Comparing locations is a great way to get instant visibility of how your focus location is performing. Comparison locations will help you to contextualise the results of your focus location - essentially helping you see how your location stacks up against other areas.
After all, understanding ‘what good looks like’ is often a relative question. To use an adjacent example, traffic might be moving at 60km/hr, but example you might learn that a neighbourhood has 10 cafes,
Comparison Type 1 - Adjacent neighbourhoods
Select locations near your focus site to examine the similarities and differences between your neighbourhood and adjacent locations. Answer questions like:
- What is ‘special’ about my location?
- Is my neighbourhood typical within the region?
- Is my neighbourhood stronger or weaker than other local activity centres?
Use Case: Sydney CBD Night Time Industries
Night time economic activity analysis was done across 12 neighbourhoods across Sydney CBD to compare the nighttime offer. Looking at them all side by side makes it easier to spot regional trends and patterns.
Comparison Type 2 - Typological comparison
Select other neighbourhoods of a ‘typology’ you are interested in. This allows you to compare your neighbourhood against its peers. Answer questions like:
- How well does my neighbourhood perform as a [type]?
- Is my focus site a leader in this typology?
- In what ways is my neighbourhood better or weaker than other [type]?
Use Case: Hospital & Civic Precincts across Australia
The Frankston Hospital precinct was compared to 10 other comparable health and civic precincts across Australia to look at the amenity mix and employment cluster factors.
Comparison Type 3 - Best Practice
Select “best practice” neighbourhoods to set a benchmark for what success could look like for you. Answer questions like:
- What ‘could’ my focus neighbourhood look like?
- What does lifestyle look like in the “best” neighbourhoods?
- How is my focus neighbourhood measuring up or falling short?
Use Case: Innovation Precincts globally
To examine the significance of ‘networking capital’ in the success of innovation districts, networking capital assets (places for people to connect and build social capital) were plotted in globally successful Innovation Districts. The results reveal that these amenities are a key part of successful precincts, providing lessons for Australian locations
Read a case study on how data was used to inform the design of an Australian Innovation Districts