Joshua:
How is Auckland shifting commuters away from cars towards walking, cycling and public transport?
John:
There are three things I would mention. First, better policy and plans; second, building infrastructure; and third, programmes and campaigns.
Better policy and plans start with a vision. For transport in particular, we are looking to achieve outstanding public transport in one network. Of course there are plenty of policies and plans underneath that. One is the regional public transport plan — our 10-year vision for a more frequent, more reliable and more accessible public transport system. It appeals to those who do not use public transport, but who would if it were convenient and reliable.
The second thing is the integrated transport programme, which lays out the 30-year investment programme for transport in Auckland. Another approach is Auckland’s Rapid Transit Network — a transit network that you can walk up to without looking at the timetable, you can just get on a bus or a train.
The last example in policy and plans: we are shifting towards a far more coordinated approach with the central government. This is a paradigm change, on how we use the same data, how we get on the same page to address a common problem, which is an Auckland that is suffering under high car ownership rates and car use. If it’s not a productive Auckland for everybody, it’s not a productive New Zealand for everybody.
So that’s policy and plans. The second thing is building infrastructure at speed, which is something Singapore is quite good at. For instance, we are investing about NZ$200 million in the next two years in creating a network for cycling to make it easy for short, utilitarian trips. We are building our City Rail Link right now that will connect up the city and double the capacity of the rail network overnight.
The third thing is programmes, campaigns and awareness. We have employee commute programmes that our transport arm rolls out for corporates. We are also improving system efficiencies, for example, with a switch to zone fares, integrated ticketing, improvements that make public transport more accessible to everybody with more fairness.
And of course a few sticks necessarily accompany the carrots. We recently passed our parking strategy, which looks at eliminating minimums and instating maximums for parking. This helps incentivise public transport, walking and cycling, and to transition public space to be more for people and not for empty [parking] lots that don’t get used.
In 10 years we have seen all of our growth in trips to the city during peak times on public transport, which is exceptional. We’ve seen 50% of journeys into the city [being made] on public transport. We doubled cycling use in the last three years. We’ve seen major increases in retail, in foot traffic in the shared spaces.
Joshua:
Auckland was recognised with a Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize special mention in 2016. Could you tell us more about the city’s design-led initiatives?
John:
You go back to what Auckland was not too long ago. We carved up our central city with motorways and this squeezed the heart of the city a little too tight. Over time we recognised that we had made some mistakes and we needed to fix them — and this is a trait of a good city, to redesign old mistakes into what we want now.
Beyond its physical infrastructure, Auckland is known for just being a beautiful city. To re-fit this landscape with an infrastructure that makes sense for the land and makes sense for the people is what we are looking at right now. I’ll mention three main initiatives: the waterfront plan, the city centre masterplan and the Auckland design manual.
When I came to Auckland maybe 15 years ago, I walked to the waterfront and I thought, I can’t walk anymore, this isn’t a place where it’s meant for me to be. Over time, we took quite an aggressive approach to creating a waterfront for people. We wanted it to be a world-class destination that excites the senses, that celebrates both maritime history and cultural identity, and that supports successful and innovative businesses. We have completed more than 25 projects in that waterfront plan. Today, I can celebrate it as a place where I can take my family and proudly enjoy being an Aucklander.
The second thing is the city centre masterplan. The vision for that is to be highly regarded internationally as a centre of business, learning, innovation, etc. We have completed 30 interventions and projects. And I would say, since I’ve lived in Auckland these last three to four years, our city centre is becoming once again the beating heart of the city
The third example is the Auckland design manual. That is our set of guidance for enabling public and private developments beyond the city centre and the waterfront to meet the same high standards. One of the main features is the Te Aranga Maori principles, design principles for the cultural landscape, celebrating the mana and tohu and significant landscapes, the health and status of the iwi and the mana whenua of Auckland and New Zealand.
A couple of results: The Queen’s Wharf was the most central and active working wharf in the city. Now it has been transformed into the people’s wharf. It was designed mainly for the Rugby World Cup 2011, and we’ve seen a real activation of that space since then. The Wynyard Quarter is another example, where we put in exceptionally good mixed-use development with about 30 hectares of marine industry land. Now it’s a place you want to take people to see the waterfront, it’s a place you want to live, it’s a place you can to go to outdoor cinemas, play with your kids.
Joshua:
What are some principles of a human-centric design that most cities can adopt?
John:
Gil Penalosa, who recently came to Auckland with his 8 80 Cities organisation, would say, “If you design for the eight-year-old, you design for the 80-year-old, you design for everybody.” So it’s really taking care of the young and the old, and everyone benefits.
First you need the vision, and you need a champion of the vision. We in Auckland have a design champion both politically with a councillor, and with one as a city staff member. You also need great policy, real rules and bespoke principles that address good design. You need to have it be part of the public dialogue, where people talk about what good quality design is and start demanding it. That’s why I mention the Auckland design manual, that’s one way we enable great development by giving people the tools they need.
I think the final principle is to challenge the city to think big, to design outstanding liveability outcomes for all citizens. It’s about designing a city that is human-scale, where you will be comfortable letting your child wander, letting your grandparents stroll, to experience the city as a fun, playful place.
Joshua:
Auckland faces some similar challenges to Singapore: an ageing society, population growth, climate change. What strategies is Auckland adopting to address them?
John:
Putting seniors and youth at the centre of liveability is really important. If we can ensure housing and transport choices for older and younger people, everybody benefits. The other important thing is engagement. Auckland has a seniors’ advisory panel. We get great advice from people who are trying to age-in-place. A great city is an age-diverse city where people have the dignity of ageing where they live, or can relocate to a place like the city centre of Auckland, where everything is at your fingertips.
We are looking at somewhere between 750,000 to a million new people coming to Auckland in the next 25 years. That is a significant increase for a population of only one and a half million. We just launched Auckland Growing Greener, which outlines four main areas of focus, including urban transformation, transition to a more circular economy, restoring nature with more resilient natural ecosystems, and healthy waters with improved water quality.
Another strategy is how we both adapt to and mitigate climate change. Auckland is a member of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, participated in events at COP21 in Paris, and will continue to lead in this space.
The last thing I’ll mention: if we are designing the city for young and old, what you’re doing is humanising the city — you’re giving the city a soul, where people feel at home, where people feel like they can be part of a place that they belong. Not only does this make it a more economically viable city, it also fuels democracy. More public spaces means more public dialogue, which means more people are engaged in shaping the city. And this can only be a good thing.
Joshua:
How is Auckland improving sustainability in its physical infrastructure?
John:
We try to understand better what the barriers are to the average citizen in contributing to our climate mitigation and climate adaptation aims. For example, we have an ageing, tired housing stock in Auckland. For us to make headway, putting in more energy-efficient heating and lighting, etc., we can’t wait for new builds. We have to retrofit existing buildings. Our Retrofit Your Home programme recognises that the short-term capital costs are sometimes too expensive. Retrofit Your Home lends up to NZ$9 million a year, and participants pay back the loan on their rates bill, so it’s not terribly onerous and it’s spread out over time.
Another example is sustainable procurement and the circular economy. We’re purchasing 42,000 LED street lights, which saves well over NZ$30 million over the 20-year lifetime of the bulbs. This also helps leverage the market and lower costs for other municipalities and businesses who are trying to do the same thing. That’s leadership and why we’re part of ICLEI’s Global Lead Cities Network on Sustainable Procurement.
Joshua:
Is there anything you would like to add?
John:
For us it is a pleasure to work with cities like Singapore, who are trying to advance in sustainability. The challenge for us all is how to do this faster and better, and with far more public support, participation and awareness.
Part of this means recrafting the sustainability narrative. Yes, we care about nature, but we also care about people. There is a Maori saying in New Zealand: he tangata, he tangata, he tangata! “It’s the people, it’s the people, it’s the people!”
If we are creating a city with long-term economic prosperity, but if we are not creating a city with social justice and equality, if we are not creating a city that’s safe and healthy and clean for everyone, then we can’t make true progress in sustainability. But I think that we are. So keep your eye on Auckland — we’re a city on the move, and we’re very eager to work with and learn from Singapore to make our cities even more fantastic places.