What does the future of Auckland’s city centre look like?

Friday, 19 February 2021

With more than 35,000 people now living in Auckland’s ‘central business district’, it has become a neighbourhood in its own right. (Image: artist’s impression).

Auckland city centre is no longer just a 9-to-5 CBD. While you might still see the familiar tower blocks in the business district, an increasing number of apartments and public spaces now serve its growing residential population.

With more than 35,000 people now living in the 'central business district', it has become a neighbourhood in its own right, and is the densest residential suburb in New Zealand.

New gardens and trees along Quay Street will reconnect the inner-city to the waterfront.

Auckland Council has plans to support the growth in residential population by continuing to invest in safer streets, improved connectivity, more public spaces and more places to play, delivering a better quality of life for people living in the city centre.

David Norman, Auckland Council's chief economist, says a thriving residential population is vital for the city's future and its economy.

'What any city centre wants is a mix of markets,' he says. 'In the past, businesses in Auckland have been far too reliant on 9-to-5 workers on their lunch breaks. If you have more people living in the city, it provides a base layer of support for those businesses.'

The improvements underway will help boost the city centre's $450 million night-time economy, with entertainment and dining hotspots from Wynyard Quarter to Britomart and Karangahape Road set to benefit.

He adds: 'When you have a strong city centre where people can live and travel to their job easily, it leads to significant productivity benefits. Getting more people closer together is massively beneficial,' he says.

New public and green spaces are also a key part of the plan. Amey Daldy Park, a new inner city pocket park in Wynyard Quarter, provides a place to play and relax for local families and visitors. New gardens and trees along Quay Street will reconnect the city centre to the waterfront and a brand new downtown waterfront space called Te Wānanga will be open by mid-2021. Auckland is also planning to reduce general traffic substantially in Queen Street, reducing noise and improving safety and air quality.

City centre residents excited

Adam Parkinson, deputy chair of the Auckland City Centre Residents' Group, lives in the city centre and is impressed and enthused by the progress made so far.

Parkinson moved to the city for its 'convenience' and predicts the new public spaces and improved connectivity will attract more people and make the city centre even more appealing.

'The progress made in the past five years has been pretty impressive,' he says

'Traditionally, we have been short of public spaces, and for us, these new places are our backyards, so we can leave our apartments, hang out, and bump into people we know.'

Though the inner-city is a small area, it has a sizable economic impact on the rest of Auckland and New Zealand.

Parkinson is excited by the investment programme and Auckland's fresh focus on people.

'Somewhere along the line, Auckland had an amazing vision and developed this master plan. It is as real and visionary now as when it was first produced. Despite the upheaval, people can see the progress. Cities are for the people, and these changes are for all of us.'

According to data from the 2018 Census, about 58 per cent of the inner-city population is aged between 15-29, and over 1500 families with children call the city home. As the area's demographics rapidly evolve, we need to ensure the city centre can be a series of connected and thriving neighbourhoods for the diverse population that live there.

Significant economic importance

Though the inner-city is a small area, it has a sizable economic impact on the rest of Auckland and New Zealand.

'It's a tiny sliver of land that produces about 20 per cent of Auckland's GDP,' Norman says.

'It's a small fraction of one per cent of New Zealand's landmass, but accounts for around seven per cent of the country's GDP because it produces highly-productive jobs.'

The improvements underway will help boost the city centre's $450 million night-time economy, with entertainment and dining hotspots from Wynyard Quarter to Britomart and Karangahape Road set to benefit. This figure is expected to grow in the coming years as new transport infrastructure like City Rail Link makes the city centre more accessible, and more people choose to live there.

Discover more about how the vision for Auckland's city centre is becoming a reality by visiting https://progressakl.co.nz/.