April 2011
The Western Sydney Research Project will be carried out over a 12-week period from April to June 2011 and will examine the issue of the out-migration of young people aged 16-25 from western Sydney. The focus of the study will be to unpack the issues of why people enjoy living in western Sydney and what would make it a more appealing place to stay.
This research project will use a series of focus groups and in-depth interviews to examine anecdotal evidence that skilled young people growing up in western Sydney are leaving behind their roots and that this is having a detrimental impact upon the communities they leave behind.
The perspectives of three main groups of young people aged 16-25 from western Sydney have been identified as the perspectives that will be explored through focus groups and in-depth interviews. These three groups are:
- Secondary school aged young people living and studying in western Sydney
- Tertiary students studying at any of the Sydney metropolitan universities and who live in western Sydney
- Young professionals who have lived in western Sydney, but now work and live elsewhere in Sydney.
Project outcomes
Proposed outcomes of the project include:
- An evidence-base for why young people leave western Sydney and what would make them stay.
- Practical solutions for policy makers and urban planners on the strengths that exist in the western Sydney community that can be built upon and improvements that can be made.
- A report that includes a review of the literature, a presentation of key findings and recommendations for decision makers.
Current literature
The research will build upon the feedback from young people at the What's Up West? youth conference in 2009, where a dichotomy of views were put forward by a number of young people who "expressed embarrassment that they are from Western Sydney but also agreed that 'even with all the money in the world' they would not choose to live anywhere else." There were many issues were identified by young people in this consultative process, including the interrelated issues of education/employment opportunities, transport options and community perceptions about the western Sydney region.
Participation Expression of Interest Form
More information:
Anne-Marie Taylor
Research Project Officer
02 8218 9809