Social
Social well-being is about the vitality that communities and individuals enjoy through their connections to their community and through having healthy and active lifestyles.
Good health is vital to well-being. Health is a major component, in one form or another, to the region’s overall GPI. Social connectedness is integral to well-being. Relationships give people support, happiness, contentment and a sense they belong and have a role to play in society. They also mean that people have support networks in place that they can call on for help during hard times. Several studies have demonstrated links between social connectedness and the performance of the economy, and positive outcomes for individual health and well-being.
The social well-being indicators that observed the largest increases in their index values over the study period were the percentage of households with access to broadband, followed by the percentage of households with access to the internet, visitor guest nights and public transport boardings. However, indicators with the largest decrease in their indicator index values were water allocation compared to total water resource, followed by the number of households on Housing New Zealand waiting lists and peak AM/PM congestion rates.
Measurable Outcomes
Healthy Community
Our physical and mental health is protected. Living and working environments are safe, and everyone has access to health care. Every opportunity is taken to recognise and encourage good health.
Connected Community
Our connections and access are efficient, quick and easy - locally, nationally and internationally. Our communication networks, air and sea ports, roads and public transport systems are world class and enable us to link well with others, both within and outside the region.
Sense of Place
We have a deep sense of pride in the Wellington region and there is strong community spirit. We value the region’s unique characteristics – its rural, urban and harbour landscapes, its central location, and its capital city.
Quality Lifestyle
Living in the Wellington region is enjoyable, and people feel safe. A variety of healthy and affordable lifestyles can be pursued. Our art, sport, recreation and entertainment scenes are enjoyed by all community members – and attract visitors.
Regional Foundations
High quality and secure infrastructure and services meet everyday needs. These are developed and maintained to support the sustainable growth of the region, now and in the future.
Social well-being GPI, 2001-2010
What this means
Over the 2001 to 2010 time period, the social well-being GPI was found to be highest in 2001 and lowest in 2007. Overall, the social well-being GPI gradually decreased from 2001 to 2004, remained relatively unchanged between 2004 and 2008, but shows signs of improvement with a slight increase observed over the last two years.
Even though there has been little overall change in the social well-being GPI over the study period, there have been changes to a number of the indicators over this time. This means that the negative changes to some indicators have been counter-balanced by the positive changes to other indicators.
Did you know?
A GPI is an attempt to measure whether a nation’s or a region's growth, increased production of goods, and expanding services have actually resulted in the improvement of the well-being of the people in the region.
