Regional well-being measure now on line

At the click of a mouse people can see how the Wellington region’s well-being is faring and how it relates to them.

The Wellington Region Genuine Progress Index 2001-2010 (GPI) website is now live. It lets people see how the region is progressing across economic, environmental, social and cultural domains.

Sir John Anderson, Chair of the Wellington Regional Strategy Committee, says it’s the first time the Wellington region has been able to get a measure of the quality of life and well-being of residents in the region through gaining a better understanding of what’s happening with our region’s environment, culture and economy.

“The GPI website lets people look at a whole range of data and go to the information that interests them.

“This GPI shows how we are doing in areas such as employment, education and health, and in a number of other areas like whether we feel pride in the place we live, how accessible our public transport is, how happy we are and whether we have a good work-life balance.

“Overseas studies have shown that individuals with higher levels of well-being, through such measures as life satisfaction or happiness, tend to be more productive, have higher incomes, more stable marriages and better health and life expectancy.

“The GPI gives people and policy-makers a more accurate barometer of the overall health of the Wellington region and a much more realistic picture of how our regional well-being is changing over time.”