6. Policy Reflection The Basic Needs Index was developed to study the spatial distribution of basic facilities targeted for the marginalized homelessness group in Greater Sydney. The ranking of SA3 regions clearly shows the disparity in spatial distribution, with populations living in inner suburbs having greater access to support facilities. Thus, it can be argued that having greater access to support facilities provides a better opportunity for the targeted community to break out from the economic disadvantage cycle. In order to provide deeper insights, the proposed indicators and sub-indicators are compared with the existing SEIFA index of relative socio-economic disadvantage. SEIFA Index of relative socio-economic disadvantage measures all areas based on the income level, qualifications, and skills ABS (2016c). Areas with the lowest score composed of people with low income, qualifications, and skills.
Figure 11: Scatterplot for Index Comparisons
The scatterplot above shows a strong correlation between the developed index and the SEIFA IRSAD index. The scatterplot demonstrates that areas with relative socio-economic disadvantage groups (including our defined homelessness group) have lesser facilities to support their upliftment. Although the developed indicators show a strong correlation, the sub-indicators show variations in the spatial distribution of various facilities. Hence, it can be argued that the developed index can be utilized as a monitoring mechanism to understand spatial lags in the support facilities. The developed index can be utilized to help build better infrastructure for the upliftment of the socio-economic disadvantaged groups, including the homelessness population.
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