Watchlist

These are the issues we are watching with interest.

Auckland Unitary Plan​

Changes to the Unitary Plan are proposed following Central Government’s National Policy Statement – Urban Design (NPS-UD) and changes to the RMA (zoning to permit 3-storey residential development everywhere else). Principally these changes are intended to enable higher density development in and around urban centres, and higher levels of development generally. Auckland Council has published proposed changes to Unitary Plan zones which will result in enabling significant change in urban form across the city.

Urban Auckland supported intensification, but we have misgivings about the way the government is going about changes to the Resource Management Act.

The recent changes to the Resource Management (Enabling Housing Supply and Other Matters) Amendment Act include blunt instruments that risk undermining the value and importance of amenity and quality in our urban environment.

Auckland Council has responded to the government’s requirement to embody changes in the Unitary Plan. Urban Auckland’s response to the initial plan change was one of support, but we expressed concern about some of the proposed changes. We consider much more work is necessary to achieve the outcomes we all would like to see. We think that Council needs to adopt place-based approaches that go beyond the two-dimensional land use zoning. These also need to consider landscape, topography, and valued natural features and how building heights relate to these. Good urban design and place-making can’t be achieved with traditional planning rules alone. Design leadership is needed to help frame policy and practice towards better city design. We are concerned about the approach taken with regard to Special Character Areas (SCAs). Our historic townscapes are more than villas and bungalows (much of which is already intensively developed).

As of 18 August Plan Change 78 has been notified and we will review the proposed changes in light of our commentary above, and will prepare another submission in response to the proposed changes.

Auckland Light Rail Project

The design and development of the transport network will have a significant impact on the city centre, and the suburbs that it connects with.Auckland Council has published proposed changes to Unitary Plan zones which will result in enabling significant change in urban form across the city.

The benefits of city and neighbourhood transformation that will occur with the development of light rail or a metro system need to be recognised and taken into consideration as key outcomes – with appropriate planning and community engagement. The development of such “infrastructure” should be broad and inclusive, covering social, environmental and financial considerations.

Ports of Auckland

Now that there is broad agreement at local and central government level that the Port will relocate, a process for exploring options for the phased redevelopment of the existing port land should be established based on research, a vision for the city and the urban edges of the Waitematā.

Urban Auckland has long advocated for the relocation of the Port. We believe that the relocation presents an enormous opportunity for the city to better connect to the waterfront, including the provision of a range of activities. But a good process has to start with research, vision and planning. Auckland Council needs to start this process. As for where a new port might go, Urban Auckland has been part of discussions with the Minister of Transport, Michael Wood, to ensure that a proper process for determining this is underway.

Rural Urban Boundary

Urban Auckland has long advocated for a Compact City Model where intensification of land use is centres around existing and new town centres. The value of our green field land as environmental and food production areas should be protected through stricter zoning

We can’t keep allowing low density sprawl continue out from our city centres.

The Urban Room for Auckland

Where could you go to dream about the city? How do we inspire and encourage debate, discourse and discussion about the future of our city?

An Urban Room, would be a physical space dedicated to discussing and explaining the changing built environment of Tamaki Makaurau and the challenges that poses in environment degradation, housing design, transport and identity as a city like no other. While we set out long term goals and objectives through our visioning documents, such as the Auckland Plan 2050, we struggle to describe how Auckland will develop in that time or what the benefits of new transport connections are, for example. City or Urban Rooms are already commonplace in many cities. Most cities in China have a space for a physical model of the city. In the UK there are 16 urban rooms. In the Netherlands there are more than 90. Helsinki’s Laituri was launched in 2008 to increase diverse civic participation in Helsinki’s planning process and help disseminate information about the city’s plans and policies through shadow planning workshops. In Stockholm, the Stockholm Room tells the story of the growing city, the future and the way there. At the heart of the Room is a model of the city, 3D printed that depicts not only the city as it exists but also what is planned. It’s a powerful tool for consultation and engagement. The Urban Room for Auckland would embrace digital media but a physical space and physical model would also allow Aucklanders to ‘share a breath’. We could come together to debate and share experiences and deepen the understanding of proposed new developments. In 2018, Auckland Council’s Pā Rongongo located at Griffiths Garden provided a small-scale pilot for a city room. It included a physical scale model of part of Albert Street showing the City Rail Link and the consented proposals above ground. Auckland Council is also the owner of a diorama depicting central Auckland in the 1930s and a large model that was used as a planning tool from 1968 to about 1980. The story of the city development and what might have been is revealed in these models. We are seeking to create a physical space for a city room in central Auckland where these models can be displayed, and the future of our city explored.

Urban Research Hub​

Auckland has undergone extensive changes in size, population, development type and governance since the start of the century. There’s a myriad of plans, research papers and projects. What can we learn from this activity and where is the repository for this disparate information? The dissemination of research to industry is not optimised and we have witnessed the disconnect between researchers and practitioners. Learning from models, such as AHURI in Australia, we see tremendous potential for a more transdisciplinary and coordinated response to urban issues research in Aotearoa New Zealand.

An Urban Research hub, working with the Urban Room presents an opportunity to connect various urban research and design specialists and build very established channels to support the much wider integration of research into supporting practice.