Unit 2: Human Wellbeing

Lesson 1: Human Wellbeing

and Development

Goal: To determine what wellbeing is and how it can

be categorised.
APK
In your books brainstorm some ideas to
the following questions:

1. What makes human wellbeing a

geographical issue?
2. What factors make a life well
lived?

(Hint: Think back to our last unit as a

starting point!)
Unit Focus Questions

This unit we will be addressing the following questions and more:

1. What makes human wellbeing a geographical issue?
2. How can the spatial variations in human wellbeing and development be
measured and explained?
3. What are the economic, social and environmental impacts of variations in
development and human wellbeing?
4. How do governments, groups and individuals respond to inequalities in
development and human wellbeing for a sustainable future?
Human Wellbeing
● Wellbeing is an overall measure of the ability of human beings to access the
things they need in order to live happy and healthy lives.
● There are differences in wellbeing on many different scales – from one suburb
of a city to the next (local scale), from one part of a country to another (national
scale), or between different countries around the world (international scale). No
matter where one is born, there are basic requirements for life that are the same.
○ Primary requirements: Fresh water, secure food supply, shelter,
clothing, and safety
○ Secondary requirements: good health, ability to make a decent living,
access to education
What is Wellbeing?

• Human wellbeing is the recognition that

everyone around the world, regardless of
geography, age, culture, religion or political
environment, aspires to live well
• Wellbeing is not necessarily bound by income,
rather, how the individual perceives their life
• Many factors impact upon an individual’s
ability to live well including war, conflict,
social fragmentation, inequality, poverty,
malnourishment as well as access to resources.
● The ability to meet wellbeing needs varies within communities
and countries, as well as between countries.
● Some may struggle to find enough food and water daily, others
lack access to health care or education.
● Three important variables of wellbeing are : wealth, health,
and education
● Wealth:
○ Affects access to basic necessities: food, medicine, tools to
generate wealth
○ The wealthiest 1% of adults own 50% of the world’s assets
○ The three richest people in the world are wealthier than the world’s
48 poorest countries combined
● Health:
○ Affected by clean air, clean water, food supply, the ability of the
community to treat and control diseases, provide care to the sick
and injured etc.
● Education:
○ Access to formal education, ability to read
and write leads to improved wellbeing-
better jobs, higher wages etc.
○ Literacy rates are improving around the
world (Sub-Saharan Africa, primary school
enrolments increased from 65% in 1990 to
73% in 2015)
○ Some countries value education highly
making in compulsory and free (UK,
Australia, Canada, NZ and many more)
How is Wellbeing Measured?

• Human wellbeing is measured by combining

facts and figures with indicators that have a
bearing on people’s lives.
• By measuring Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
wealth, occupation and housing, literacy rates,
life expectancy and more and then balancing
these with quality of life indicators such as
health status, employment rate, work/life
balance, education, social connections, civil
engagement, personal security and environment
quality, a broader picture of an individual’s or
country’s wellbeing can be obtained.
 Activity: Liveability

1. Think back to last year, in your own words, what does livability mean?
2. Which of the following factors make a place liveable?
a. Easy access to clean and safe water
b. Safety and low crime rates
c. No transportation
d. The streets are clean and easy to walk around
e. The closest place to get food is 50km away
 If the World was a Village…

1. As you watch the video write down

what surprises or shocks you.
2. What were some of the issues from
the video that some of the villagers
face?
3. What surprised you about the
allocation of people to different
groups such as religion, medicine,
education, languages etc.
 Quality of Life

● Quality of life is ‘the standard of health, comfort, and happiness experienced by an individual or
group.’
● Many things affect a person’s quality of life, and different regions and countries in the world
will care more about different things affecting this.
● We usually measure quality of life by:
○ Health care
○ Economy
○ Population density
○ Infrastructure
○ Personal safety
○ Housing
○ Education
○ Life expectancy
○ The environment
OECD- Better Life Index (Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development)

Around the world people of different countries value different

things in determining their quality of life. For example,
Australians care strongly about work-life balance (having time
to do things outside of work) but compared to other similar
countries Australians has less free time and work longer hours.

Based on this, Australian might say that their quality of life

could improve, even though we have much more free time than
countries like Japan. The OECD Better Life Index compares 38
countries from all over the globe to measure quality of life
indicators.

Australia is ranked as one of the 'most satisfied' countries in

the world, but it’s beat by countries such as Norway and
Switzerland.
OECD Better Life Index

1. View the interactive graphic on the

OECD Better Life Index site.
2. Adjust the settings on the right to see how
Australia compares to other countries in the
different categories.
3. Rate the topics in the index according to
their importance to you.
4. Compare and contrast Australia to another
country in the index.
1. Watch the video.
2. Identify which continent you think has the
“Better Life” based on the priorities shown
in the video. Explain why you think this is.

“People in ____ would have a better life.

This is due to their focus on ___.”

3. Which quality of life factor would you place

as being the number one priority for
yourself?
 If It Were My Home

1. Go to the site “If It Were My Home” and compare Australia with other places in the world. First choose
Australia, and then choose another country to get started.
2. Reflection: What most and least surprised you about comparing Australia to other countries? Why?
3. Complete the following table comparing 2 countries.
4. Visit the World Happiness Report to view the rankings of the countries. (View pgs 34-36 & 41-43)

Country 1: Country 2:

Life Expectancy Life Expectancy

Income/ GDP per Income/ GDP per

Capita Capita

Money Spent on Money Spent on

Healthcare Healthcare
 Geography Skill: SHEEPT

We can use SHEEPT to consider issues

in geography such as wellbeing from
multiple perspectives.

Social
Historical
Economic
Environmental
Political
Technological
 CAUSES OF INEQUALITY BETWEEN
COUNTRIES
● The environment and climate can impact a population’s
access to fresh water and the ability to grow food
● A country’s access to resources such as oil and minerals
can influence the development
● Political, social and social factors can impact the
wellbeing of individuals, factors such as the makeup of
the population, levels of gender equality and access to
technology
● One of the most significant factors is conflict
● An example is Syria, due to the war that broke out in
2011, hospitals, roads and electricity have been
destroyed resulting in great inequalities in wellbeing.
 TEEQ Review
Remember: Trend, Example, Exception,
Quantify (this can be done throughout the analysis
referring to specific data).

T: The displacement of Syrian refugees is

increasing.

E: Displacement increased from 3.7 million

in Jan 2015 to 4.8 million in October 2016.

E: There are no exceptions.

Q: Have we included dates/numbers/data

already?
 TEEQ: Activity

1. Describe the trend of

Australia’s income per
person from 1800 –
2018
2. Compare and contrast
the trends of Australia
and Nigeria’s income
per person between
1800 – 2018
3. Account for the rapid
rise of the United Arab
Emirate’s income per
person from 1940 –
1980
Goal Review

Watch the video from the OECD, ‘How’s Life?’

Reflect on what has been presented. What do you

think is contributing to people feeling more
disconnected from others when other factors of
wellbeing have been increasing?

What improvements could you suggest for policies

to improve wellbeing and life satisfaction in
Australia?