skills required for jobs.
External reasons: Area heavily populated with migrants

Example: An example of this is if an area is heavily populated with migrants (e.g. Blacktown city council)
causes inconvenience for the migrants as they might face language and communication barriers which
may jeopardise their opportunity in receiving a job. Sometimes they also don’t have the qualifications
and hence can’t be employed. This is an external reason as the council is unable to control the ethnicity
of the people living in their area. They can do things like run programs and try to encourage people to
develop these skills so they can enter the work field.

Australian International Academy, Kellyville Assessment Task Sheet Adapted from:

Understanding by Design, written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
 Action Plan for spatial variation in local areas.
Reference List
[use Harvard style reference for all of the information that you used for each geographical
tool/information and the external and internal reasons. There should be at least 8 unless some double
up]

Profile.id.com.au. 2020. Qualifications | Blacktown City Council | Community Profile. [online] Available at:
<https://profile.id.com.au/blacktown/qualifications?WebID=10> [Accessed 4 September 2020].

Profile.id.com.au. 2020. Qualifications | The Hills Shire Council | Community Profile. [online] Available at:
<https://profile.id.com.au/the-hills/qualifications> [Accessed 4 September 2020].

Quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au. 2020. 2016 Census Quickstats: Blacktown (C). [online] Available at:

<https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/LGA10750?
opendocument#:~:text=In%20the%202016%20Census%2C%20there,up%202.8%25%20of%20the
%20population.&text=The%20median%20age%20of%20people,Government%20Areas)%20was
%2033%20years.> [Accessed 4 September 2020].

Blacktown.nsw.gov.au. 2020. Services. [online] Available at: <https://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/Services>

[Accessed 4 September 2020].

Shelternsw.org.au. 2020. [online] Available at:

<https://www.shelternsw.org.au/uploads/1/2/1/3/121320015/blacktown_lsps_shelter_nsw_submission_11102019.p
df> [Accessed 4 September 2020].

Profile.id.com.au. 2020. Household Income | Blacktown City Council | Community Profile. [online] Available at:
<https://profile.id.com.au/blacktown/household-income?WebID=300> [Accessed 4 September 2020].

2020. [ebook] Available at: <http://file:///Users/nourhussein/Downloads/Item_4_-

_Draft_Local_Strategic_Planning_Statement_and_Supporting_Strategies_-_Attachments_3_to_8.pdf> [Accessed 4
September 2020].

Worldvision.com.au. 2020. Geography Of Human Well-Being: A Diverse And Connected World. [online] Available
at: <https://www.worldvision.com.au/get-involved/school-resources/group/geography-of-human-well-being-a-
diverse-and-connected-world> [Accessed 4 September 2020].

Australian International Academy, Kellyville Assessment Task Sheet Adapted from:

Understanding by Design, written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
 Action Plan for spatial variation in local areas.

Evaluation

Future of your local area

[Explain the implications of future growth and sustainability of your local area]

For the future of Blacktown City Council, the council claims, there will much more facilities being built.
These include, new shopping centres in places like Riverstone and Seven Hills, Promoting diverse and
affordable housing, Conserving, restoring and enhancing biodiversity, Providing infrastructure to meet
growing demands, Conserving and enhancing built, natural and cultural heritage, Minimising the risk of
flooding and natural hazards, Promoting investment and jobs growth, Promoting high quality design
outcomes and lastly Providing equitable access to community, arts and cultural facilities, open space
and recreation to meet residents’ needs. Here is the plan for the next couple of years for the Blacktown
City Council:

1. City of Sydney contributing to a Sustainable Urban Future

[Propose three (3) ways for your local council to narrow spatial variation between your two local
areas]

 One way for my council to narrow spatial variation between the two areas is by organizing free
workshops or organizing places for people to build necessary skills for higher order jobs and
encourage residents to continue their education and pursue future careers. They can host youth
workshops to help guide them to a career path suitable for them and they can host workshops
for people who haven’t finished school in order to help them find jobs and finish their education.

Australian International Academy, Kellyville Assessment Task Sheet Adapted from:

Understanding by Design, written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
 This will highly benefit our council as with more people working the living standards and
wellbeing of my area will improve.

 The council can open more health-related facilities to stress the importance of physical health.
Physical healthy is crucial because when more people are being active this makes their mental
wellbeing much better. Sport and physical activity effects academic performance and mental
health. Encouraging everyone to exercise overall relieves stress, improves memory, helps you
sleep better, and boosts your overall mood. Sport and physical activity positively impact
academic performance as it encourages the enhancement of brain function and cognition
through increasing blood flow to the brain; increasing levels of norepinephrine and endorphins;
and increasing growth factors that help create new nerve cells.

 Lastly the council should invest in building more residential homes, not only houses but
apartments to cater for a larger number of residents, especially in areas heavily populated or
near newer metro stations or train stations. We have seen this to be successful in The Hills Shire
Council as they have recently started building lots of new apartments which has utilized the land
effectively and they have profited more off doing that then of having regular housing
everywhere.

Australian International Academy, Kellyville Assessment Task Sheet Adapted from:

Understanding by Design, written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
 Action Plan for spatial variation in local
areas.

Issues during Research

[outline at least three different and well thought issues that occurred during your research]

I think during my research most things went very well. One thing that didn’t go well was the
lack of information online. I only used council websites to get my information as they were
reliable, I used pretty much the same website for the whole assessment to compare my data
and I would’ve liked to compare data on multiple websites to make sure it is as accurate as
possible. Another issue I faced while researching whilst doing this assessment was my time
management, due to me starting the assessment 4 days before it is due was very bad and
made me rush and condense much of the information. We had lots of assessments due right
before this one and right after, so it was hard to maintain a schedule. Those were the only
main issues I faced while researching for this assessment.

Reflection
[how could those issues have minimised with an improved

I can improve on my time management by starting assessments earlier as starting them late
causes a domino effect, if I start my first assessment late that jeopardises my second
assessment which effects my third assessment and so on.

Australian International Academy, Kellyville Assessment Task Sheet

Adapted from:
Understanding by Design, written by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe