With the Auckland Plan up for its three yearly review and some Councillors looking at some more shall we say whole-scale changes to the master document I will be running a mini-series on why the Councillors should go the full hog, and both chuck the Auckland Plan in its entirety while writing an Auckland Plan MK2.
I will be drawing on my own experience and skills as a Geographer as well as material from the Sydney Plan on the rather critical matter/point that Sydney is our main competitor.
I can tell you right now that this mini-series will be controversial and no doubt will go and deeply annoy our Council’s Planning Department. But as I have said before:
I am not employed by Council nor am I their “friend” either. I am here to report and comment on the issues in an independent manner. That is the core mantra of Talking Auckland.
In my last and the first mini series post (THE AUCKLAND PLAN AND THE SYDNEY PLAN) I looked essentially how the Auckland Plan is cumbersome and full of fluff in comparison to the very concise Sydney Plan.
In this post I will be using the Auckland Plan’s Section D High Level Development Strategy and reformatting using it material from the Sydney Plan’s four goals.
Reformatting The Auckland Plan’s Section D – High Level Development Strategy
The Auckland Plan has four High Level Development Strategies that are not truly linked to the subsequent 15-chapters found later in the Plan. This is compared to the Sydney Plan’s four goals while they have their subsequent chapters or rather directives those directives tie back to the respective goal.
So we need to reformat Auckland’s four High Level Development Strategies and make them as simple, concise, to be like the Sydney Plan’s four goals. Remembering both the strategies and goals tie into the respective visions of their respective plans.
Let’s take a look at the two introductions from both plans shall we?
First the Auckland Plan (and bear with me for reasons you will see):
Introduction
86_ People are at the heart of the Auckland Plan. The Plan’s Development Strategy sets out how Auckland will change and grow over the next 30 years to become the world’s most liveable city – a city that Aucklanders love and are proud of; a place they want to stay or return to; and a place that others want to visit, move to or invest in.
87_ Auckland’s future lies in being an international city amongst other international cities, while maintaining the special qualities that make it a unique environment and an inclusive community. This includes an Auckland that:
respects the special place of tangata whenua
acknowledges and celebrates its role as a major Pacific city
embraces its increasing diversity of cultures and lifestyles
protects its outstanding rural, natural and marine environment, that is close to its urban heart.
88_ Auckland’s physical, social, economic and cultural dimensions have all influenced the Development Strategy.
First, the Development Strategy recognises that strengthening Auckland as an international city relies on improved, balanced socio-economic development across Auckland, so that all residents share in its prosperity. It aims to improve economic performance by prioritising innovation and the clustering of activities. It acknowledges that a competitive Auckland requires a world-class city centre. At the same time, it sets out initiatives in areas of high social need, notably in the area covered by The Southern Initiative.
Second, the Development Strategy promotes a better quality of life for all Aucklanders, by encouraging access to more housing and jobs, as well as opportunities for recreation, cultural, and leisure activities. There is an emphasis on the importance of building strong, inclusive communities around local neighbourhoods and centres.
Third, the Development Strategy ensures that our natural, marine and built environments are responsibly managed, so that our children and their children will be able to enjoy them in the future. It also acknowledges that Auckland’s environment is a defining feature which contributes enormously to our well-being and to our comparative advantage over other international cities.
Fourth, to achieve sustainable development, Auckland’s continued high population growth needs to be matched to a range of accessible, quality housing and employment choices. The emphasis is on growth in existing and compact urban areas which are served by efficient, safe public transport. Growth in rural areas will be supported by two satellite towns – Warkworth and Pukekohe. The Development Strategy provides the direction for where and how we will live, recognising that achieving a more compact Auckland will require generational change over 30 years.
89_ Further, by adopting a ‘place-based’ approach, the Development Strategy focuses on delivering quality outcomes by aligning investment in areas of change where the majority of growth will occur.
90_ Finally, the Development Strategy acknowledges our interdependence, particularly with the upper North Island, and with other cities and regions in New Zealand and the Asia Pacific. It relies on all of us who influence Auckland’s future, including central government, Auckland Council, iwi, the private sector, non-governmental organisations and communities, working together to achieve quality development and a sustainable future, and overcome social disadvantage.
91_ The Development Strategy has four key elements:
D1
KEY SHAPERS AND ENABLERS – including historical, physical, social, economic and environmental influences, their impact and Auckland’s response to future opportunities.
D2
THE TWO BIG INITIATIVES – that will deliver the greatest positive outcomes for Aucklanders and New Zealand.
D3
MOVING TO A QUALITY, COMPACT AUCKLAND – to accommodate high population and economic growth.
D4
WORKING AND DELIVERING WITH OTHERS – a collaborative, coordinated approach to achieve Auckland’s vision.
Sydney is an iconic global city and it is growing.
Sydney is currently home to over four million people living in communities as different as Cabramatta, Manly and the Blue Mountains. Each has its own identity but collectively they enrich the life and character of Sydney.
Sydney is a global city, the premier city in Australia and the economic capital of the country. What happens in Sydney is important to the rest of the nation because of its impact on jobs, the economy and our capacity to produce goods and services that are in demand around the world.
Sydney’s strong economy, skilled labour force, spectacular natural environment and relaxed lifestyle has made our city the envy of other cities around the world.
A sign of Sydney’s prosperity is that it’s growing – its economic output and its population. By 2031, Sydney’s economic output will almost double to $565 billion a year and there will be 689,000 new jobs.2 In the next 20 years, Sydney’s population will grow by 1.6 million people, with 900,000 of this population growth occurring in Western Sydney(3).
It’s clear that Sydney’s population is growing much faster than it did over the last 20 years (see Figure 1). To meet the needs of a bigger population, we need a plan to manage growth – how to accommodate the 664,0004 new homes that we will need, how to provide the conditions for growth in jobs, how to create places that people will enjoy living in and to protect our unique natural environment.
Sydney needs a plan that outlines how to:
make it easier for Sydney’s residents to move between their homes, their jobs, the centres where they shop and use local services, and their open spaces;
make a wider variety of housing available to suit the changing make-up of the population – more than one million people will be over the age of 65 years and almost the same number under the age of 15 years by 2031;5
deliver new infrastructure which supports our community as it grows, and strategic infrastructure that also strengthens the economy; and
recognise our highly prized environment – the harbour, the coast, our mountains, parks and open spaces – and how to safeguard these places.
A Plan for Growing Sydney is the Government’s plan to achieve these things. It’s an action plan focused on bringing all stakeholders together with a common purpose – to develop a competitive economy with world-class services and transport; to deliver greater housing choice to meet our changing needs and lifestyles; to create communities that have a strong sense of wellbeing; and to safeguard our natural environment.
Planning where people will live and work across Sydney, and how these places are connected to each other, will influence Sydney’s long-term success and the standard of living our communities will enjoy. It is critical not to repeat the mistakes of the past – dispersed housing growth that resulted in a sprawling and poorly connected city, complicated by unique geographic constraints. Planning for Sydney’s inevitable population growth has never been more important.
THE PLAN
The Government’s vision for Sydney is: a strong global city, a great place to live.
To achieve this vision, the Government has set down goals that Sydney will be:
a competitive economy with world-class services and transport;
a city of housing choice with homes that meet our needs and lifestyles;
a great place to live with communities that are strong, healthy and well connected; and
a sustainable and resilient city that protects the natural environment and has a balanced approach to the use of land and resources.
This Plan sets out actions that will deliver these goals for Sydney. Each goal has a number of priority areas (directions which provide a focus for the actions). The actions include:
accelerating urban renewal across Sydney at train stations, providing homes closer to jobs;
growing a more internationally competitive Sydney CBD;
growing Greater Parramatta as Sydney’s second CBD;
transforming the productivity of Western Sydney through growth and investment;
enhancing capacity at Sydney’s Gateways – Port Botany, Sydney Airport and Badgerys Creek Airport;
delivering the infrastructure that is needed;
promoting Sydney’s arts and culture, tourism and entertainment industries;
protecting our natural environment; and
managing long-term growth.
The Plan includes a new approach to delivery with the establishment of the Greater Sydney Commission – a dedicated new body with responsibility to drive delivery of the Plan.
A Plan for Growing Sydney applies to the Sydney Metropolitan Area – 41 Local Government Areas from Pittwater in the north to Wollondilly in the south and Blue Mountains in the west.
Okay yes the Sydney Map is interactive and of higher graphic quality than its Auckland Plan counterpart. Something that should be corrected for sure with the Auckland Plan map.
Looking at the difference between the Auckland Plan and Sydney Plan introductory material pasted above you see that the Auckland Plan version is wordy, vague, and waffles with no definitive links to the subsequent 15 chapters later on in the plan nor the vision of ‘The World’s Most Liveable City.‘
The Sydney Plan introduction material again as I have mentioned is concise, simple and actually links to the four main goals the Plan wants to achieve. In fact I don’t think the Auckland Plan has any “goals” that stand out as clear as day as the Sydney Plan does. And without goals you run the risk of both muddling yourself and creating a buggers muddle trying to get through it all (and for the astute the Council is muddling its way through at the moment).What you do have from the Auckland Plan is four key elements that do not mean a lot again as you drill down into the 15-chapters subsequently later on.
The Sydney Plan Introduction also gives a story that I can not see in Section D (nor any of the other three sections and the actual introduction chapter) of the Auckland Plan. That story clearly outlines the situation, the vision, what needs to be done to each that vision, and through what is needing to be done we have the four goals set out. If you are looking for implementation of the strategies and goals the Sydney Plan has it under ‘The Vision – Delivering this plan – a bold new direction.’ In the Auckland Plan it is located in four different places:
Section C5
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Implementation Addendum
What the Sydney Plan also has laid out in the introduction that the Auckland Plan does not is this:
This Plan sets out actions that will deliver these goals for Sydney. Each goal has a number of priority areas (directions which provide a focus for the actions). The actions include:
accelerating urban renewal across Sydney at train stations, providing homes closer to jobs;
growing a more internationally competitive Sydney CBD;
growing Greater Parramatta as Sydney’s second CBD;
transforming the productivity of Western Sydney through growth and investment;
enhancing capacity at Sydney’s Gateways – Port Botany, Sydney Airport and Badgerys Creek Airport;
delivering the infrastructure that is needed;
promoting Sydney’s arts and culture, tourism and entertainment industries;
A quick fire introduction that expands a bit more on what the Sydney Plan has to do.
How to Reformat the Auckland Plan Section D High Level Development Strategy?
First of all Sections A-D get chucked as they are cumbersome, they waffle, they repeat each other and don’t really point out how things will get done in the Auckland Plan. Next we look at Section C3 Transformational Shifts to Achieve the Vision and blend them into a reformatted Development Strategy (Section D).
DRAMATICALLY ACCELERATE THE PROSPECTS OF AUCKLAND’S CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
STRONGLY COMMIT TO ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION AND GREEN GROWTH
MOVE TO OUTSTANDING PUBLIC TRANSPORT WITHIN ONE NETWORK
RADICALLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF URBAN LIVING
SUBSTANTIALLY RAISE LIVING STANDARDS FOR ALL AUCKLANDERS AND FOCUS ON THOSE MOST IN NEED
SIGNIFICANTLY LIFT MĀORI SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC WELL-BEING
The reformatted four Development Strategies (replacing the previous Section D strategies):
Competitive Economy including an outstanding one network transportation system
People and Place including Maori and Young People Social and Economic Well-Being, and Historic Heritage
The Natural Environment including the Rural Urban Boundary
Housing Choice including managing Greenfield supply, urban renewal, and housing choice through allowing freely different housing topologies (so affordability)
I will draw out these four new development strategies in a later mini series post. But for the moment lets realign the six Section C transformational shifts into the four new development strategies. From there the goals that would achieve the strategies which in turn fulfils the vision of The World’s Most Liveable City.
Competitive Economy including an outstanding one network transportation system
MOVE TO OUTSTANDING PUBLIC TRANSPORT WITHIN ONE NETWORK
SUBSTANTIALLY RAISE LIVING STANDARDS FOR ALL AUCKLANDERS AND FOCUS ON THOSE MOST IN NEED
People and Place including Maori and Young People Social and Economic Well-Being, and Historic Heritage
SIGNIFICANTLY LIFT MĀORI SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC WELL-BEING
DRAMATICALLY ACCELERATE THE PROSPECTS OF AUCKLAND’S CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
The Natural Environment including the Rural Urban Boundary
RADICALLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF URBAN LIVING
STRONGLY COMMIT TO ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION AND GREEN GROWTH
Housing Choice including managing Greenfield supply, urban renewal, and housing choice through allowing freely different housing typologies (so affordability)
RADICALLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF URBAN LIVING
SUBSTANTIALLY RAISE LIVING STANDARDS FOR ALL AUCKLANDERS AND FOCUS ON THOSE MOST IN NEED
Each of those points used from Section C3 planted into the new Development Strategies when looking at this give a good start to setting the “directives” seen under each of the Development Strategies.
I will leave it here for this post. If I am inclined I might write a full reworked introduction for the Auckland Plan MK2 after the next mini series post which looks at “The Reality Facing Auckland Council – And Why We Should Look to the Sydney Plan.” In that upcoming post I do look at the reality facing the Council with the Auckland Plan based on observations from the Southern Auckland Long Term Plan Have Your Say Sessions.
Talking Southern Auckland 
