Alain Bertaud gives food for thought on the Auckland Compact City model
From the NZ Herald
Urban expert rejects city compaction
5:00 AM Tuesday Jul 29, 2014. Anne Gibson
Auckland Mayor Len Brown wants to contain up to 70 per cent of urban growth within existing boundaries.
A French urban planning expert is in New Zealand this week, courtesy of think-tank the New Zealand Initiative.
Alain Bertaud, a global urban planning expert, disagrees with the compact city planning model being used in Auckland and Christchurch and is visiting those cities and Wellington.
He is formerly a planner for the World Bank and has worked in Tehran, Hong Kong and St Petersburg.
Bertaud says compactness cannot be created by planners.
“The urban village model exists only in the mind of urban planners,” he says, adding that mobility and affordability suffer.
Auckland Mayor Len Brown wants to contain up to 70 per cent of urban growth within existing boundaries.
Alain Bertaud is a senior research scholar at the NYU Stern Urbanization Project. His main area of research is the impact of markets, transportation, and regulations on urban form. Bertaud previously held the position of principal urban planner at the World Bank, where he worked on urban policy and urban infrastructure development mainly in South Asia, in transition economies such as China, Russia, and countries of Eastern Europe. Previously, he worked as a resident urban planner in a number of cities around the world: Bangkok, San Salvador, Port au Prince, Sana’a, New York, Paris, Tlemcen, and Chandigarh.
An interesting interview with Bertaud. My initial thoughts and continued thoughts (as a Human Geographer) have always been the compact city model (that is 70:30 Brownfield:Greenfield) was pushing the per-verbal barrow up the hill. That the 60:40 split would be where the stick in the sand should be placed in regards to a guide for our urban development. However, with it being mooted before Auckland could drift towards even a 50:50 split with the emergence of satellite centres in Auckland and the Waikato springing up to support the City.
This is something I will be keeping a watch as we progress Unitary Plan proceedings and as Auckland develops in itself, most likely along natural lines in reaction and adaptation to the ever-changing geographic environment
Talking Southern Auckland 