Why it Matters
Family Friendliness
Summary
We have measured how family friendly your chosen neighbourhood is.
Definition
We refer to family friendliness as areas suitable for all members of the family. We at Walulel believe that the key trends which shape generational groups in the family play a vital role in sustaining the family. These key trends, two of which are parenting and economy all make neighbourhoods friendly for families.
| Indicator | Score |
|---|---|
| House price affordability | This is the score of the average house price for all property types |
| Residential Rental Price | This is the score of average rental price for 3-bedroom postcode |
| Labour Hours | This is the score of number of full-time workers who work for 49 hours or more per week |
| Broadband | This is the score of average download speed in Mbit/sec of all connections in postcode |
| Income (cost of living) | This is the score of average Postcode Income |
| Council Tax | This is the score of Band D |
| Street connectivity | This is the score of street connectivity |
| Walkability | This is the score of Walkability |
| Urban island | This is the score of nearest to UI |
| Distance to train station | This is the score of nearest distance to train station |
| Distance to bus stop | This is the score of nearest distance to bus stop |
| Schools | This is the score of nearest distance to schools |
| General Practices | This is the score of nearest distance to general practices |
| Dispensaries | This is the score of nearest distance to dispensaries |
| Clinics | This is the score of nearest distance to clinics |
| Play Areas | This is the score of nearest distance to play areas |
General Commentary
For the family, the ability to live within its budget is very important. This is informed by its location. Families expect that after allocating some of its funds to rent and utilities, transportation, healthcare, groceries among others of equal importance, it still gets to allocate some funds to savings and leisure. With this in mind, if the location a family finds itself in pushes the family outside these confines, it is deemed to be above budget. Thus, not a place it can best thrive.
Walulel’s family friendliness analysis of London gives an estimated proportion of neighbourhoods which are affected by family friendly indicators grouped into categories — economic, social, health, movability and recreational. Indicators within categories are scaled. Total scales are harmonised to give a detailed description of neighbourhood performance in family friendliness.
Why the metric matters from commercial inhabitant’s perspective?
For commercial inhabitants, family friendliness is an important factor to consider as it could have a large impact on potential tenants and customers an entity attracts. For example, it is suitable for transient people and students to live in confined and short-stay apartments. However, this doesn’t incentivise residents to stay on for long periods to improve their neighbourhoods or pay taxes and spend money within the city. This is likely to draw in shops and restaurants who will also to plan for the long term to cater for needs for the family.
The truth is that cities with families generally enjoy higher economic growth. This is mainly due to the fact that they usually have a more solid long-term economic foundation rather than erratic industries catering only to young singles.
Why the metric matters from the residential inhabitant’s perspective?
Raising a family in the city can be expensive thanks to many factors. The best decisions can be taken on where to live based on how the city suits a budget. Though the assertion above is true, ideally most families would love to live in family-friendly areas due to their family size and some amenities they can enjoy as a family.
That notwithstanding, when a family on deciding where to settle, take into consideration some factors and whether or not if these factors are enough to sustain their lifestyle in certain cities.
However, several cities lack adequate numbers of children’s day care services or schools, health facilities, recreation centre and one- or two-bedroom housing options, which suit families. Areas with such amenities attract families and such places are always lively and good to live in because of the bonding and connection or interaction among families. For this reason, stability is desirable.
Safety
Under safety we at Walulel see the violent crime rate recorded as a big issue to consider when determining family-friendly areas. Violent crime, which is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use force upon a victim may pose a great threat to families which can cause instability. We have measured how safe a place is using violent crime rates recorded in any given area. We believe knowing how safe a place is can influence a family’s decision whether or not they want live in a community.
Recreational
Play areas are recreational spaces designed for children to have fun families spend quality time together.
We at Walulel believe that an intangible indicator which links the child and families on the whole to all available play areas is adventure.
Adventure is an experience that comes as a result of engaging in an exciting or dangerous activity. Children make contact with all sorts of colours, sizes and shapes in their everyday lives. The impact of these in the child’s activities in play areas cannot be left out. In the mind of the child, what triggers them to make contact with different colours, handling different sizes of items, and touching various shapes is an inherent character within children which drives them undertake an experience that is typically bold and sometimes risky.
Some of the benefits of a play area are:
· It helps in the physical development of children.
· It teaches children the norms of the society and how to interact with others.
· It builds the child’s self-confidence through experimenting with what appeals to them.
· It lets children experience the real-world entertainment aside the entertainment provided on screens.
· It aids in the learning process of children.
· It allows the child to be creative, as they get freedom to use their imagination.
Having looked at all the benefits of play areas it is deemed fit we let you in London know how close you are to a play area, this we believe will influence your decision on where to live as family if you consider recreation or leisure as a top priority.
Economic
In relating to economics or the economy the branch of knowledge concerned with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth. Here we are toeing the line of economics but using some indicators to determine how economical a place is specifically for families. We considered the following;
House Price Affordability
Research shows that the rise in house prices across the UK has been led by the London and the southeast of England, where prices are now rising year-on-year.
This makes sense. Prices in London and the southeast recovered most rapidly from the 2008 crash, and have since risen far beyond their 2007 high points. That said, London has also been hit hardest by rules making it more expensive (and more onerous) for overseas buyers to purchase high-end homes as trophies or safety deposit boxes, though this has hardly stopped the practice.
We are keen to let you know the house price affordability of an area, if per chance you want to move your family to a city you will know the house prices and decide which one suits your budget.
Residential Rental Price
We have given you a price score as guide that can help you decide on a suitable area to live base on the rental price of a flat or house in that part of London.
Council Tax
The council tax score you pay can give a fair idea of how the environment in an area looks like. Granted, but family friendly area should possess a good environment as well as paying moderate council tax. Families after all utility bill deductions and council tax should still have substantive amount to live on. We have measured the ideally the council tax a family should pay irrespective of your income.
Broadband
An understanding of how fast or slow the broadband connectivity is in an area can drastically affect its desirability, especially as we move towards a more home-based work environment.
Labour Hours
This lets you know what proportion of the local population work 49-or-more-hour weeks, which can be an indicator of how busy an area will be during the day.
Income
This will show the average income of your chosen local area.
Movability
When it comes to movability we at Walulel took into consideration proximity to useful amenities. This category has three indicators - distance to nearest train station, distance to nearest bus stop, and distance to nearest urban island. If a family doesn’t have a car for movement, they are likely to use a train or bus to commute. How close you are to a transport hub is very important to help families plan their day. Some of the most family friendly areas are those that are within a 12-minute walk of bus or train stops.
We at Walulel believe that a good proximity to train stations and bus stops is a necessity. Besides the stress it relieves parents of, it also reduces the affects that an auto-centric lifestyle has on kids.
For the child, being able to walk freely to a nearest bus stop or to take a train means there is less dependence on the parent for their travel needs. For the parent, it is an assurance of good health because of the physical activity involved, and gives them more time for other endeavours.
An area may be bounded by a hard boundary (large river, motor ways, trunk roads or highways and rail lines), which form barriers around urban islands, cutting them off from nearby communities and the amenities they bring with them. Commuting becomes more of a challenge especially when one has to walk for more than 12 minutes in order to move from or into an urban neighbourhood. We measured such areas in terms of distances for families to know if they are or not in UI, also if they are how close they are to these hard boundaries so that they can supervise their infants.
Social
This category has two indicators. These indicators are schools and markets.
Schools provide education and the impact the education of the child has on a family is vast.
As the child grows, they need a foundation on which to build their knowledge, opinions and also to develop a view of the world. All of these can be met by schools as they are not only spaces of learning but also of sociability and spaces to make long-lasting friendships and learn from peers. Therefore, neighbourhoods that have a larger number of schools within a kilometre score higher on our Social ranking.
The family’s everyday needs can all be met by a well-planned neighbourhood complete with markets from which families can purchase the food and household goods and conveniences. Families settle well in neighbourhoods with easily accessible markets as it reduces the time and stress that it takes to access necessities.
We at Walulel believe that the closer schools and markets are to one’s home, the better ti will perform in family friendliness.
Health
This category has three indicators. These are dispensaries, clinics and general practice hospitals.
Health is a state of complete well being concerning ones physical, mental and social stability. In staying healthy one needs to inculcate a healthy lifestyle. A family also relies on having access to healthcare facilities whether it be for an emergency, to purchase healthcare items, or to seek advice.
We believe that some of the most family friendly areas are those with easy access to these healthcare facilities.
History
Historically, cities have been home to many families, in part because they were the natural port of entry for immigrants, who stayed in neighbourhoods with their old country compatriots. This still happens today, with immigrant neighbourhoods providing social capital and resources that facilitate both childrearing and acclimation to the city. Many groups have preserved a unique family-friendly culture in the city neighbourhoods where they cluster.
But there are fewer families that reside in the city these days, largely because they have become less hospitable to those on medium and lower incomes, those who do not have a lot of space, and due to factors like pollution and car traffic. Therefore families are beginning prefer to stay on the outskirts of the cities where housing is more affordable and there is more space for children and families to spend time outdoors.
Campaigns are recently being embarked on for cities to improve infrastructure and make cities more family friendly. Countries like Singapore have recently have building plans where high-rise buildings have facilities to support family living.
Trivia
In 2017, only 13 percent of the population of San Francisco was under 18, the lowest percentage of any major U.S. city. There are officially more dogs than children in San Francisco.