By Alesha Capone
The two statewide coronavirus pandemic lockdowns had a significant impact on the satisfaction and wellbeing of Truganina residents, according to a new Monash University study.
Cross-faculty researchers have developed a tool called the Neighbourhood Sentiment Dashboard, to analyse Twitter posts and compare satisfaction and wellbeing across Melbourne’s 309 suburbs.
The researchers analysed sentiment within each area and mapped this against each suburb’s characteristics, amenity levels and urban form.
Post-Doctoral Researcher Alexa Gower said that residents of some areas, such as Melbourne and Abbotsford, tweeted a lot more than others – with Truganina’s tweeters being among the most prolific in the west.
At the start of the first lockdown in March, areas such as St Kilda, Kew and Brighton – which have good access to local cafes and parks – all recorded “positive sentiment” levels of more than 90 per cent, which remained steady during lockdown.
Dr Gower said that at the start of March, Truganina logged about 60 per cent positive sentiment, which was “comparable to the rest of Melbourne”.
But she said Truganina hit a “very rapid decline” in positive sentiment by April’s end, reaching as low as 25 per cent.
Truganina’s positive sentiment rose to around 62 per cent during May and July, between the first and second lockdowns, but dropped back to as low as 25 per cent during the most recent lockdown.
“During lockdown, we found that in a lot of outer areas, with poor access to public services and parks, there was an increase in negative sentiment,” Dr Gower said.
