Continuing from Legislative Theory to on-the-ground Design-Led Placemaking Situation: Look out your window and be honest: you are looking at a design failure. For most of us, the street below … Continue reading The Urban Upgrade: 5 Radical Truths Hidden in the Future of Our Cities
Moving from Legislative Theory to Design-Led Practice on the Ground For decades, our cities have been designed as “dormitory suburbs”—monolithic zones that function merely as storage for people and cars. … Continue reading The Urban Operating System: 5 Surprising Ways Aotearoa is Rewriting the Rules of the City
Rewrite of large parts of the Bill as Public Domain goes Missing in Private Property Frenzy DONE! After five weeks and 171 pages later, I have completed my submission to … Continue reading My Submission to the New Zealand Planning Bill – 2026
Submission Highlights Context as per my opening remarks in my main submission: The basic premise of my submission is doing what Minister Bishop has stated more than once, to emulate … Continue reading Strategic Analysis of my Aotearoa Planning Bill 2025 Submission, and the Japanese Hydraulic Model
A Briefing on using a Public Welfare based Planning Act that still better enables the Private Sector Context as per my opening remarks in my main submission: The basic premise … Continue reading Briefing: Aotearoa Planning Bill 2025 – A Strategic Framework for Urban Resilience and Economic Productivity
Looking Backwards to Propel Forwards in our Planning Future This blog post provides a high level wrap up of what would happen if Public Welfare Supreme was adopted into the … Continue reading Why a 50-Year-Old Japanese Law is the Secret to Fixing Our Modern Housing Crisis
What is Public Welfare Supreme and why is it the cornerstone of my submission My submission which I will be sharing into the blog as a series will make mention … Continue reading Public Welfare Supreme: an Introduction to the Concept that should guide the Planning Act
Will the Planning Bill and Standardised Zones represent a new way forward? For the past month I have been running a Ben Goes Planning series covering all sorts of urban … Continue reading Ben Goes Planning Part 10: Entry to the Planning Bill, and the National Standardised Zones
Prelude to the Planning Reforms We have covered how road design can harm other road users. We have also covered how reclaim streets, turn myopic urban areas into urban super … Continue reading Ben goes Planning Part 9.5. From Asphalt Seas to Living Streets: A Policy Framework for the 24-Hour Human City
Tokyo inspires what Manukau could be As the Parking mini-series continues on, we look to the urban and transit masters in Tokyo to assist the car centric Manukau City centre! … Continue reading Ben goes Planning Part 9.4. Parking and Placemaking: A Comparative Case Study of Urban Development in Tokyo and Manukau
Talking Southern Auckland 