Trip to LA to Talk Business

From The Office of the Mayor Len Brown

Auckland businesses explore global opportunities

Mayor Len Brown and Councillors Bill Cashmore and Denise Krum are to lead a delegation representing 43 Auckland businesses taking part in the inaugural Tripartite Economic Alliance Summit in Los Angeles.
The summit next week will give the delegates the opportunity to explore business and investment opportunities with contacts from Los Angeles and Guangzhou, with the aim of bringing greater investment to Auckland.
“Auckland is New Zealand’s only global city and we are fast becoming a significant innovation hub in the Asia-Pacific region. The summit gives us the chance to build our trade and economic relations; to create exciting export opportunities for the participating businesses: and share knowledge in the crucial areas of transport and housing.”

The delegation will include Auckland businesses from the sectors of education, innovation such as ICT, clean/green technologies, transportation and screen/creative.

The contribution to the Auckland economy in terms of GDP of these sectors is $10.8 billion (in 2010 dollars); accounting for 17 per cent of the total Auckland economy, and 36 per cent of Auckland’s employment (in 2013).

“The connections we will make on this trip in turn will lead to job creation and help grow our economy,” Mayor Brown adds.

ATEED Chief Executive Brett O’Riley says Auckland’s economic growth agency will implement a three-year business and investment attraction strategy to seize opportunities delivered by the Tripartite.

“It is not about a summit once a year. We aim to deliver long-term outcomes from an ongoing business programme. The 2013 America’s Cup regatta was the catalyst for an expanded emphasis on California for Auckland’s world-class emerging tech and screen and digital companies,” Mr O’Riley says.

The summit follows the signing in November 2014 of the historic Tripartite Economic Alliance, designed to boost economic co-operation between the three cities.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown says Guangzhou and Los Angeles are Auckland’s most well-established and economically important sister cities.

Prior to the summit, the Mayor will be attending a World Cities Summit mayoral forum in New York.

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Also

New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects – Auckland, Guangzhou & Los Angeles Tripartite Economic Alliance Summit

Auckland’s architecture and landscape architecture bodies are delighted to support Mayor Len Brown’s

promotion of a ‘Design Led City’ at the upcoming Tripartite Economic Alliance Summit in Los Angeles.

The summit, to be hosted by Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti, will also be attended by the Mayor of

Guangzhou, as well as business leaders and companies from all three cities. The theme, Innovation –

Commercialism and Connectivity, will explore a range of subjects including renewable energy, transportation

and infrastructure, of which architects and landscape architects have a keen interest in promoting.

New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA) president, Shannon Bray, says that ‘the meeting is a

chance to support Auckland Council in the promotion of design–‐led outcomes for the advancement of our city.

The NZILA supports Auckland’s widely shared vision to become the world’s most liveable city, and believes that

this can be achieved through high standards of urban spatial design and architecture.’

Mr Bray will be attending the summit as joint representative of both the NZILA and the New Zealand Institute

of Architects, and sees this coming together of the professions as an important collaboration. ‘It is important

that as design professionals we work together with Auckland Council to find innovative and creative solutions

to the city’s transportation and infrastructure needs’.

The recent entering of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize is an important step in the recognition of the exciting

work undertaken to date, including the development of vibrant public spaces such as the Wynyard Quarter,

shared spaced streets such as Elliot Street, and the advancement of Auckland transport initiatives such as train

electrification.

Mr Bray says that the collaborative involvement of members of both the architecture and landscape

architecture professions in the design of future Auckland projects, such as the City Rail Link, future Harbour

Crossing and public open spaces is crucial to the enhancement of the city. ‘Together we can create a city that is

both enjoyable to live in and functional to travel across’.

‘The tripartite initiative is a catalyst for the promotion of high quality design’ says Mr Bray. ‘We look forward

to being involved in the sharing of information with our sister cities, as well as developing stronger

relationships with our worldwide colleagues facing similar design considerations. Auckland, and New Zealand,

should be proud of the quality of our urban environments.’

The tripartite summit is being held in Los Angeles 10th – 12th June, and will be attended by a range of Auckland

Council, Government and private company representatives.

Further information on the summit can be found at http://laedc.org/ts/, on the New Zealand Institute of

Landscape Architects at www.nzila

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